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CMA consults on draft guidance for the markets regime in the Enterprise Act 2002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 2024.
Outcome of consultation on digital markets competition regime guidance published
Following consultation, the Competition and Markets Authority has asked the Secretary of State to approve the digital markets competition regime guidance. This is a legislative requirement under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The guidance will be published following approval.
ICO intervenes in AI recruitment tools
The ICO has issued a series of recommendations to AI developers and providers to ensure they are better protecting job seekers’ information rights. AI is increasingly being used in the recruitment process to save time and money, helping to source potential candidates, summarise CVs and score applicants. If not developed lawfully, these tools may negatively affect jobseekers who could be unfairly excluded from roles or have their privacy compromised. The ICO audited several providers and developers of AI tools for recruitment and made almost 300 recommendations, such as ensuring personal information is processed fairly and kept to a minimum, and clearly explaining to candidates how their information will be used by the AI tool. The companies accepted or partially accepted all recommendations. The audit outcomes report summarises the key findings and recommendations from the consensual audits, as well as providing examples of good practice, case studies and lessons learned for both AI developers and recruiters. The ICO also published key questions for organisations looking to procure AI tools for recruitment, so they can seek clear assurances from developers and providers.
FCA seeks views on future of AI in financial services via new AI Input Zone
The FCA is seeking views about current and future uses of AI in UK financial services, as well as the financial services regulatory framework. It is asking the following questions: what AI use cases are you considering or exploring in your firm/organisation, what do transformative AI use cases look like in the next 5 to 10 years, are there any barriers to adopting these use cases currently, or in the future, is current financial services regulation sufficient to support firms to embrace the benefits of AI in a safe and responsible way, or does it need to evolve, and what specific changes or additions to the current regulatory regime, or areas of further clarification/guidance, do you think are needed? The consultation ends on 31 January 2025.
EU law
European Commission harmonises transparency reporting rules under the Digital Services Act
The European Commission has adopted an Implementing Regulation outlining the rules and templates for transparency reporting by providers of intermediary services under the Digital Services Act. Under the DSA, providers of intermediary services must publish transparency reports, setting out their content moderation practices. The reports must include specific categories of information, depending on the type of provider, such as the number of pieces of content removed, the accuracy of automated content moderation systems, account terminations, and information on their content moderation teams. Very large online platforms and very large online search engines are required to publish such transparency reports twice a year, all other services once a year. The new Implementing Regulation standardises the format, content, and reporting periods for these transparency reports, detailing their content moderation practices and containing specific categories of information. Providers will have to start collecting data as of 1 July 2025, with the first harmonised reports due in the beginning of 2026. The DSA also introduces other transparency measures, including the publication of average monthly user numbers, details about recommender system parameters, data access for researchers, detailed information on content moderation decisions as well as enhanced transparency on advertising. To ensure consistency between the transparency tools of the DSA, the requirements for submitting statements of reasons to the DSA Transparency Database will be updated to be aligned with the data categories in the Implementing Regulation. Providers will have to submit statements of reasons according to the new requirements starting from 1 July 2025.
Apple’s operating system iPadOS must comply with all relevant obligations under the Digital Markets Act
The European Commission has announced that Apple must ensure its operating system iPadOS complies with all the relevant obligations under the Digital Markets Act. In April 2024, the Commission added Apple’s iPadOS to the list of core platform services for which Apple is designated as gatekeeper. Apple must, among other things, allow users to set the default web browser of their choice on iPadOS, allow alternative app stores on its operating system, and allow accessory devices, like headphones and smart pens, to effectively access iPadOS features. On 1 November, Apple published a compliance report setting out the measures it has taken for iPadOS to comply with the DMA. The Commission will now assess if the measures adopted for iPadOS are effective in complying with the DMA obligations. If the Commission concludes that Apple’s solutions do not comply with the DMA, the Commission will take formal enforcement action under the DMA.
European Commission welcomes general approach on VAT in the Digital Age
The European Commission has welcomed the Council’s general approach on the Commission’s proposals on VAT in the Digital Age. It aims to make EU’s VAT system more business-friendly and more resilient to fraud. They also aim to address the challenges raised by the platform economy and endeavour to level the playing field between online and traditional short-term accommodation and transport services. It introduces uniform real-time digital reporting for VAT purposes based on e-invoicing for cross-border transactions. E-invoicing aims to help streamline operations, ensure compliance and security, enable data-driven decision-making, and supports scalability for future growth and innovation. Platform economy operators in the passenger transport and short-term accommodation rental sectors will become responsible for collecting and remitting VAT to tax authorities, where the underlying supplier does not charge VAT. This aims to contribute to a better level playing field between online and traditional services and to make life easier for the underlying hosts and drivers, who will not be liable for the VAT. Finally, the new package expands the “VAT One Stop Shop” model for shopping-commerce companies. EU Finance ministers are expected to adopt the proposal following a consultation with the European Parliament.
