What are virtual currencies? European Banking Authority (EBA) regards virtual currencies as being a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority nor necessarily attached to a regular currency, but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of payment, and can be transferred, stored […]
VAT Rule Changes for UK Wholesale Telecommunications Supplies
VAT Reverse Charge Mechanism to apply to Certain Wholesale Supplies from 1st February 2016 Certain UK clients have asked me to explain the VAT rule changes for UK wholesale telecommunications supplies, and hopefully this blog will do that. From 1st February 2016, providers of wholesale telecommunications services in the UK will no longer apply VAT […]
Personal Use by Employees of Employer Systems: Mr Bogdan Barbulescu vs the State of Romania Mr Barbulescu used certain business systems to send personal messages in breach of his employer’s stated Policy in this regard. The Employer monitored employee communications to ensure compliance with its Policy. Mr Barbelescu was found to have been in breach […]
In this our fourth blog about the GDPR, I am going to look at the rights of data subjects in relation to the processing, amendment and erasure of their data; and some of the new obligations on processors and controllers. Also, to continue the theme from the previous blogs, I am going to compare the […]
New EU General Data Protection Regulation: Advice Note 3 (Consent to Processing and New Sanctions)
In this our third blog about the GDPR, I am going to look at the new rules on data subject consent to processing of their data, and the new regime of sanctions proposed by the GDPR for non-compliance. Also, to continue the theme from the previous blogs, I am going to compare the GDPR provisions […]
Territorial Scope and New Personal Data Definition A number of our non-EU clients have expressed considerable alarm about the GDPR, probably due to the volume of articles being generated in the technology industry press but be aware that whilst the final text of the GDPR is unlikely to be widely different from the draft language […]
On 16th January 2016, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published a useful advice note on IT security advice for small businesses, called “A Practical Guide to IT Security”, a copy of which can be found on our link page. It is well worth a read for all owners and senior managers of small businesses, […]
Costs of Compliance with the UK’s Draft Investigatory Powers Bill
The UK Parliamentary Science and Technology Committee reported on 1st February on the UK Government’s draft Investigatory Powers Bill, including on the costs of compliance for UK communications service providers (“CSPs”). The draft Investigatory Powers Bill will require CSPs to retain the internet browsing history of all of their customers for the previous twelve months. The Government appears to have […]
New EU General Data Protection Regulation – Advice Note 1 (Cross Border Transfers)
Multi-nationals have long complained that there is no one-stop shop under the existing EU data protection regulations, to facilitate EU wide compliance with data protection rules. The existing data protection regulations set minimum thresholds, which can and have been applied in different ways in different countries. It is in the light of hopes for that […]
The technology industries in Europe (and of course we legal technology vultures for whom these industries are our food) are waiting with interest to see how bold the European Commission’s proposals will be at setting the new European Digital Agenda. In all probability the answer is probably going to be “not very bold”, or even […]
As our appetite for mobile data increases, mobile providers in Europe have been putting pressure on regulators to consider spectrum re-allocation in a number of frequencies, including 700 Mhz, sub 700 Mhz (470-694 Mhz), 1427-1518 Mhz (or “L Band”), and in the 3.4-3.6Ghz or (“C band”) frequencies. There was general consensus from the World Radio Conference […]
Introduction Restrictive covenants are clauses, which have the effect of preventing one party to a contract from doing something, which they would otherwise be perfectly entitled to do. In this blog, I am going to focus on the restrictive covenants known as “restraint of trade” clauses, which are typically inserted into employment contracts or contractor […]
