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On 17 December 2020, the Medienanstalt Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein (Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein media authority – MA HSH) – one of Germany’s 14 media regulators – initiated media law proceedings against Google Ireland Ltd. (Dublin) regarding its compliance with the new anti-discrimination rules that apply to media intermediaries under the Medienstaatsvertrag (State Media Treaty – MStV), which recently entered into force. The proceedings will examine cooperation between Google and the German Federal Ministry of Health which led to content from the ministry’s Internet...

In a judgment of 27 October 2020 (Case no. 15 O 296/18), the Landgericht Berlin (Berlin regional court – LG) decided that a screenplay writer was entitled to information about the revenue generated from the exploitation of film productions so she could demand an adjustment to her remuneration for use of her screenplays. The dispute between the screenplay writer on the one hand and the production company that owned the rights to two well-known German films and a film and media group on the other concerned the right to further equitable remuneration as enshrined in Article 32a of the German...

In October 2020, the Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media – KJM) confirmed the decision of the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Multimedia-Diensteanbieter e.V. (voluntary self-monitoring body for multimedia service providers – FSM) that the MagentaGaming gaming platform’s youth protection system meets the requirements of the Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag (state treaty on the protection of minors in the media - JMStV) of the German Länder. The KJM concluded that the FSM had not exceeded its discretionary power by approving...

On 4 November 2020, the German Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection – BMJV) published a bill on strengthening consumer protection in competition and trade law. The Entwurf einer Novelle des Gesetzes gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (Bill amending the Unfair Competition Act – UWG-E) is particularly designed to implement Directive (EU) 2019/2161 as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules. It should improve consumer protection against unfair business practices, in particular...

On 7 November 2020, the new Medienstaatsvertrag (State Media Treaty – MStV) entered into force in Germany, replacing the previous Rundfunkstaatsvertrag (State Broadcasting Treaty). The treaty not only transposes the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), amended under Directive (EU) 2018/1808, into national legislation, but also addresses other elements of the German media system in the context of a changing media landscape. In particular, it contains provisions on the findability and prominence of digital channels that are applicable to media platforms, user interfaces and...