UK law
Media Act 2024 (Commencement No 1) Regulations 2024 made
The Media Act 2024 (Commencement No 1) Regulations 2024 have been made. They bring most provisions of the Media Act 2024 into force as of 23 August 2024. Regulation 4 provides for linked commencement where provisions of the Act make amendments to legislation that is subject to amendments made by the Communications Act 2003, but which have not been commenced yet. This aims to make sure that the amendments made by the Act will come into effect at the correct time.
Competition and Markets Authority issues annual report
The CMA has published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2023/24, setting out the breadth and impact of its work over the last year. It sets out estimates of the direct financial benefit of its work, and says that the indirect benefit is creating the conditions for investment to flow, innovation to take off, and for a more productive economy. In addition, the report says that the CMA has helped consumers get better choices and a fairer deal in areas such as road fuel, veterinary services, infant formula and grocery pricing. It has also acted in sectors such as cloud gaming, cloud services more generally, online retail platforms, development and deployment of foundation models, and merger control. In addition, it has looked at sectors such as housebuilding and areas such as the labour market.
Ofcom publishes Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-2024
Ofcom has also published its Annual Report and Accounts for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The report sets out its performance against its plan of work for the past financial year, describing the progress it has made in its work across major projects and ongoing regulatory responsibilities. It has also published its accounts, with details of receipts from licence fee payments and financial penalties over the course of the financial year.
EU law
European Commission launches call for evidence on first review of EU-US Data Privacy Framework
The European Commission has published a call for evidence to review the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. In July 2023, the Commission adopted an adequacy decision for the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, which aims to ensure that personal data can flow freely from the EU to participating companies in the US. The decision (in line with the GDPR) provides for a periodic review. The first one is to take place within one year to assess whether all parts of the framework are in place and working as intended. This report will present the findings and conclusions of the first review.
European Commission requests further information on Meta’s compliance with EU DSA
The European Commission has sent Meta a request for information (RFI) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Following the discontinuation of CrowdTangle on 14 August 2024, the Commission is requesting Meta to provide more information on the measures it has taken to comply with its obligations to give researchers access to data that is publicly accessible on the online interface of Facebook and Instagram, as required by the DSA, and on its plans to update its election and civic discourse monitoring functionalities. Specifically, the Commission is requesting information about Meta’s content library and application programming interface (API), including their eligibility criteria, the application process, the data that can be accessed and functionalities. On 30 April 2024, the Commission opened formal proceedings against Meta under the DSA, which are ongoing. One of the grievances focused on the non-availability of an effective third-party, real-time civic discourse and election-monitoring tool before the elections to the European Parliament and national elections, as well as shortcomings in Meta’s provision of access for researchers to publicly available data. Meta deployed new functionalities in CrowdTangle, notably 27 new public real time visual dashboards, one for each member state, to allow third party real time civic discourse and election monitoring. These functionalities have now been discontinued. Meta must provide the requested information by 6 September 2024. The Commission will then decide its next steps.
