The European Commission has launched a public consultation and a call for evidence on the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act.It aims to deal with: It also aims to ensure a level playing field for online traders, facilitate enforcement and introduce potential simplification. In addition, the Commission says that young people are an important consumer segment with…
UK law Investigatory Powers (Communications Data) (Relevant Public Authorities and Designated Senior Officers) Regulations 2025 made The Investigatory Powers (Communications Data) (Relevant Public Authorities and Designated Senior Officers) Regulations 2025 SI 2025/808 have been made. They amend Schedule 4 to the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. Schedule 4 (relevant public authorities and designated senior officers etc.)…
The First-tier Tribunal has issued its decision in TikTok Inc & Anor v Information Commissioner [2025] UKFTT 798 (GRC) on the preliminary issue raised by TikTok in its appeal against the £12.7m fine issued by the ICO in April 2023. The decision follows a hearing that took place from 19 to 21 May 2025. The…
Read More… from First Tier Tribunal rejects Tiktok appeal about ICO penalty notice
UK law CMA consults on pricing under the DMCC Act The CMA is consulting on draft guidance for businesses on the price transparency provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 which is very relevant for online pricing. The guidance details:what an invitation to purchase is; what pricing information needs to be included…
After a troubled passage through parliament, the Data (Use and Access) Bill received Royal Assent on 19 June and is now the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. It introduces amendments to the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2426) (PECR). The Act…
Read More… from Data (Use and Access) Bill receives Royal Assent
UK law Investigatory Powers Act 2016 codes of practice published Various codes of practice under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 have been published. The codes of practice set out processes and safeguards for several investigatory powers. CMA consults on releasing Google from Privacy Sandbox commitments The Competition and Markets Authority is consulting on releasing Google…
In recent years, a significant aspect of the Law Commission’s work has focused on emerging technologies, including smart legal contracts, electronic trade documents, decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) and digital assets such as crypto tokens. These developments often rely on distributed ledger technology (DLT). It is now consulting on proposals for law reform. It focuses primarily…
The CJEU has recently ruled in the case HUK-COBURG Haftpflicht-Unterstützungs-Kasse Case C-697/23 that the rules on comparative advertising in the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive (2006/114/EC) do not encompass an online comparison service that does not sell the goods or services it compares and, therefore, does not compete with them. The Directive sets out the…
The IAB has a mechanism called the TCF (Transparency and Consent Framework) to manage cookie and other tracking consents. Users’ preferences are encoded and stored in a string composed of a combination of letters and characters referred to as the Transparency and Consent String (TC String), which is shared with personal data brokers and advertising…
Read More… from Belgian Market Court confirms limited role of IAB Europe in the TCF
Lee Gluyas, Charlotte Sanderson and Stephanie Woods, from CMS, summarise the current thinking round tech disputes aired at the recent SCL Technology Disputes Masterclass How are technology disputes currently being resolved? Are traditional methods of dispute resolution suitable for resolving technology disputes? To what extent should new forms of dispute resolution be adopted to resolve…
Read More… from The Resolution of Technology Disputes: Present trends and future predictions