Public telecommunications service meaning

In this issue: New technologies Internet Media Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Telecommunications Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information New technologies Commission issues guidelines on EU AI Act obligations for general-purpose AI models On 18 July 2025, the European Commission issued guidelines clarifying how obligations apply to providers of GPAI models under the EU AI Act. Published in advance of the GPAI model rules taking effect on 2 August 2025, they are intended to spell out in detail what providers must do under the law. While not legally binding, the guidelines reflect the Commission’s reading and intended application of the Act, which will inform its enforcement approach. They also sit alongside the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice that independent experts submitted to the Commission on 10 July. See News Analysis: AI developers, users see EU’s guidelines on general-purpose AI models and LNB News 18/07/2025...

In this issue: New technologies Internet Data protection Media Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Reputation management Telecommunications LexTalk®TMT: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information New technologies European Commission issues guidance on AI system definition The Commission has issued guidance to help providers judge whether a software system qualifies as artificial intelligence under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the EU AI Act). Though not binding, the material is intended to support application of the Act’s provisions, which started on 2 February 2025. The Commission notes the guidance will be refined over time in light of real-world experience and emerging scenarios. Under the Act, AI systems are grouped by risk—prohibited, high risk, and those carrying transparency duties—and this guidance sits alongside existing advice on banned AI practices. See: LNB News 07/02/2025 36. Commission sets out 2025 Work Programme with a simplification...

October 2022 saw the UK government introduce a new security framework via T(S)A 2021. This has since been bolstered by regulations that set out the precise security measures providers must undertake, together with a Code of Practice for telecoms providers that provides a good practice guide for effective telecoms security. The telecoms security rules present particular challenges for providers of public electronic communications networks or services (public telecoms providers), bringing extra compliance obligations, markedly increased risk and a series of key questions to address. Comprehensive due diligence should be carried out to identify the appropriate next steps to achieve compliance. Six key considerations Just because your business is not categorised as a Tier 1, 2 or 3 provider does not mean the rules will not affect you. Although suppliers to public telecoms providers are not directly regulated under the telecoms security rules, they will still be affected, as Tier 1 and Tier 2 providers are required contractually to flow down specific measures to their suppliers....

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. For guidance on the acquisition, retention and disclosure of communications data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016), see Practice Note: Acquisition, retention and disclosure of communications data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. IPA 2016 sets the current legal framework for public authorities’ use of covert surveillance. Much—though not all—of this regime previously appeared in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000). The rules on retaining communications data are contained in IPA 2016, Pt 4. Part 4 permits telecommunications and postal operators to retain communications data so that, where authorised under IPA 2016, public authorities can access it subsequently. For more on IPA 2016, see Practice Note: The regulation of intelligence gathering—an introductory guide. Powers to require retention of certain types of data Under IPA 2016, s 87, the Secretary of State may give a retention notice requiring a telecommunications operator to keep ‘relevant communications data’, provided that at least one of...

Practice Note This Practice Note consists of two strands created to help dispute resolution practitioners remain up to date with developments in case law that affect their field, or which influence civil litigation procedure more generally: selected forthcoming appeals to the Supreme Court are highlighted below; see Key forthcoming appeals to the Supreme Court—2022 summaries of significant appeal decisions in England and Wales (ie rulings of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court and, where appropriate, certain judgments of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Court of Justice of the European Union), and ECtHR, which we have covered; see: Key forthcoming appeal cases—2022 You can navigate this content using the table of contents in the left-hand margin. Alternatively, search this tracker using [CTRL]+[F]. This material is not intended to be a comprehensive register of every appeal or major decision relevant to dispute resolution practitioners. Key forthcoming appeals to the Supreme Court—2022 Tort and negligence ...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. It concerns Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users’ rights in relation to electronic communications networks and services, as revised by Directive 2009/136/EC (the Universal Service Directive). It forms part of a suite of Practice Notes addressing the key components of the EU regulatory regime for electronic communications. Across the EU, the operation of electronic communications networks and services in each Member State is subject to a shared regulatory system that initially consisted of five directives (the Framework). The Framework’s purpose was to create a harmonised regime for regulating electronic communications networks and services across the EU. In December 2018, Directive (EU) 2018/1972 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast) (the European Electronic Communications Code) was published in the Official Journal of the EU and entered into force three days later. The European Electronic Communications Code consolidates four of the directives (including the Universal Service Directive)...