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The findings of the Cairncross Review (“the Review”), chaired by Dame Frances Cairncross were published on 12 February 2019; it made nine recommendations for addressing two primary issues: (i) is the market in which publishers operate a fair one or has the growth of large online platforms, such as Google and Facebook, created distortions that justify government intervention? (ii) how should society continue to support the monitoring of, and reporting on, the activities of public bodies - not just central government, but also local councils, courts and inquests. The Review referred to this type...

On 21 February 2019, at the request of the National Assembly’s Committee on Cultural Affairs and Education, the French competition authority published its opinion on the forthcoming audiovisual reforms. The authority’s key proposal is for the relaxation of restrictions on traditional audiovisual providers in order to enable them to compete on equal terms with online video platforms (e.g. Amazon and Netflix). The evidence is clear: these new platforms, which entered the market in 2014 and have more subscribers in France than Canal Plus (Netflix has over 5 million subscribers) have adopted an innovative...

Current epidemiological data demonstrate that in Spain, up to 4.6% of teenagers show risk behaviour in relation to betting and gambling, and that the average age at which addicts start to gamble is 19 years old. In addition, 37% of adult addicts started gambling before they had reached the minimum legal age to do so. Bearing in mind this data, the Catalan Audiovisual Council (Consell de l’Audiovisual de Catalunya, CAC) report examines audiovisual content that promotes betting and gambling in various ways, with a view to informing the debate on the rise in betting and gambling addictions. To do...

On 21 December 2018, the provisional relief judge of the District Court of Amsterdam (“the District Court”) ruled on a dispute between PVH B.V. (“PVH”) and two of its subsidiaries on one side, and Facebook Ireland Limited and Facebook Netherlands B.V. (“Facebook”) on the other side. Most notably, the District Court ruled that Facebook did not fall within the scope of the safe harbour provided by Article 14 eCommerce Directive, as implemented by Article 6:196c(4) of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek - “the DCC”). The dispute arose after numerous advertisements were shown on Facebook’s platforms,...

On 25 January 2019, the Broadcasting Authority issued a new directive to radio broadcasters which is totally innovative in so far as it allows - for the very first time in Maltese broadcasting history - paid electoral advertisements on nationwide radio stations. However, the advertisements allowed are restricted to the announcement of information meetings to be held by prospective electoral candidates not to serve as “propaganda” for these candidates. The directive allows national radio stations to provide airtime to Maltese candidates standing for election to the European Parliament. National...