Europe

Spain riders' law, presuming riders to be employees, enters into force next August

(Postal)

Royal decree-law 9/2021 was published on 12 May 2021, applying from 12 August 2021. The law (known as the "riders' law") amends Spain's labour legislation "to guarantee the labour rights of people working in delivery services in the context of digital platforms".

State aid – Amazon and Luxembourg win appeal in tax benefit case

(Competition Law)

The EU General Court annulled in first instance the European Commission's 2017 decision that required Luxembourg to recover €250m received by Amazon in state aid between 2006 and 2014. The court held, similarly to the Ireland/Apple case, that the Commission did not demonstrate to the requisite legal standard that Amazon received a tax advantage.

Facebook ordered not to combine WhatsApp user data across its companies in Germany

(Digital Economy)

The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (HmbBfDI) issued on 11 May 2021 an order preventing Facebook Ireland from processing personal data from WhatsApp users in Germany "for its own purposes".

Member States generally support the DSA proposal but have some common concerns

(Media)

Cullen International has published a new benchmark detailing the positions of certain governments on the European Commission's proposed Digital Services Act.

Find this and other benchmarks in our latest Europe Media Cross-Country Analysis.

European Parliament rapporteur presents draft report on proposal for a revised directive on security of network and information systems

(Digital Economy)

The rapporteur of the European Parliament lead Industry, Research and Energy committee, Bart Groothuis (RENEW, Netherlands), presented on 3 May 2021 his draft report on the proposal for a revised directive on the security of network and information systems. The deadline for tabling amendments to the proposed directive is 2 June 2021.

EU Telecoms Regulatory Report – May 2021

(Telecoms)

BEREC supports the proposed review of the EU Roaming Regulation but suggested including measures to support virtual mobile network operators (MVNOs). The single EU-level wholesale voice termination caps will apply from 1 July 2021.

NRAs provide price and service comparison facilities in some EU countries

(Consumer Protection)

End users should have access to at least one independent tool comparing the prices and quality of internet and telephony services, according to the European Electronic Communications Code. In Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland and Portugal, such a tool is provided by the NRA.

Find this and other stories in the May 2021 update of our Consumer Protection Cross-Country Analysis, covering 11 European countries (now also including Portugal).

Americas

Canadian regulator mandates MVNO wholesale access, seamless roaming and promotes low-cost retail mobile plans

(Telecoms)

The CRTC´s decision obliges Bell Mobility, Rogers, TELUS, and Sasktel to provide temporary wholesale access to mobile virtual network operators for up to seven years, mandates the offer of seamless national roaming (including on 5G networks) by April 2022, and requests mobile operators to offer low-cost retail mobile plans and occasional-use plans by July 2021.

Canada: Rogers and Shaw to be merged

(Telecoms)

Rogers and Shaw announced their CAD 26bn transaction to merge. Both are family-founded Canadian companies that provide fixed and mobile telephony, internet and pay TV services. The merger would create the second-biggest telecoms operator in Canada.

CRC proposes amendments to the access and interconnection regime

(Telecoms)

The Colombian regulator is consulting on a proposal to modify the telecoms access and interconnection regulation to simplify regulation, improve CRC's intervention, promote self-regulation, increase the frequency of regulatory review of relevant markets, and incentivise investment on infrastructure.

Governments in the Americas streamline the deployment of mobile and fibre infrastructure

(Telecoms)

The increasing importance of digital connectivity leads governments to prioritise connectivity in their policy and infrastructure plans. Government policy, at national, regional, and especially local level, can have a significant impact on telecoms infrastructure deployment, in particular through the regulation of urban planning issues. Cullen International's latest research in the Americas shows that all countries in the Americas seek to streamline the deployment of mobile infrastructure to ensure service provision for the entire population.

Americas Media Profiles

(Media)

The updated profiles provide market data, an overview of the institutional frameworks, merger control rules, and the sector policy outlook for the audiovisual sector in the Americas

Other reports Europe

• State of play of transatlantic negotiations between the EU and US on a new Privacy Shield (Digital Economy)
• EU General Data Protection Regulation: guidelines on targeting of social media users (Digital Economy)