Connected – September 2024
Written By
Partner
France
I am a tech-friendly lawyer based in Paris, specialising in data protection, communications and satellites, with a commitment to providing business-oriented, sustainable advice.
This issue has been edited by Willy Mikalef with contributions from the Regulatory & Public Affairs team.
In this month’s edition, we delve into a broad array of pivotal topics shaping the tech regulatory landscape. We begin by outlining the tech law priorities of the new EU Commission. Our focus then shifts to key Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who are poised to influence the future of EU regulations.
We explore the burgeoning field of Satellite Direct-to-Device technology and examine the latest developments in the Digital Services Act. The newsletter also highlights Australia's initiative to establish an SMS Sender ID Registry aimed at combating fraudulent messages, and discusses the UK's efforts to enhance web content accessibility.
Further, we scrutinise a recent court ruling deeming Germany's 5G auction decision unlawful, and provide insights into Ireland's new Online Safety Code aimed at safeguarding digital spaces. Finally, we cast our gaze towards the horizon with an analysis of the future of EU space policy.
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EU tech law files for the new Commission’s mandate: what’s hot?
The new European Commission, chaired by re-elected president Ursula von der Leyen, will have a big pile of tech law files on its desk. In the so-called briefing book, dating from January 2024, the Commission’s services are proposing that ‘the Commission should focus on ensuring the achievement of Digital Decade’s objectives and targets and a full implementation of these new regulatory tools and assessing the impact of their enforcement. With the objective of reducing regulatory burden and uncertainty, the Commission should commit itself for the mid-term to carry out an analysis of the digital rulebook, in alignment with the legal obligations for review in the different legislative instruments and without jeopardising the existing European Digital Rulebook. That being said, the Commission’s services seem to steer towards a full review of the existing regulatory framework for digital services.
For more information, please contact Feyo Sickinghe.
Developments in Direct-to-Device regulation
UK call for input on improving mobile connectivity from the sky and space, with also European organisations such as the CEPT, BEREC and the RSPG conducting working groups on Direct-to-device services.
For more information, please contact Willy Mikalef, Hayley Blyth.
UK accessibility requirements for websites and mobile applications
With the upcoming EU Accessibility Act, attention has also been drawn to the UK’s approach to accessibility and whether it will be updated in line with the EU requirements. Whilst the UK is not currently planning a new law on accessibility along the lines of the EU Accessibility Act, accessibility is becoming increasingly important and there have been important changes in the UK position for public bodies with the release of the new version of the web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG).
For more information, please contact Matthew Buckwell, Henna Malik.
Finalised Online Safety Code to be adopted and applied in Ireland from Autumn 2024
Ireland recently introduced a statutory online safety regime for the first time with a landmark piece of legislation, the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022, which amends the Broadcasting Act 2009 (the “OSMRA”).
For more information, please contact Shauna Joyce, Anna Morgan.
