Germany is about to implement an ambitious new “digital antitrust law” (“GWB-Digitalisierungsgesetz”) to effectively regulate online markets. The draft Ministerial bill on the 10th amendment of the German Act Against Restraints of Competition (“GWB”), published at the beginning of October, aims at continuing Germany’s role as a pioneer in antitrust regulation of digital markets. Regulation
Category Archives: Media & Telecoms
Subscribe to Media & Telecoms RSS FeedFCC Announces Participants in Auction 103
In a Public Notice released October 7, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the status of the 39 short-form applications for Auction 103, which is scheduled to begin on December 10, 2019. Auction 103 will offer 14,144 licenses covering some 3,400 megahertz of spectrum in the Upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz
California Enacts Another CCPA – Robocall Legislation
On October 2, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Consumer Call Protection Act of 2019 to address the rise in deceptive robocalls and protect California consumers from fraudulent calls. The law requires telecommunications service providers to implement Secure Telephony Identity Revisited (STIR) and Secure Handling of Asserted information using toKENs (SHAKEN) protocols by January 1, 2021. These protocols are designed to attest to the authenticity of caller identification data and provide service providers with information to help ensure that calls are not spoofed.
Practical Pointers: Social Media Guidelines for Public Officials (and the People who Advise Them)
Social media has transformed the ways legislators and their staff interact with constituents. Through social media platforms, our elected officials share insights into the legislative process, communicate with constituents, and even provide life-saving updates during times of crisis. Politicians can also use social media to grow their following and influence public discourse—as when a Texas
Study shows complexity and uncertainty of IoT regulation in Europe
A Hogan Lovells study comparing of regulatory requirements in the European Union, United States, and China shows the complexity and uncertainty of the regulatory framework relevant to Internet of Things (IoT) in Europe. The number of telecoms regulatory constraints affecting IoT in the EU is almost twice as high as in the United States and
FTC takes on deceptive stem cell therapy claims for blindness cure and autism treatment
On October 18, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it settled charges against California-based Regenerative Medical Group, Telehealth Medical Group, and the founder of both companies, Dr. Bryn Jarald Henderson, based on deceptive stem cell therapy claims. In its complaint, the FTC alleged Henderson and the companies made unsupported claims, including that “amniotic stem cell
CMS proposes requiring drug prices in TV ads
On October 15, CMS released a proposed rule titled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Drug Pricing Transparency,” which would require direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements for prescription drugs covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include the Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC). This proposed rule resembles a rejected Senate amendment to the FY-2019 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill (analyzed here) that would
U.S. Senate passes bill requiring prescription drug ads to include prices (updated)
Update (9/18/2018): Last week, as the U.S. House of Representatives was reconciling its spending bill for the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) with the amendment package passed by the U.S. Senate that is discussed below, House Republicans declined to adopt S.Amdt. 3964, which would have provided HHS with $1 million to issue rules requiring pharmaceutical companies to list prices
OECD publishes issues paper on blockchain and competition law
Competition law questions are increasingly raised in the public debate about the blockchain technology. While there is yet to be any investigation in this field, the policy debate about applying competition law instruments to this disruptive, decentralised technology is heating up. The latest and probably most comprehensive approach to structuring the discussion comes from the
Much-Needed TCPA Reform Would Support Small Businesses and Spur Economic Benefits
Growing evidence suggests that existing Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) compliance challenges, and the current TCPA litigation landscape, are increasingly a threat to many U.S. companies – particularly small businesses that have fewer resources and could face financial ruin if targeted by a class action lawsuit. To help address this issue and support the U.S.
Big Data and digital markets remain in the focus of competition authorities – German FCO continues to lead the way
On 6 October, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) launched its new series of papers on “Competition and Consumer Protection in the Digital Economy”. The first paper deals with “Big Data and Competition”. The same day, a “real-life example” of competition enforcement in Big Data became public. The EU Commission confirmed unannounced inspections in “a few