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On 2 August 2024, the Amsterdam District Court (Rechtbank Amsterdam) delivered a significant judgment on YouTube’s suspension of an online news outlet from YouTube’s monetisation programme, over the channel’s “misleading content”, including on the climate crisis. Notably, the Court rejected the news outlet’s claim that there had been a violation of its right to freedom of expression, and said YouTube had the freedom to create an “advertising-friendly environment”, where certain channels are deemed “unsuitable for advertising” over misleading...

In a recently published decision of 22 April 2024 (Case No. 32 K 1/23), the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin (Berlin Administrative Court – VG Berlin) upheld a complaint concerning a breach of the ban on regional advertising lodged by a Landesmedienanstalt (state media authority) against a national television broadcaster. It held that the advertising ban, enshrined in the German Medienstaatsvertrag (state media treaty – MStV), was not unconstitutional. However, a different court had previously found that the ban, which was also the subject of a 2021 European Court of Justice ruling in the...

The Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM), by means of Resolution No. 94/24/CSP dated 24 July 2024, published on 5 August 2024, fined the Italian broadcasting company RAI EUR 206 580.00, equivalent to twenty times the minimum fine, for an incident involving the shoes worn by John Travolta during the 74th edition of the Sanremo 2024 Italian Song Festival. The Authority deemed it a case of covert advertising, concluding that the current regulations on the proper disclosure of advertising messages had not been adhered to. RAI argued that it had a specific contract with the renowned actor prohibiting...

In May 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s independent regulator of the financial services industry, announced that it had brought charges against a group of reality TV stars and social media influencers for promoting unauthorised investment schemes. This case marks the first prosecution by the FCA against individuals described by the neologism "finfluencer", highlighting the growing intersection between social media influence and financial regulations. The accused, including prominent figures from popular shows like Love Island and The Only Way is Essex, have...

First, the Italian Council of State (through Judgment No. 4277 of 13 May 2024, regarding the Google Search service) and then the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) for Lazio (through Order No. 1940 of 16 May 2024, regarding the YouTube video-sharing platform service, and Order No. 2272 of 31 May 2024, regarding the X service) confirmed the sanctioning measures adopted by the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM) against Google Ireland Limited and Twitter International Unlimited Company for violating the ban on advertising gambling with cash winnings introduced by Article 9 of Decree Law No....