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COVID-19: mobile apps and related privacy policies in the Americas
(Digital Economy)
Governments in the Americas have developed mobile apps to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Some countries in the region have developed contact tracing apps with different approaches and functionalities. The countries' related privacy policies also vary.
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(Postal)
Logistics operators and e-commerce platforms that provide services related to the postal value chain should be considered as falling within the scope of postal regulations. The European Regulators Group for Postal Services (ERGP) is consulting until 27 September 2020 on its report on postal definitions and on its draft 2021 work programme.
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(Postal)
From 1 July 2020, the universal service obligation in Norway was changed, permitting delivery and collection of postal items only every other day. Posten Norge, the universal service provider, introduced alternate day delivery as from 7 July. The changes were introduced by an amendment to the Postal Law, approved by the Norwegian parliament on 4 June 2019.
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(Postal)
AGCOM, the Italian regulator, found Amazon to have a dominant position in the national market for e-commerce deliveries because of its purchasing power and vertical integration. AGCOM will now carry out further investigations into the persistent nature of the dominant position identified and whether remedies are required.
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(Postal)
In the context of the review of the postal regulatory framework, the ERGP is consulting until 27 September on how to improve the rights of online shoppers in relation to delivery. The ERGP report analyses in particular whether to give NRAs new competences or to impose new legal obligations on postal operators so that consumers are adequately protected in relation to delivery. A fundamental question in this analysis is whether recipients of postal items should in future have the same level of rights as senders under postal regulations.
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(Digital Economy)
The new EU directive sets out a procedure to protect the collective interests of European consumers of digital services when they are harmed by the same infringement of EU rules by a trader. For example, this could be the case of a social network or online marketplace operating across Europe that imposes unfair terms on consumers. "Qualified entities" will be able to bring representative actions before member states' courts or administrative authorities on behalf of consumers. The directive will also apply to representative actions for injunction and redress measures exercised against a trader that operates solely in a single country and does not provide cross-border services (for example, a telecoms operator in some cases), and has harmed the collective interests of consumers in that country.
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(Competition Law, Digital Economy)
The authority suggests a new, regulatory framework that would simultaneously address both the sources of market power and its effects. The rules would be enforced by a dedicated regulator that can monitor and adjust its interventions in the light of evidence and changing market conditions.
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European Commission to review creation of joint streaming services in Belgium and Poland
(Competition Law)
International cable operator Liberty Global and Belgian media company DPG Media notified to the European Commission their proposed creation of a joint venture which would launch a video-on-demand (VOD) service that focuses on Belgium's Dutch-speaking consumers. Separately, global media company Discovery and Polish pay TV provider Cyfrowy Polsat notified a similar project for the Polish market. The Commission has until 12 August 2020 to decide whether to clear the transactions or open in-depth merger control investigations.
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(Digital Economy, Media)
The discussion provided a valuable overview of the different positions of the political groups in the European Parliament on the Digital Services Act which will be proposed at the end of 2020.
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(Media)
The French Senate recommended that large VOD platforms should adopt more "sober" streaming practices to lower their ecological footprint. In the UK, Ofcom has launched a consultation to prepare for binding accessibility requirements to be imposed on VOD platforms. This and other developments in Cullen International's WE Media Update.
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(Consumer Protection)
Netflix generates 23% of the traffic of the main French internet service providers. This number remains the same as last year but Netflix's market share is now further ahead of other content providers, according to the regulator's report on the state of the internet in France.
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(Telecoms)
The French regulator launches the "achieving digital sustainability" collaboration platform. In Germany, the civil society group netzpolitik.org publishes a leaked draft of the new Telecommunications Act. The UK government plans to review the rules for sharing telecoms and non-telecoms passive infrastructure.
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(Media)
Cullen International has just updated its media regulatory benchmarks. The benchmarks cover 14 European countries and include among other topics: quota and investment obligations; taxes to fund the cinema/audiovisual industry; regulation of VOD services and video-sharing platforms; advertising time limits; accessibility; promotion of media literacy; co-regulation and the protection of minors; prominence of services of general interest; and cross-border financial contributions in favour of EU works.
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(Digital Economy, Media, Telecoms)
The US competition agencies, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), issued new vertical merger guidelines (VMG) which replace the DOJ's non-horizontal merger guidelines of 1984. The guidelines outline the principal analytical techniques and enforcement policies that agencies will apply when identifying and challenging anticompetitive mergers, while avoiding unnecessary interference with mergers that either are competitively beneficial or likely will have no competitive impact on the marketplace.
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(Media)
Mexico has adopted several reforms to the Copyright Law in order to implement the provisions of the new North American trade agreement's chapter on intellectual property. The key copyright provisions of the reform concern technological protection measures such as digital rights management systems (TPM), safe harbour protections, and notice and take down procedures (used to shield online intermediaries from liability for content uploaded by their users and from criminal copyright infringements). The approved reforms prompted criticism for censorship and violation of freedom of speech.
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(Telecoms)
Enacom approved new management rules for the universal service fund (USF), including the possibility to invest up to 30% of their universal service fee directly into USF projects. In addition, the Enacom board approved several universal service programmes, extending the scope and funding for connectivity projects, and accelerating the delivery of funds during the COVID-19 emergency situation.
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(Spectrum)
The Colombian ICT Ministry regulated the conditions to exchange monetary payment of one-off spectrum fees for coverage obligations. These coverage commitments must expand connectivity to poor and vulnerable areas, remote areas, public schools in rural areas and other official institutions such as health centres and public libraries. Operators can also commit to deploy emergency networks.
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(Spectrum)
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Telecommunications approved a new spectrum policy for telecommunications and broadcasting services. The new policy sets the guidelines for spectrum management (valuation, assignment, licensing fees regime, monitoring and supervision), as well as incentives to promote the deployment of infrastructure and increase service coverage. The new rules will be used for the tender of the 700 MHz, 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz spectrum bands scheduled for the end of 2020.
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Other reports Europe
Other reports Americas
Competition Law Cases
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(Postal)
Horizontal regulations are becoming increasingly relevant and important to the postal sector. Cullen International tracks a number of these rules, including consumer protection rules (for example, affecting e-commerce ordering and delivery), and environmental regulations (which could increasingly affect decisions on delivery transportation). Our benchmark on environmental measures summarises specific targets and initiatives taken by postal operators to reduce their impact on the environment, including comparisons of total carbon emissions and carbon intensity levels.
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(Telecoms)
Cullen International has updated its benchmark showing wholesale-only operator initiatives and extended its coverage to all countries covered by our Telecoms Europe service. Our research reveals that many of the European countries studied have one or more wholesale-only operators.
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