Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has set out his priorities for the Ofcom, as it prepares to implement and enforce the Online Safety Act next year. The Online Safety Act requires the government to publish a Statement of Strategic Priorities (SSP). The SSP will be laid in Parliament for approval, before being formally designated by the…
The UK government has published a consultation on the new subscription contracts regime under the Digital Markets, Competition and Digital Markets Act 2024. It seeks views on how the regime will work in practice. The feedback will inform secondary legislation and guidance, with the regime planned to come into force in 2026. Cooling-off rights: return…
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The European Commission has fined Meta €797.72 million for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers. In June 2021, the Commission opened formal proceedings into possible anti-competitive conduct of Facebook….
UK law Ofcom publishes letter to online service providers on generative AI and chatbots Ofcom has published an open letter to online service providers in the UK about how the Online Safety Act 2023 applies to generative AI and chatbots. Websites or apps which use a generative AI chatbot that enables users to share text,…
Following investigation, the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network of national consumer authorities (led by those in Belgium, Germany and Ireland) and the European Commission have notified Apple about several potentially prohibited geo-blocking practices that the CPC Network has identified on certain Apple Media Services, including App Store, Apple Arcade, Music, iTunes Store, Books and Podcasts….
Following investigation at European level, the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network of national consumer authorities and the European Commission have notified the online marketplace Temu that some of its practices infringe EU consumer law. The CPC Network directed Temu to bring those practices in line with EU consumer laws. Temu remains under investigation and was…
Over the last decade there has been a rapid increase in investment and influence in genomic technologies in a range of sectors. The technology offers well-known benefits in areas like advanced disease treatment and personalised healthcare, and there is a drive to deliver a genomic-focused healthcare system. However, the rapid growth of applications in sectors…
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For the first time following a full trial, the English High Court in D’Aloia v Persons Unknown, Bitkub and others [2024] EWHC 2342 (Ch) has confirmed that cryptocurrency, specifically USD Tether (USDT), can be traced and can constitute property under English law. The court also made observations as to key legal and evidential links needed…
UK law CMA consults on draft guidance for the markets regime in the Enterprise Act 2002 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is consulting on its draft new guidance for the markets regime in the Enterprise Act 2002, as amended by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The consultation ends on 3 December…
James Gill and Fiona Vickerstaff of Lewis Silkin summarise a recent case on the legal status of software as a service. Those of us working in the tech space will remember the relatively recent case of The Software Incubator Ltd v Computer Associates UK Ltd in which the CJEU decided that a perpetual licence to use software constituted…
Read More… from The return of the great SaaS debate: is it goods or services?