Market studies are examinations into the causes of why particular markets may not be working well in the interests of consumers. In October, Ofcom launched a study using its powers as a competition authority under the Enterprise Act 2002 into cloud infrastructure services in the UK, to assess how well this market is working. It…
Read More… from Ofcom proposes to refer UK cloud market to CMA for investigation
The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled in the case of Case C-34/21 Hauptpersonalrat der Lehrerinnen und Lehrer beim Hessischen Kultusministerium v Minister des Hessischen Kultusministeriums. The referral concerned whether teachers employed by a Land Hessen ministry had to consent to the streaming of their lessons by videoconference call, or, if they did…
Read More… from Live streaming of video classes falls within the scope of the GDPR
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Directive aimed at making it easier for companies to expand the use of digital tools and processes in EU company law. The proposal aims to facilitate cross-border companies’ operations and to increase business transparency and trust by making more information about companies publicly available at EU…
Read More… from European Commission proposes more digitalisation of EU company law
UK law CMA narrows scope of concerns in Microsoft-Activision review The CMA has issued updated provisional findings in its assessment of Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision. It says that new evidence provisionally alleviates concerns in relation to supply of gaming consoles in the UK. It’s previously stated view that the deal raises concerns in cloud…
The Committee on Advertising Practice says that research from Citizens Advice has found that three in four people in the UK (73%) have at least one subscription, while one in four (26%) have signed up to a subscription service by accident, in most instances, because they didn’t get round the cancelling a free trial. Subscription…
Read More… from CAP issues enforcement notice regarding free trials and subscriptions
For the EU legislator, the proposal for a Data Act represents an important step towards the enactment of long-term rules aimed at establishing good governance of the data economy and appropriate incentives to innovate. While the proposed regulation contains many valuable provisions that are worthy of implementation, we find that insufficient thought appears to have…
The Competition and Markets Authority has published the results of a survey of 3,700 UK adults, which found that 1 in 4 (24%) said they had fallen victim to sneaky online sales tactics; 23% didn’t realise tactics such as “15 mins left of sale” or “buy now” can sometimes be false or misleading and 68%…
Read More… from CMA publishes letter to businesses about “online redlines”
After a stream of technology-related announcements in recent weeks, the UK government has now published its White Paper on AI regulation. The UK Science and Technology Framework sets out government’s strategic vision and identifies AI as one of five critical technologies. The proposals set out have been informed by the feedback received as part of…
LawtechUK’s report identifies the barriers to entry and untapped opportunities that can kickstart industry wide change. It points out that although the UK lawtech sector grows from strength to strength, legal services can be unaffordable and inaccessible for many consumers and SMEs. Further, by focusing on JusticeTech, it says that a thriving ecosystem can be…
The Council of the EU has agreed its approach to the EU Data Act. This follows the Data Governance Act adopted in 2022, which was part of the European Commission’s February 2020 European strategy for data. The Data Governance Act creates the processes and structures to facilitate data sharing by companies, individuals and the public…
Read More… from Proposed Data Act agreed by EU member states representatives