UK body says English law can handle new wave of computer-driven contracts but thorny questions remain The answer at least is clear, if not yet all the implications. The Law Commission has confirmed that English law can accommodate smart legal contracts without the need for statutory reform. Its recommendation on 25 November follows the 2019 … Read more

UK– COMPETITION On 29 November 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) published the independent report “Compendium of approaches to improving competition in digital markets” (the “Report“). The Report summarises how different G7 authorities are tackling competition issues in digital markets (e.g. conducting investigations, upskilling personnel, engaging in regulatory cooperation and introducing legislative reforms, such … Read more

UK – DATA Following the DCMS’s publication of its consultation on proposed reforms to the UK’s data protection regime as part of the UK Government’s National Data Strategy, the consultation has now closed. The UK Government will now consider the responses gained from the consultation questions and publish a full consultation response in due course. … Read more

UK – GAMING, GAMBLING AND ESPORTS  On 2 November 2021, the Gambling Commission published its interim report on the ban on the use of credit cards in UK consumer gambling. This interim report reviews the effectiveness of the ban during the ‘monitoring phase’ since the ban was introduced in April 2020, and assesses whether it … Read more

UK – Advertising (Gambling) Following the launch of an October 2020 consultation by the Committee of Advertising Practice (“CAP”) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (“BCAP”), changes to the CAP and BCAP responsibility and problem gambling guidance came into force on 1 November 2021. These latest amendments introduce further restrictions to protect consumers and … Read more

UK – GAMING, GAMBLING AND ESPORTS Following a public consultation, the UK Gambling Commission has announced a package of changes which is intended to make online games safer by design, focussing on online slots games. Online operators will need to implement the enhanced protections by 31 October 2021. Read more

UK (AND OTHERS) – DATA Following the publication of the joint statement on privacy expectations for video teleconferencing (“VTC”) companies in July 2020, the ICO and six other global data protection authorities worked with the five largest VTC companies to produce best practice guidance designed to mitigate the risks faced by VTC companies and users … Read more

On 22 September 2021, the UK Government and the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA“) published their response (the “Response“) to the Digital, Cultural, Media and Sports Committee (“DCMS Committee“) report (the “Report“) on the economics of music streaming. The Report was published in July 2021 (see our previous blog post here) and set out a … Read more