Communications

Recent Articles

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  18/04/2024

  APAC region

  Top developments and predictions in the Technology, Media and Communications sector in Asia-Pacific

  We look back at the top developments over the last 12 months in the technology, media and communications (TMC) sector and we look to the future with our top predictions for the coming year for businesses operating across the Asia-Pacific region, specifically in mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore.Over the last year, mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore demonstrated their commitment to fostering a secure and innovative digital landscape by introducing a range of new regulations and measures. From cross-border personal information transfer and artificial intelligence service management to...

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  17/04/2024

  England and Wales

  AI-driven enforcement comes of age in UK with AI systems reshaping advertising and regulation and enforcement – ASA’s 2023 Annual Report

  The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has published its 2023 annual report, describing 2023 as a watershed year for its digital strategy.Together, the ASA and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) secured the amendment or withdrawal of 27,378 ads in 2023, a remarkable 92% of which resulting from proactive work largely powered by the ASA’s Active Ad Monitoring System. In December 2022, the ASA ran 20,000 ads through the system, which rose to over 600,000 ads per month by the end of 2023. This system forms a key part of the ASA’s 2024 to 2028 strategy on AI-assisted...

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  11/04/2024

  China

  China expands foreign investment in value-added tele­com­mu­nic­a­tions services through pilot programme

  On 8 April, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the Circular on Launching the Pilot Programme for Expanding the Opening-up of Value-Added Telecommunications Services.Prior to this announcement, China had long regulated foreign investment in the telecommunications sector with varying degrees of restrictions across different services. In the value-added telecommunications services (VATS) sector, certain areas such as e-commerce, domestic multi-party communications, store-and-forward services and call centres have seen a relaxation of foreign investment restrictions,...

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  10/04/2024

  United Kingdom

  Interplay of contractual and statutory break notices under the Electronic Communications Code

  Summary Actual service of a contractual break notice is not required for termination of agreements under the Electronic Communications Code.The CaseIn ON Tower UK Limited v British Telecommunications PLC [23 February 2024], BT operated a telephone exchange, on the roof of which ON Tower managed various mobile telephone installations. In 2021 BT granted ON Tower a lease of various properties including part of the roof of the exchange for a term ending in 2030, but with a contractual right for BT to end the lease early. ON Tower UK Limited is a Code operator meaning that it can potentially...

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  14/12/2023

  APAC Region

  APAC TMC Update - Winter 2023

  ASEANComparison of Consent and Other Legal Bases to Process Personal Data across the Asia-Pacific by the Future of Privacy ForumIn September 2023, the Personal Data Protection Commission (“PDPC”) in Singapore provided the findings of a comparative review created by the Future of Privacy Forum (“FPF”) and the Asian Business Law Institute. The review compares consent and other legal bases under data protection laws across 14 jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific.Key findings from the review included the following:Consent is the only shared legal basis for data processing across...

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  23/11/2023

  United Kingdom

  Paragraph 40(8) of the Code – the “last chance saloon” for telecoms operators?

  Background The case of On Tower UK Limited v Gravesham Borough Council involved a rooftop telecoms site on an eight-story residential building. The Respondent Council was the freeholder. The equipment had been in place since 1997 under a 1954 Act lease and had been assigned to the Claimant telecoms operator, On Tower.The Respondent needed to carry out roof repairs to fix persistent leaks, but the repairs necessitated removing the Claimant's apparatus. The parties discussed “lift and shift” of the apparatus, but negotiations stalled during the pandemic.Following the service of a...

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