As part of its Digital Single Market Strategy and following extensive consultation in 2015, in May 2016 the European Commission adopted new legislative amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive ("AVMSD"). The proposals seek to modernise the Directive to reflect… Read more

The EU geo-blocking Regulation (Regulation 2018/302 of 28 February 2018) (the Regulation) comes into force on 3 December 2018. The Regulation aims to remove barriers to cross-border trade and enable consumers to purchase goods and services from businesses located in… Read more

If the level of capital flowing into the financial technology sector is any indication, the growth in number and size of financial technology start-ups cannot be denied. According to a report by KPMG, global investment in fintech companies reached US… Read more

Transformation in the global telecoms ecosystem is gathering momentum. It is driven by evolving technologies, growing customer appetite for hyperconnectivity and a new breed of competitor. In their quest for a place within this fast moving landscape, traditional telecoms companies… Read more

Growing social and political pressures combined with disruptive technologies and scientific innovation are changing the way pharma companies do business. In their mission to address unmet medical need and deliver differentiated products, pharma companies and other players in the sector… Read more

Advances in technology and changing business models are transforming the global economy across all industry sectors. The measures announced by the Chancellor in Monday's Budget Speech showcase how the UK Government is seeking to embrace innovation and new and emerging… Read more

The Court of Appeal has today dismissed an appeal against the High Court's decision that Morrisons was vicariously liable for its employee’s misuse of data, despite: (i) Morrisons having done as much as it reasonably could to prevent the misuse;… Read more

The Australian National Blockchain will help create a new technology platform to securely and transparently manage legal agreements. Herbert Smith Freehills, CSIRO’s Data61, and IBM have formed a consortium to build Australia’s first cross-industry, large-scale, digital platform to enable Australian… Read more

In light of the booming market of the Internet of Things (“IoT”) and of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has published an article focusing on the key factors manufacturers and retailers of IoT devices… Read more

Many people believe that we are currently witnessing a fourth industrial or technological revolution, with the advent and increasing use of a wave of disruptive technology. Over the past fi ve years, the market has seen the arrival of a… Read more

It has been a decade since the invention of blockchain, the technology with the potential to disrupt industries and sectors far and wide. Yet it remains an area of confusion for many, with its application in the cryptocurrency sphere gaining… Read more

As the UK Parliament's Treasury Committee launched an investigation in March 2018 into the benefits and risks of cryptocurrencies and the potential impact of Distributed Ledger Technology ("DLT"), and the European Commission launched an EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum in… Read more

The GDPR introduces a new mandatory requirement for all controllers to notify the appropriate data protection authority of a “personal data breach” likely to result in a risk to people’s rights and freedoms, for example following a cyber-attack. This will… Read more

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) ruling in Barbulescu v Romania (61496/08) is a timely reminder of the limits of employers’ ability to monitor their employees’ private activity on work IT systems. The case concerned… Read more

In July 2017, the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper on the impact of Brexit on the recent abolition of mobile roaming charges (the "Briefing Paper"). The European Commission's 2015 regulation on roaming and net neutrality (the so-called… Read more

Ofcom has recently published its annual report monitoring internet service providers' ("ISP") compliance with the EU Net Neutrality Regulation (the "Regulation"). The Regulation came into effect on 30 April 2016 and imposes a range of obligations on ISPs including the… Read more

On 18 July 2017 the House of Lords European Union Committee (the "Committee") published a report covering the impact of Brexit on four aspects of the EU Data Protection Package: the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR") which will become… Read more

The first commencement instrument under the Digital Economy Act 2017 (the "Act") has now been published. The Act anticipates staggered commencement dates with many of the provisions being commenced and the detail provided by secondary legislation. The recent Digital Economy… Read more

The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (the "Act") received Royal Assent on 29 November 2016. Dubbed the "Snoopers' Charter" it has been heavily criticised by various commentators, including the advocacy group Liberty. The main source of criticism has been around the… Read more

On 3 July 2017 the Information Commissioner's Office ("ICO") determined that the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust (the "Trust") had breached the Data Protection Act 1998 (the "Act") when it provided patient details to Google's DeepMind. The Trust provided personal… Read more

On 30 June 2017, the new regulation on cross-border content portability was published in the EU Official Journal. Under the Regulation EU citizens will be able to make full use of their paid online content services (across film, sport, television,… Read more

The new enforcement strategy follows new regulations that were introduced by the Gambling Commission last month and aimed at ensuring that online operators offer all consumers in the UK the same tools to monitor their gambling activities. The measures ensure… Read more

On 4 July 2017 the Independent Press Standards Organisation (the "IPSO") published guidance for editors and journalists seeking advice on how the Editors' Code of Practice applies to the use of material taken from social media to support or illustrate… Read more

In a recent statement Ofcom and the BBC announced how they intend to address BBC online complaints. In April 2017 Ofcom took over from the BBC Trust as the external independent regulator of the BBC for the first time in… Read more

In a recent statement published by Ofcom, the regulator outlined its new regulatory fees regime for on demand programme services ("ODPS"). ... Read more

On 21 June 2017 the Queen's Speech was delivered in the Houses of Parliament and announced a number of measures relevant to the TMT sector. ... Read more

On 20 June 2017 Ofcom submitted a public interest report to the Government on the proposed acquisition of Sky by 21st Century Fox ("Fox"). The Competition and Markets Authority also submitted a related report on jurisdiction on the same date.… Read more

On 20 June 2017 Ofcom submitted a public interest report to the Government on the proposed acquisition of Sky by 21st Century Fox ("Fox"). The Competition and Markets Authority also submitted a related report on jurisdiction on the same date.… Read more

The European Commission has released a new version of the European Union Public Licence ("EUPL"), a tool for publishing any copyright work under an open source licence. The EUPL is an open source licence created by the European Commission and… Read more

On 8 June 2017, the Council of the EU adopted its position on a proposed directive setting out new rules for business-to-consumer contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services. This follows the European Commission's proposal for the… Read more