Legal News

The Consumer Protection Cooperation ( CPC) Network (which enforces EU consumer protection laws) The Consumer Protection Cooperation ( CPC) Network has informed Meta that it is worried about the firm’s demand that consumers either agree to their personal data being used for personalised advertising or pay for a subscription. The action, led by France’s consumer authority and co-ordinated by the commission, argues that the pay-or-consent model introduced in the EU in November 2024 may mislead people by using the word ‘free’, while Meta asks them to accept that it can generate revenue by using their personal data to display personalised ads. The CPC network lodged its complaint alongside the European Commission’s ongoing examination of whether Meta’s pay-or-consent approach satisfies the obligations of the EU Digital Markets Act ( DMA). That law requires Meta to secure users’ consent when it plans to combine or use their...

King Crude Carriers SA and others v Ridgebury November LLC and others [2024] EWCA Civ 719 The opposing position put forward in this case—and endorsed by the Commercial Court at first instance—was that, in this situation, the other party’s sole remedy is damages for breach of contract, rather than a claim in debt. On that footing, recovery would be confined to compensation for proved loss. The distinction between debt and damages is critical: Damages: the claimant must prove loss and satisfy the principles of causation, mitigation and remoteness. Debt: the claimant need only show that a contractual sum is due and has become payable, and does not have to prove loss. In addition, damages are compensatory, whereas debts are not. Background The case concerns contracts for the sale of four vessels under the 2012 Norwegian Saleform. The sales were governed by four separate...

In this issue: King's Speech 2024 Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection E-commerce International Public procurement Supplier management Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As King's Speech 2024 King's Speech 2024— Key themes and proposals At the State Opening of Parliament on 17 July 2024, His Majesty King Charles III outlined the government’s agenda and priority policies for the forthcoming parliamentary session, setting out 40 legislative proposals for the 2024–25 period. He stated that the legislative programme would be mission led and anchored in the principles of security, fairness and opportunity for all. See: LNB News 17/07/2024 113. King’s Speech 2024—key Commercial announcements In the same address, His Majesty detailed priorities for the new session, with Commercial highlights including the proposed Product Safety and...

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Brexit Consumer protection Contracts E-commerce International Public procurement Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Comment— Meta’s EU ‘consent or pay’ case may force rethink on advertising model MLex reports that Meta Platforms could again be pushed to revisit its advertising strategy, as the European Commission scrutinises the ‘consent or pay’ approach introduced for EU users of Facebook and Instagram. To avoid potential penalties from both the EU competition authority and Ireland’s data protection regulator, Meta is working on a new, ‘less intrusive’ method of serving adverts. Striking the right balance is challenging and will be closely watched by other platforms that depend on advertising to reach users. See News Analysis: Comment— Meta’s EU...

Tackling so-called subscription traps The UK has introduced a dedicated framework for subscription contracts, which sets out: what must be disclosed or accessible to consumers before they agree a contract (the ‘key’ pre-contract information and the ‘full’ pre-contract information) obligations to issue reminder notices at set intervals throughout the term simple, user-centred routes for consumers to terminate or cancel a subscription contract a cooling-off window allowing cancellation after the initial term and at each renewal period For subscription arrangements, this framework supplants the information requirements in the Consumer Contracts ( Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 ( CCR 2013), SI 2013/3134. Businesses offering subscriptions must follow these new rules, while CCR 2013 continues to govern all other consumer contracts. Excluded contracts Some contracts fall outside the remit of these...

In this issue: General Election 2024 Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Agency and distribution Confidential information Consumer protection Contracts E-commerce Public procurement Lex Talk®Commercial: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers General Election 2024 General Election 2024—parliamentary process, wash-up and manifesto pledges This News Analysis provides an overview of coverage of the 2024 General Election by practice area. It brings together insights from practice area experts, Practical Guidance, news and analysis, and journal content. For Commercial, it also examines Bills that fell during the wash-up, including the Data Protection and Digital Information ( No. 2) Bill, Artificial Intelligence ( Regulation) Bill, and Commercial Organisations and Public Authorities Duty ( Human Rights and Environment) Bill, alongside Labour’s manifesto commitment to introduce new consumer...

Parliamentary process On 22 May 2024, the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, asked the King to dissolve Parliament so a general election could take place on 4 July 2024, and the King consented. As a result, Parliament was prorogued on 24 May 2024 and formally dissolved on 30 May 2024. The parliamentary timetable is set out below: 22 May: The Prime Minister asked the King to use the prerogative to dissolve Parliament 22 May: King Charles approved the request and a general election was announced nationwide 23 May: ‘ Wash-up’ period begins 24 May: Parliament is prorogued 25 May: Pre-election period of sensitivity begins (previously known as ‘purdah’) 30 May: Parliament is dissolved 30 May: Pre-election period starts 4 July: General election 17 July: State Opening of Parliament For an explanation of the ‘wash-up’ period and the period of...

With decarbonisation topping many agendas, businesses are understandably seeking to support the net-zero journey while also tuning in to consumer expectations around sustainability. Consequently, anyone approving advertising and marketing ( A& M) materials needs a firm grasp of the rules on environmental claims, and should take heed of examples from ASA rulings to date. In this article, we cover: the rules the ASA applies when assessing advertising complaints what we have learned from the ASA’s rulings so far what clients and their A& M teams need to know about making green claims What are the rules relating to environmental claims? The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing ( CAP Code) and the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising ( BCAP Code) set the standards the ASA applies when considering complaints and deciding whether to uphold them in its...

