In October 2019, it was reported in the press that DG COMP had opened a competition law investigation against Apple in relation to its Apple Pay service. While no information is publicly available on the exact subject-matter of that investigation, we believe that the issue of the so-called “NFC antenna” in iPhones is a part, if not a major part, of that investigation.  In this article, we deal with some of the competition law issues…

Australia’s number two carrier, Optus, has paid a $504,000 infringement notice after being found by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to have committed significant breaches of spam laws. The ACMA found Optus sent SMS and email marketing emails to approximately 750,000 consumers after they had already unsubscribed, and also sent billing notices which did not have an unsubscribe facility. Australian spam laws were introduced in 2003 and historically the fines have been modest. …

Held over two days in San Jose, California the inaugural Data Business Congress provided a fascinating insight into the opportunities and challenges in turning data into a key business asset. Co-hosted by Intellectual Asset Management and Global Data Review the Data Business Congress is one of the first conferences to go beyond data privacy issues and take a holistic look at the issues associated with generating value from data assets. With a focus on the…

Jonathan Ebsworth (TechDotPeople) & Roger Bickerstaff (Bird & Bird) On the evening of January 16th, 2020 a small group gathered at the offices of international law firm Bird & Bird in London for a “Roundtable” discussion to explore and debate the responsible use of artificial intelligence. The key aim of the evening was to explore the range of issues that need to be considered when organisations develop a responsible approach to AI – both in…