When, where and why should the law intervene in the distribution of a product? This perennial and highly practical question is open for consultation as of 10 February 2021 (see more here). During its EU membership, the UK was required to apply the EU’s Vertical Agreements Block Exemption, which applied a relatively strict approach to…
On 21 January 2021, the CMA published its Issues Statement in the phase 2 review of a proposed joint venture between Liberty Global plc and Telefónica S.A. which would see their UK mobile businesses Virgin Media/Virgin Mobile and O2 merged. The CMA has jurisdiction to review the proposed joint venture following the European Commission’s decision…
Having launched a claim against Apple in the US in August 2020, Epic Games, creator of gaming hit Fortnite, has now launched competition claims against both Google and Apple in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”). Both claims are claims for damages for breach of competition law, brought under section 47A of the Competition Act…
The European Commission has today published its proposal for a Digital Services Act, aimed at regulating gatekeeper tech platforms. If implemented, the law will impose a range of obligations on “gatekeepers”. For example, the proposal includes the imposition of rules requiring online platforms to ensure that hate speech and other illegal content does not appear…
On 9 December 2020, two antitrust suits were filed in the US by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and 48 state attorneys general against Facebook. It is understood that the attorneys general case is being led by the New York attorney general. The cases allege that Facebook conducted a series of anticompetitive acquisitions, and engaged…
On 1 July 2020, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) published its Final Report in its Online Platforms and Digital Advertising market study. The Final Report can be found on the case page. In the Final Report, the CMA made a series of recommendations to Government, including that it set up a specific regulatory…
A new piece of legislation has been put forward in Parliament that sets out new legal duties on telecoms firms with the goal of increasing the security of the entire UK network. The Telecommunications (Security) Bill will give new powers to the government to remove high-risk vendors and increases Ofcom’s responsibilities in monitoring telecoms operator’s…
Ofcom has issued a further short Consultation on plans for copper retirement. This is part of the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review, which will define the regulation of this market for the period 2021-2026. The latest Ofcom Consultation follows Ofcom’s earlier consultation in June, proposing the removal of charge controls from Openreach’s copper products. Back…
In the eve of the transition period for Brexit, the European Commission has released new draft Standard Contractual Clauses on 12 November. There are two sets of documents (the “New SCCs”) which are now open for public consultation until 10 December 2020, and are also subject to feedback from the European Data Protection authorities. It…
On 11 November 2020, the UK government published a draft National Security and Investment Bill (the “Bill”). The Bill includes long-expected changes to the regime for reviewing foreign direct investment into the UK, and follows earlier reforms to the UK merger regime aimed at protecting Critical National Infrastructure. If passed by Parliament, the Bill will…
