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Helen Brown

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On 18 September 2024, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published guidance on complying with consumer law when making environmental claims in the fashion retail sector (Guidance). It provides a practical guide on the CMA’s 2021 Green Claims Code for the sector. The CMA also sent letters to 17 fashion brands asking them to review their business practices in light of the Guidance. The Guidance and letters sets the scene for the CMA to take…

The UK Government passed the long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (the “DMCC”) on 24 May 2024. The DMCC will bring radical change to the enforcement of consumer law in the UK, introducing new powers for the CMA to issue direct fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover for breaches. The DMCC also introduces changes to substantive UK consumer law provisions, including changes related to subscriptions, online reviews and drip pricing. This…

The UK Government passed the long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (the “DMCC”) on 24 May 2024. The DMCC will bring radical change to the enforcement of consumer law in the UK, introducing new powers for the CMA to issue direct fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover for breaches. The DMCC also introduces changes to substantive UK consumer law provisions, including changes related to subscriptions, online reviews and drip pricing. This…

The Digital Services Act (DSA) imposes wide-ranging and transformative obligations on online intermediaries and platforms. As has been well-publicised over the last few months, the most onerous obligations, and tighter deadlines for compliance, fall on services designated by the Commission as very large online platforms (VLOPs) or very large online search engines (VLOSEs). However, all online platforms and online search engines were required to publish information on their user figures earlier this year, and all…

On 26 January 2023, the CMA announced that it is expanding its work on green claims with a review into Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). This follows the CMA’s guidance in September 2021 on making environmental claims on goods and services, designed to help business understand and comply with existing obligations under consumer protection law when making green claims. The CMA also produced the Green Claims Code with a checklist of key points for businesses…

The Digital Services Act (DSA), came into force. on 16 November 2022 with a compliance deadline of 17 February 2024 (with earlier deadlines for the largest market players). However, all online platforms must publish the number of average monthly active recipients of their service by 17 February 2023. The DSA categorises services as intermediary services, online platforms, search engines, very large online platforms and very large search engines, with tiered obligations focusing on content moderation,…

Just over two years since the coming in to force of the Platform to Business Regulation (P2B), we take another look at developments in relation to enforcement action in key EU Member States and the UK. The past year has seen a notable increase in activity in Italy in particular, as well as several instances of enforcement in France and Germany. We also understand that competent authorities in several EU Member States are working on…

In the first episode of our Digital Commerce, Marketing and Advertising Series, London Partners Helen Brown and Julia Hemmings are joined by Lauren McGuirl, Director of Commercial Disputes at CEDR, to talk about the forthcoming P2B Regulation, that comes into force on July 12, 2020. We take a look at: the implications for platforms and the businesses who rely on them the threshold questions – which arrangements does the regulation apply to? the dispute resolution curve -…

The European Commission’s New Deal for Consumers will apply to traders that target consumers in the EU from 28 May 2022. Organisations impacted by the New Deal have two years to get into shape – which is advisable, because the New Deal empowers regulators across the EU to impose GDPR-style fines for breaches of consumer legislation. Like the GDPR before it, the changes will affect most functions within businesses affected by the New Deal. Organisations…

A key part of the EU’s New Deal for Consumers entered into force on January 7, 2020: the Omnibus Directive, which strengthens consumer rights through enhanced enforcement measures and increased transparency requirements. The headline changes introduced by the new Directive are: GDPR-style penalties.A requirement for increased transparency online, in particular for search result rankings and personalized pricing.The extension of consumer rights to “free” digital content and services. EU Member States have two years to transpose…