On 3 November 2022 the CMA published guidance for social media platforms, brands and content creators setting out how they should approach online advertising in order to ensure they comply with the relevant UK consumer protection legislation. Read more

In the first episode of our new investigations podcast series, join Robert Hunt, Elizabeth Head and Eamon McCarthy-Keen who offer an insight into what this series will cover, the key steps in an investigation, initial considerations, the typical challenges associated with investigation scoping and immediate priorities once an investigation is underway. Read more

On 17 November 2022, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published a collection of questions and answers on Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 (SFDR Delegated Regulation) (ESAs Q&A). The SFDR Delegated Regulation, often also called "SFDR RTS", applies from 1 January 2023. Over 34 pages, the ESAs Q&A compiles 70 questions asked by market participants and industry associations, partitioned in six chapters. Read more

Both the Hong Kong and Singapore regulators have announced further developments and guidance in relation to the regulation of virtual asset (VA)-related products and services. Hong Kong is proposing to recalibrate its existing legal and regulatory regimes to enable greater access to VA by retail investors, while Singapore has launched consultations on stablecoin-related activities and digital payment token services. Read more

The UK introduced further sanctions against Russia on 4 November 2022, via the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 16) Regulations 2022 (the "No. 16 Regulations"). These introduce further amendments to the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the "Russia Regulations"). The amendments introduced by the No. 16 Regulations will come into force on 5 December 2022 (although, as set out below, certain specific measures will not take effect until February 2023) and introduce further measures relating to Russian oil, as discussed further in this briefing. Read more

Hong Kong’s Fintech Week 2022 began with a crypto-infused bang with keynote speeches from the Government and financial regulators embracing the financial innovation made possible by virtual assets (VAs). Recognising that VAs are here to stay, Hong Kong has proposed to recalibrate the existing legal and regulatory regimes, with a focus on enabling greater access by retail investors to VA-related products and services while mitigating attendant risk. We also anticipate developments in the near future around the property rights of tokenised assets and stablecoins. Read more

New UK Russia sanctions legislation was published on 28 October: the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 15) Regulations 2022 (the "No. 15 Regulations"). These amend the UK's principal Russia sanctions legislation: the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the "Russia Regulations"). This briefing summarises the key amendments to the Russia Regulations, the majority of which came into force on 29 October. Read more

The FCA published today their long-awaited consultation paper on sustainability disclosure requirements and investment labels (the "Consultation"). This follows the discussion paper published in November 2021. The Consultation builds on the core elements of the regime outlined in the discussion paper: sustainable investment labels, consumer-facing disclosures, detailed product-level disclosures and entity-level disclosures. In addition, the Consultation also proposes naming and marketing rules with broader applicability, a general anti-greenwashing rule and other specific obligations on distributors. In this post, we summarise our key takeaways from the Consultation, together with a high-level overview of the FCA's proposals. Read more