Today marks a milestone in EU platform regulation. The European Commission adopted the first “designation” decisions under the Digital Markets Act (or DMA). Those decisions designate as “gatekeepers” certain tech companies which offer core platform services that meet specific quantitative criteria (e.g., they reach 45 million end users). The tech companies that have been designated as gatekeepers … Continue reading European Commission adopts first DMA designation decisions →

Generative AI (or “GenAI”) is undoubtedly becoming the buzz term of the year. However, amid the excitement about new tools that have emerged, the Italian data protection authority announced in March that it was temporarily blocking ChatGPT. In May, the US Senate held a hearing on the oversight of AI where the need for regulation … Continue reading Generative AI and the media sector: Preliminary thoughts on a legal and policy agenda →

Photo by Marianna on Pexels.com The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport recently published the draft Media Bill. This is an initiative that media organisations operating in the UK (and beyond) have been eagerly anticipating, for it will determine media policy in a post-Brexit Britain. The Media Bill may also serve as a blueprint … Continue reading The draft Media Bill: The UK’s take on prominence and findability regulation in the digital era →

Photo by Dominika Greguu0161ovu00e1 on Pexels.com On 16 November, Ofcom published a discussion document on media plurality and online news. The discussion document sets out Ofcom’s understanding of the role that online platforms, such as social media, search engines and news aggregators, play in the UK news ecosystem.  Ofcom’s discussion document focuses on hot (yet understudied) topics. Even though … Continue reading Ofcom’s discussion document on media plurality and online news: Lessons for future regulatory interventions in the UK and beyond →

On 16 September, the European Commission (“Commission”) published its much-anticipated proposal for a Media Freedom Act (“MFA”). The proposed MFA is an ambitious initiative. It includes rules that would apply to all actors of the media ecosystem (Member States, broadcasters, press publishers, on-demand players, online platforms). It also seeks to address several complex issues which have been facing … Continue reading Unravelling the Media Freedom Act proposal: Ambitious yet underwhelming? →

The Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) and the Digital Services Act (“DSA”) will soon start to apply. Broadly speaking, both instruments have the same objective, which is to address concerns arising from the increasing reliance on online platforms. However, despite being presented as parts of the same “package”, the DSA and the DMA do not have many similarities because they … Continue reading Designating large platforms under the DMA and the DSA: Comparing apples and oranges?  →

A milestone was reached yesterday for the regulation of digital platforms: the Council of the European Union gave its final approval to the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”), following the European Parliament’s adoption of the legislative text in plenary on 5 July. The DMA, which will ensure the fairness and contestability of digital markets by setting out a list of … Continue reading Regulating big tech raises big implementation questions →

Digital regulation “aficionados” have been busy with the political agreement the EU institutions reached on the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) and the Digital Services Act (“DSA”). Nevertheless, there is another initiative in the pipeline that may not have received much attention to date, namely the European Media Freedom Act (“EMFA”). This initiative raises a number of questions: Could the EMFA undermine … Continue reading The European Media Freedom Act: A bold move raising bold questions →