The wait is finally over as the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Bill) passes through Parliament with aims of introducing numerous protections for consumers, including powers to clamp down on fake reviews. The pandemic was the catalyst in the rise of online shopping meaning that consumers rely heavily on online reviews, more so now than they used to ...
SyCipLaw's Banking, Finance & Securities Department's Banking Bulletin for April 2023 features the latest issuances from theBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas(BSP or Central Bank of the Philippines), which includes the amendment of the miscellaneous rules on deposits and the issuance of rules on mediation and adjudication of financial consumer complaints: BSP Amends Miscellaneous Rules On Deposits On December 14, 2022, the BSP issued Circular No ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan (SyCipLaw) has just published the SyCipLaw TMT and Data Bulletin covering significant Philippine legal and regulatory developments in the technology, media, telecommunications and data space, from late 2022 to the first quarter of 2023. It also notes links to podcasts and materials relating to TMT and dataPLUSa commentary on whether AI can replace a local counsel ...
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill's granting of power to the Competition and Markets Authority to impose financial penalties has grabbed the headlines. The Government’s press release published alongside the Bill boasts that the CMA will be able to fine businesses up to 10% of their global turnover for mistreating customers ...
On the 10 May 2023, the FCA published its findings from its review into firms’ approaches to fair value assessments under the new Consumer Duty. In conducting its review, the FCA’s objective was to understand how firms in different sectors are implementing the price and value requirements, in a bid to ensure that the internal supervisory and regulatory approaches within the FCA reflect industry thinking ...
The Financial Market Commission ("FMC") has announced a process of consulting roundtables for the implementation of Law No. 21.521, known as the "Fintech Law" (Fintech in Spanish). Last May 15, an informative webinar was held where the CMF informed about the general guidelines for the operation of the consulting roundtables that will address aspects of the implementation of the Fintech Law. The FMC authority to carry out this process comes from Article 20 of Law No ...
The South African banking and finance landscape is continually evolving, driven by changing regulations as well as emerging trends. Recent amendments to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (“FICA”) have brought about new obligations that trustees operating within the sector must be aware of ...
Gone are the days when satellite communication was limited to those brick phones with long antennas. Satellite communications services are gaining traction globally as they offer alternative ways of connecting end users to the Internet and other related communications services. However, as electronic communications services via satellites become more popular and accessible, service providers are met with regulatory challenges ...
Have you ever browsed one of your favourite online retail platforms and noticed an entirely new clothing collection launched by the brand for your metaverse avatar? In February of this year, we stumbled upon Zara’s Valentine’s Tale range. The collection comprised 22 digital assets which included necklaces, earrings, rings and bags that could be purchased for your avatar through Zepeto, which is Asia’s largest metaverse platform ...
Last Friday, on 12 May 2023, the UAE Ministry of Finance (Ministry) published an Explanatory Guide which provides an explanation of the meaning and intended effect of each article of the Corporate Tax (CT) Law. The Explanatory Guide may be accessedHere ...
On February 23, 2023, the Parliament adopted a new Law of Ukraine "On Collective Agreements and Contracts" (hereinafter - the " Law" ). Most of the provisions of the Law enter into force 6 months after the termination or cancellation of martial law, but we can understand what new this act offers now ...
Although NFTs have existed for a number of years, and have changed the world of merchandise and art, it is worth considering how intellectual property (IP) rights interplay with this asset class. This article considers NFTs in their component parts with a view to understanding how IP law, and specifically the areas of copyright and trade marks, apply. What is an NFT? An NFT stands for non-fungible token and is a digital asset with a unique digital identifier, recorded on a blockchain ...
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill ('Bill') has now landed. Its aim is to protect against consumer harms that have materialised following the digital transformation of how we buy goods, services and digital content. What does this mean for consumer protection law? Subscriptions Why? The Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’) estimates that consumers spend £1.6 billion a year on subscriptions they do not want [1] ...
By imposing the obligations, the regulation aims to end unfair practices and conduct which is harmful to competition and end users by the companies acting as gatekeepers in the online platform economy. Under the DMA, a firm will be considered as a designated gatekeeper if three criteria are met. First, the company must have a significant impact on the European market which is determined by the company’s turnover ...
Corporate flexibility Jersey’s corporate law regime is modern and flexible, providing a wide range of structuring options that can be tailored to the specific needs of the business. This flexibility is particularly useful for companies looking to list in the U.S., as Jersey companies can look and feel very similar to Delaware corporations where that is desirable. Direct listing Jersey companies can list securities in the U.S ...
Applicability of English case law and practice The relevant provisions of the Jersey companies law are based on the UK Companies Act 1985, and are similar to the equivalent provisions in the UK Companies Act 2006 ...
Generative AI has become a worldwide sensation recently with the launch of ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and other eye-catching products. Large language models such as ChatGPT have shown their phenomenal capacity for human language comprehension, human-machine interaction, text writing, programming, reasoning, etc. by generating output that is often on a par with the level of human intelligence, if not better ...
The Metaverse, retail and brand protection When first confronted with concepts such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, it took most of us quite some time before we felt it was “safe enough” to make our first online purchase. For some, it was a case of calling a friend to find out if their experience was legitimate before taking that leap! Well, safe to say this is no longer the case ...
With cloud technology becoming increasingly important, data centres provide services critical to many businesses. Given the strategic value of data center to digital transformation, it is essential that data center vendors have a clear plan to manage the risks they face. What are some of the key risks for data center vendors Security Digital and physical security risks have been listed as the top 5 data center security risks for 2023 ...
By: Neusha Etemad and Anne Marie Ellis CDA Background Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) was enacted in 1996 to provide websites with immunity from liability arising from posting third-party content. For a service provider to be immune, however, the information at issue must be “provided by another information content provider ...
Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) are financial institutions that offer electronic money services to customers. Legislation on EMIs is partially harmonised in the EU as there is only an Electronic Money Directive (Directive 2009/110/EC) (“EMD”) rather than a regulation. In Malta, the EMD is transposed in the Financial Institutions Act, Chapter 376 of the Laws of Malta ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the deadline for applications for amnesty for late and non-filing of annual financial statements (AFS), general information sheets (GIS), as well as non-compliance with SEC Memorandum Circular No. 28, series of 2020 (Requirement for Corporations, Partnerships, Associations, and Individuals to Create and/or Designate E-mail Account Address and Cellphone Number for Transactions with the Commission) (MC28) ...
The SEC Division of Examinations (“Examinations”) issued a Risk Alert on April 26, 2023 to highlight the importance of establishing written policies and procedures for safeguarding customer records and information at branch offices. Examinations provides that a branch office includes any location other than a firm’s main office, including offices of any independent contractors through which a firm may offer investment products and services ...
The progression of online financial ecosystems supporting any modern economy hinges on the citizens’ use of new financial technologies. In Malta, the word ‘fintech’ is neither defined by law nor found in the jurisdiction’s primary legislation. Yet, local stakeholders on the island commonly limit the meaning of the word to blockchain-based finance ...
