Commission opens formal proceedings against Facebook and Instagram under the Digital Services Act

The European Commission has opened formal proceedings to assess if Meta (Facebook and Instagram), may have breached the Digital Services Act. As regular SCL readers will be aware, Facebook and Instagram were designated as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) on 25 April 2023 under the DSA, as they both have more than 45 million monthly…

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Advocate General gives opinion on scope of Software Directive’s computer program protection

Advocate General Szpunar (AG) has issued an Opinion in Case C?159/23: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd v Datel Design and Development Ltd and others. The Advocate General has expressed the opinion that Article 1(1) to (3) of Directive 2009/24/EC on the legal protection of computer programs (Software Directive) must be interpreted as meaning that the…

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UKJT publishes Legal Statement on digital assets and English insolvency law

Following consultation, the UKJT has published its Legal Statement on Digital Assets and English Insolvency Law. This is the third Legal Statement issued by the UKJT. The first was its Legal Statement on the Status of Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts. published in November 2019. The second was its Legal Statement on the Issuance and Transfer…

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Public statement by social network user about sexual orientation means data is public but that does not mean it can be used for personalised advertising

The Advocate General has delivered his opinion in Case C-446/21 | Schrems. In 2018, Meta Platforms Ireland started using new Facebook terms of service in the EU. Consent to those terms is required to sign up for, or access, Facebook’s accounts and services. Mr Maximilian Schrems (S) a Facebook user and well-known activist in the…

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This Week’s Techlaw News Round-up

UK law ICO issues reprimand to housing association for exposing personal information on online portal The ICO has issued a reprimand to Clyde Valley Housing Association in Lanarkshire after personal information was accessible to other residents on an online customer portal. Residents could access documents related to anti-social behaviour cases and view personal information about…

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European Parliament agrees position on strengthening the enforcement of data protection rules

The European Parliament has adopted its position on new procedural rules for the enforcement of the GDPR, which is enforced by independent national data protection authorities. However, the European Parliament has expressed its concern about “the uneven and sometimes non-existent enforcement of the GDPR by national data protection authorities”. It said that lengthy procedures can…

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European Commission opens proceedings against TikTok regarding Tiktok Lite

Last year, the European Commission designated TikTok as a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act. TikTok Lite is a new app which has been launched in France and Spain and is aimed at users aged 18+.  It includes the “Task and Reward Program”, which allows users to earn points while performing certain…

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CMA seeks views on AI partnerships and other arrangements

The Competition and Markets Authority has opened invitations to comment (ITCs) regarding certain AI partnerships. They are asking for comments about the partnerships between: and if they fall within UK merger rules and the impact that these arrangements could have on competition in the UK.  The ITCs are being issued ahead of launching formal Phase…

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EDPB issues opinion saying that “consent or pay” models should offer real choice

The European Data Protection Board has adopted an Opinion following a request made under Article 64(2) of the GDPR by the Dutch, Norwegian and Hamburg data protection authorities. The Opinion addresses the validity of consent to process personal data for the purposes of behavioural advertising in the context of ‘consent or pay’ models deployed by…

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