The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA“) has published advice for the UK Government on changes that could be made to consumer and competition law to facilitate the UK achieving a “Net Zero” economy by 2050. Whilst the regulator does not consider that current law represents a barrier to such sustainability goal, the CMA nonetheless recommends … Continue Reading
Following the Competition and Markets Authority’s (“CMA“) publication of the Green Claims Code (as discussed in our earlier blog), the UK regulator is now moving forward with its greenwashing investigation, currently focusing on the fashion industry, with additional industries expected to be reviewed in future.… Continue Reading
Ensuring lower international roaming charges continues to be a key policy priority for the EU, even at a time when non-essential travel is discouraged. The European Commission has in fact proposed that a new regulation will prolong the current EU roaming rules that are due to expire in 2022 (including, among other instruments, the Roaming … Continue Reading
The European Commission published the preliminary results of its IoT sector inquiry and tech giants come under pressure for the alleged “gatekeeper” role that their voice assistant apps (such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant) play in smart homes and with other connected consumer devices. The EU sector inquiry has so far collected over 200 … Continue Reading
The 2020 pandemic and related restrictions on retail businesses led consumers redirecting their purchasing and spending to online sales. For example, in the EU and UK, online sales reportedly grew by 30-40% after lockdown restrictions were introduced in March last year. This trend has shone a light on certain online sale practices that raise concerns … Continue Reading
On 2 November 2020, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it will be investigating descriptions and labels used to promote products and services claiming to be ‘eco-friendly’ and whether they could mislead consumers. The concern for the CMA is that an increase in demand for sustainability could lead to businesses making misleading, … Continue Reading
The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has recently launched investigations against global leading providers of cloud computing services. AGCM is concerned that the service providers’ terms & conditions violate Italian consumers’ protection rules. In particular, AGCM alleges that the investigated providers are engaging in unfair business practices consisting of: improper collection of user data for commercial … Continue Reading
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across the world, forcing people into their homes, electronic communications have and will continue to play a vital role in supporting families, businesses and individuals. Accordingly, electronic communications regulators across the globe are adapting their approach to regulation. Compliance with regulatory obligations continues to be important. However, regulators recognise that … Continue Reading
When Ursula von der Leyen announced the composition of her proposed European Commission, the announcement contained an interesting innovation. For several decades, the Competition Commissioner has had a slightly distinct position from the other members of the College. The Competition Commissioner has been responsible both for the policy framework governing competition, and for approvals of … Continue Reading
On 13 June 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) published its ruling on the classification of Gmail in the EU following a request for a preliminary ruling from the German Courts. Gmail is a web-based email service, and is a type of “Over-The-Top” (“OTT”) service. The CJEU determined that Gmail is … Continue Reading
On 5 June 2019, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) published its ruling on the classification of SkypeOut in the EU following a request for a preliminary ruling from the Belgian Courts. Skype is a Voice over IP service (VoIP) and the ‘SkypeOut’ component is an interconnected VoIP service that allows the service … Continue Reading
Commercial use of drones is on the rise, with companies like Amazon (which recently filed a patent for a “flying warehouse”) positioning themselves at the forefront of the field. The challenge is to capitalise on drones’ commercial and technological potential, whilst navigating a complex and developing area of law. UK regulation is comparatively flexible, although … Continue Reading
