On 27 April 2018, the European Commission published a proposal for a new European Regulation in relation to the .eu Top Level Domain (‘TLD’), to replace the current regulations that deal with .eu. In short, this is because the current regulations are seen as outdated and no longer able to deal appropriately with the fast paced rapidly changing world of domain names and internet governance. If the proposed new legislation is adopted, it may eventually cause a radical shake up in the .eu namespace, for example in relation to the Registry, the registrars, the alternative dispute resolution (‘ADR’) procedures and the eligibility of end users, as Jane Seager, Partner at Hogan Lovells, explains. / read more

Will Richmond-Coggan, Partner and Head of Data Privacy at Pitmans Law, in this article provides detailed analysis of the UK’s Data Protection Act 2018, which aims to implement the requirements of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation into UK law, the departures from the Regulation including those relating to Member State derogations and the interpretation of undefined terminology, and the lack of clarity concerning the impact of these departures from the Regulation post-Brexit. / read more

On 16 May 2018, the EU General Court ruled in Netflix International BV and Netflix, Inc. v. European Commission, Case T-818/16 that an appeal by Netflix against a Commission decision - finding the conditional extension of liability for a German levy to video on demand services established outside Germany, but receiving revenue from customers in Germany through an internet presence offering content in the German language, is compatible with the internal market - was inadmissible¹. Collette Rawnsley, Head of Competition at Wiggin LLP, assesses the details of the case. / read more

On 20 May 2018, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (‘DCMS’), published the UK Government’s response to its Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper (‘Response’). In the Response, DCMS outlines a series of proposals, including actions that social media platforms must take to help improve internet safety. It also outlines plans to introduce new laws to deal with online safety concerns. The Government had previously emphasised in its Green Paper a collaborative, self-regulatory approach, with a suggestion of legislation only if a voluntary approach didn’t work. However, the Government has now decided that more legislative powers are needed. Indeed, when discussing the Response, Culture Secretary Matt Hancock indicated that a lack of voluntary engagement from some social media platforms on this topic was a driver in the Government’s decision making. He mentioned that the fact that only a handful of the largest social media operators had accepted an invite to discuss the issue of internet safety was “a big impetus to drive this proposal to legislate.” Sue McLean and Nicole Fitzgerald of Baker & McKenzie LLP, discuss the contents of the Government’s Response and what the new legislative approach will mean for social media platforms. / read more

On 26 April 2018, the European Commission (‘EC’) published a proposal for a new Regulation to apply to online intermediary services, which includes e-commerce marketplaces, online software application stores and social media, as well as - to a certain degree - web based search engines¹. In this article, Peter Citron, Lars Kjølbye and Elisabetta Righini, of Latham & Watkins LLP, provide insight into the EC’s proposed Regulation, and the concerns it may raise for online platforms and search engines, for example. / read more

The European Commission published on 15 May 2018 its Communication ‘Completing a trusted Digital Single Market for the benefit of all,’ in which - in the context of the application of the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) in EU Member States from 25 May 2018 - the EC presents what it refers to as “concrete actions” in terms of the protection of EU citizens’ privacy and simultaneously towards the completion of the Digital Single Market (‘DSM’) initiative. The EC urges European leaders to follow what it terms “the European approach, which links investment in digital innovation with strong data protection rules.” / read more

Australian charity Digital Rights Watch (‘DRW’) published a report on 14 May 2018 titled ‘The State of Digital Rights’ (‘Report’), seeking to promote public debate on digital rights by analysing a selection of the key digital rights issues facing Australians and issuing recommendations for policymakers. The recommendations put forward in the Report relate to the metadata retention regime, consumer rights, privacy, intelligence sharing, encryption, computer network operations, copyright reform, content moderation, and protecting children online. / read more

The UK Government updated on 15 February 2018 its guidance for business on reselling tickets online, with the guidance relating to Part 3, Chapter 5 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The new requirements will increase the amount of information which must be provided when reselling tickets, as part of the Government’s attempts to address concerns around music and sports fans paying inflated prices due to secondary ticketing and the use of ‘bots’ that can purchase tickets en masse and then resell once concerts/events are sold out. Jonathan Smart of Shoosmiths details the changes and considers the impact they will have on the secondary ticketing market. / read more

On 12 March 2018, the European Commission (‘EC’) released the Report of its High Level Expert Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation. The Report calls on the European Commission to adopt “a multi-dimensional approach to disinformation” involving stakeholders from the relevant sectors as key actors for tackling disinformation in the increasingly digital environment. Winston Maxwell, Partner at Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP and author of ‘Smart(er) Internet Regulation Through Cost-Benefit Analysis¹,’ and Anne-Laure Morise, Knowledge Lawyer also at Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP, analyse the Group’s findings and recommendations. / read more

The European Commission (‘EC’) published on 11 April 2018 two proposed directives to form a ‘New Deal for Consumers’ in the area of consumer protection and enforcement. The package is comprised of a proposal on ‘better enforcement and modernisation of EU consumer protection rules,’ and another ‘on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers’ (hereafter the ‘New Deal’). / read more