On 8 January, the national communications regulator Ofcom published its first combined review of the residential and business connectivity markets; the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (FTMR). Previously, the Business Connectivity Market Review was published separately from the residential Wholesale Local Access Market Review. The FTMR now covers a longer, 5 year period. Read more
The UK Jurisdictional Taskforce (UKJT) published a Legal Statement on 18 November 2019 concluding that there is no bar under English law for cryptoassets to have the legal status of property and for smart contracts to be legally binding. The UKJT is one of 6 taskforces under the Law Tech Delivery Panel (LTDP), a government–backed … Read more
Earlier this week, the UK’s House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published its report titled “Public Service Broadcasting: As Vital As Ever“, following its consultation on the impact of Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) services on the UK’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) such as the BBC, Channel 3, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Amongst other aspects, … Read more
Shortly after the release of the communiqué from the most recent ministerial meetings of the ‘Five Countries’ security alliance — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US — at the end of July, we warned that the issue of the use of, and access to, encrypted services and technologies ‘remains front of mind for … Read more
As the 31 October 2019 deadline for the UK to leave the EU draws ever closer, uncertainty continues to remain as to whether any such departure will be accompanied by a “deal” (i.e. a version of the Withdrawal Agreement setting out arrangements for the UK’s withdrawal) or “no-deal”. Or indeed whether the October exit date … Read more
Last week, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport issued a Call for Views on the certification scheme currently anticipated by Regulation (EU) 2019/881 (the Cybersecurity Act) after Brexit. The closing date for responses has been extended to 15 October 2019. In the issued document, the UK Government proposes to maintain “a close relationship with the EU … Read more
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has, for the first time, issued legislation dedicated to protecting child privacy online. The Regulation on Protection of Children’s Personal Information Online is due to take effect on 1 October 2019. Read more
In this update, we provide you with a brief summary of two recent developments in relation to sanctions imposed under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). Firstly, the Berlin Data Protection Authority (“Berlin DPA”) recently announced its willingness to impose multimillion-euro fines for breaches of the GDPR. This shows that also in Germany significant fines … Read more
The UK Gambling Commission (“UKGC“) has clarified that video game ‘loot boxes’ and the purchasing of mystery in-game content do not fall within the meaning of ‘gambling’ under current UK legislation. Read more
