2018 was a landmark year for data protection and privacy; the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") came into effect on 25 May 2018 and implemented a comprehensive reform of the EU data protection regime. So what could 2019 possibly have in store for… Read more

The UK Government has published a "no deal" note to clarify how data protection law will work in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The note confirms that separate draft regulations and more detailed guidance… Read more

In May 2015, as part of its Digital Single Market Strategy, the European Commission published proposals to reform the EU telecommunications regulatory framework. Following a series of consultations in 2015, the Commission published further proposals to reform the EU legislation… Read more

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

On 23 November 2018, the European Data Protection Board (the "EDPB") published its draft guidelines on Article 3 of the GDPR, being the provision that sets out the territorial scope of Europe's data protection legislation. The guidelines are only in… Read more

The EU Commission has published a news release on the EU Blockchain's Industry Roundtable held on 20 November 2018. The roundtable was an important step towards creating a European community to support the deployment of blockchain in the European Union.… Read more

On 6 November 2018, the Council of the European Union formally adopted a new directive revising the existing Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2010/13/EU) ("AVMSD"). This is the final stage in the lengthy legislative process and the new directive will enter… Read more

On 19 March 2018, the European Commission published a notice to stakeholders on the consequences of Brexit for audiovisual media services. This makes it clear that, subject to any transitional arrangement, as of the withdrawal date, the EU rules in… 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

The post below was first published on our Employment blog Last week the UK Government released its negotiating position paper on international transfers of personal data within the EEA (The Exchange and Protection of Personal Data). Once the UK leaves… 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 12 July 2016 the European Commission adopted an "adequacy decision" allowing for the transatlantic transfer of personal data from the EU to the US in accordance with the framework and principles of the EU-US Privacy Shield (the "Privacy Shield").… 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

15 June 2017 marked the end of retail roaming charges across the EEA. The European Commission's 2015 regulation on roaming and net neutrality (the "Roaming Regulation") set out a new retail pricing regime for regulating roaming services with the objective… 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

Last month the Council of the European Union published its progress report on the first draft of the ePrivacy Regulation (the "Draft Regulation"). The Draft Regulation was issued by the EC in January of this year and focuses on the… Read more

On 15 May 2017, the Council of the European Union published its progress report (the "Report") on the first draft of the ePrivacy Regulation (the "Draft Regulation"). The Draft Regulation focuses on the processing of personal data and protection of… Read more

On 12 July 2016, the European Commission adopted an “adequacy decision” allowing for the transatlantic transfer of personal data from the EU to the US in accordance with the framework and principles of the EU-US Privacy Shield (the "Privacy Shield").… Read more

On 1 February 2017, the European Commission announced that the Commission, European Parliament and the Council of the EU have reached an informal agreement on proposed rules setting out maximum wholesale roaming charges on telecommunications operators - to protect those… Read more

The CJEU has issued its ruling on the latest question referred to it in the long-running dispute between ITV (and others) and TVCatchup, as to whether Article 9 of the InfoSoc Directive permits the UK to retain the defence contained… Read more

Agreement was reached by the European Parliament, the Member States and the European Commission on Tuesday 7 February 2017 in respect of a new regulation to enable cross-border content portability. From 2018, EU citizens will be able to make full… Read more

In an arguably predictable data development, the Irish privacy advocacy group, Digital Rights Ireland, has issued proceedings to challenge the EU-US Privacy Shield regime in the European Courts. ... Read more

The UK Digital Minister Matt Hancock has confirmed in a written statement that the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR") will come into force in the UK in May 2018 despite the UK's move towards Brexit. ... Read more

The Financial Times recently referred to Big Data as "a vague term for a massive phenomenon that has rapidly become an obsession with entrepreneurs, scientists, governments and the media". And it does seem to appear from the headlines that there… Read more

On 23 October 2016, the Department for Culture Media and Sport ("DCMS") confirmed plans to introduce personal liability for directors in relation to "nuisance calls". ... Read more

The CJEU has ruled that the operator of a website may have a legitimate interest in storing certain personal data relating to visitors to that website in order to protect itself against cyber attacks. ... Read more

In September 2016, in a further key decision on hyperlinking and copyright, the CJEU held that creating hyperlinks may be a communication to the public and so may amount to copyright infringement, if the creator of the hyperlinks knows or… Read more

The EU General Data Protection Regulation has finally been approved and published in the Official Journal. The countdown to its application date of 25 May 2018 has therefore begun. The European Commission published its first draft of the EU General… Read more