The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has received Royal Assent. As the name suggests, it covers three main areas: digital markets regulation, competition law reform, and consumer law reform. Digital markets regulation The new Act establishes a new pro-competition regime for digital markets. It gives the CMA the power to designate undertakings as…
The Media Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 24 May. It was fast-tracked through the UK Parliament as part of the “wash-up” period before parliament was dissolved in anticipation of the General Election in July. It had been introduced to Parliament on 8 November 2023. The Act aims to update media regulation for the digital…
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in Joined Cases C-662/22 | Airbnb Ireland and C-667/22 | Amazon Services Europe, Case C-663/22 | Expedia, Joined Cases C-664/22 | Google Ireland and C-666/22 | Eg Vacation Rentals Ireland, and Case C-665/22 | Amazon Services Europe. In Italy, providers of online intermediation services and…
There are many kinds of books on IT contracts out there. The ones that I came across early in my career contained checklists and sample clauses for a wide range of contracts. Mid-career, I found a 600+ page commentary on standard clauses in IT contracts, contracts for common services like cloud and consultancy, and particular…
UK law DMCC Bill completes parliamentary process and other “wash-up” news The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill has completed the parliamentary process ahead of the 2024 General Election and will receive Royal Assent on 24 May. At the time of writing, it looks as if the Media Bill may also complete the process as…
High Court considers whether cap on liability was single, aggregate cap or multiple caps The High Court has issued its judgment in the case of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd v Disclosure and Barring Service [2024] EWHC 1185 (TCC). The case arose in the context of a contract for the digital transformation of the services of…
The European Commission has opened formal proceedings to assess if Meta (Facebook/Instagram) may have breached the Digital Services Act with regards to the protection of minors. The Commission is concerned that Facebook and Instagram’s systems, including their algorithms, may promote behavioural addictions in children, as well as create so-called ‘rabbit-hole effects’. In addition, the Commission…
Read More… from European Commission takes action against Meta under the Digital Services Act
Once upon a time technologies like artificial intelligence and the metaverse were confined to the annals of science fiction. No longer, both innovations exist in the here and now, with vast potential to transform our world. These emergent technologies, however, are not without attributes of concern, one of which is energy consumption and the consequent…
Read More… from Emerging technologies and the climate: charting a pathway to pre-emptive oversight
UK law Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill The Bill received its third reading in the House of Lords on 10 May 2024. The Bill now goes to the Commons for consideration. Its key focus is to establish a framework for the regulation of AI in the UK, including placing AI regulatory principles on a statutory footing…
The ICO has issued its fourth call for evidence on generative AI. It focuses on individual rights, in particular in relation to the training and fine-tuning of generative AI. In the context of generative AI, this means data protection rights apply to any personal data included in: Therefore, across the AI lifecycle organisations must have…