On 27 June 2024, the Court of Appeal held that the NCA acted unlawfully by declining to probe imports of cotton linked to forced labour in China’s Xinjiang region. Reversing a 2023 High Court decision, the appeal judges found the agency had misapplied its own investigative framework under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 ( POCA 2002) when dealing with suspected illicit assets. ‘ It’s a game changer’, said Matthew Banham of Seyfarth Shaw ( UK) LLP. ‘ Corporations now have an obligation to make sure they are not committing money laundering offences through their supply chains.’ Crucially, the court ruled the NCA does not need hard proof of criminal conduct before commencing a proceeds-of-crime inquiry. It further determined that criminal property—here, cotton produced through forced labour—is not invariably purified or legitimised by later payment of market price. Lloyd Firth of Wilmer Hale noted the...

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection International Supplier management Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—26 June 2024 The Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA) flagged an advert for the supplement brand, Key For Her, via its Active Ad Monitoring system as a breach of the Code on the basis of claims about treating menopause symptoms, and it upheld the complaint. See: LNB News 26/06/2024 12. Consumer protection Who are the consumers of arbitration? ( Eternity Sky Investments Ltd v Zhang) In Eternity Sky Investments Ltd v Zhang, the Court of Appeal examined whether the English court should decline to enforce a Hong Kong arbitral award on public policy grounds, that is, for reasons of public policy. The decision will interest...

More than a year on from its original introduction in the House of Commons, the DMCCA 2024 secured Royal Assent on 24 May 2024. The Act ushers in sweeping updates to UK competition rules and consumer enforcement, together with a fresh regime to oversee designated Big Tech firms across the UK. Key takeaways the DMCCA 2024 has finished its passage through Parliament. Although additional rules and guidance are still required, the central reforms are anticipated to commence later this year following completion of that process overall the Act delivers the government’s digital markets strategy, featuring tailored conduct codes for specified digital businesses and a bespoke merger control system for designated companies and groups in the sector the legislation also makes major changes to the UK competition and consumer frameworks, including the following key elements and specific measures: ...

Eternity Sky Investments Ltd v Zhang ( Competition & Markets Authority intervening) [2024] EWCA Civ 630 Background Mrs Zhang executed a personal guarantee backing a convertible bond offering by a company listed in Hong Kong, in which, at the material time, she and her husband were referred to as ‘the majority shareholder couple’. She commenced arbitration in Hong Kong seeking to set aside the guarantee but was ultimately unsuccessful, and was ordered to pay Eternity Sky HK$500m (about £64m) together with interest. She then attempted to oppose enforcement of the award under section 103(3) of the Arbitration Act 1996, arguing that enforcement would offend public policy, on the footing that the essential provision of the guarantee infringed her rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 ( CRA 2015). Decision The first-instance judge concluded that Mrs Zhang qualified as a ‘consumer’, albeit not a...

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Agency and distribution Contracts International Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—19 June 2024 Unilever UK Ltd lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA) regarding two adverts for Fussy Ltd, a deodorant brand. Believing the ads alluded to its Lynx range, Unilever argued they discredited a rival product. The ASA agreed and upheld the complaint. See: LNB News 19/06/2024 8. Agency and distribution Bitcoin inventor drops case against software developers On 14 June 2024, lawyers for the man who failed to prove he invented bitcoin told a London court that his company has abandoned its claim against software developers, as it likewise relied on his assertion that he is the pseudonymous creator of the virtual currency. See News...

Kulkarni v Gwent Holdings Ltd [2024] EWHC 1357 ( Ch D) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision serves as a timely prompt that those entering a shareholders’ agreement should anticipate and specify, in clear terms, the outcomes they intend to arise from any breach of its provisions. Equally, the judge’s observations on how the court’s analysis might have differed if the agreement had incorporated an express or implied duty of trust and confidence are significant, and parties would do well to reflect carefully on whether to adopt such an express obligation... What was the background? The matter relates to St Joseph’s Independent Hospital, a private facility in Newport, South Wales, acquired by the Second Defendant, St Joseph’s Independent Hospital Ltd ( SJIH), through a pre-pack administration. The quarrel centres on the SJIH Shareholders’ Agreement ( SHA) dated 13 February 2020, and its terms. Under the SHA,...

Drax Smart Generation Holdco Ltd v Scottish Power Retail Holdings Ltd; Drax Smart Generation Holdco Ltd v Scottish Power Retail Holdings Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 477 What are the practical implications of this case? The Court of Appeal in Drax appears to have taken a commercially minded, substance‑over‑form stance when construing notification clauses. On one view, that marks a move away from the robust (and arguably overly stringent) approach seen in recent authorities, including the High Court’s decision in Drax and the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Decision Inc Holdings Proprietary Ltd v Garbett [2023] EWCA Civ 1284 ( Garbett). In Garbett, Newey LJ held that a similarly worded clause required the claimant to give an estimated amount for each individual breach, rather than a single global figure for the entire claim. Garbett can read as somewhat severe, and how far its reasoning coheres in...

Tulip Trading Tulip Trading, the firm controlled by computer scientist Craig Wright, has withdrawn a concurrent legal action it had been pursuing against a cohort of bitcoin developers. Wright, an Australian who asserted he was Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin’s creator, was rebuffed by a searing May judgment handed down confirming he is not Satoshi. A formal notice discontinuing the proceedings was issued to both parties on 16 April 2024, per submissions further presented to the High Court on 14 June 2024 from Adam Baradon KC of Blackstone Chambers, acting for Tulip Trading and Craig Wright. In the Tulip Trading matter, Wright’s firm had brought a claim against 16 bitcoin network developers, alleging that it is unable to directly reach digital assets valued at £4.5bn because its private keys—the code governing control of those assets—were erased in a hack. Tulp resolved to......

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection Contracts Data protection E-commerce International Public procurement Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—12 June 2024 The Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA) considered a complaint about a You Tube video on the Sidemen’s channel that referenced the vodka label ‘ XIX Vodka’ in the content. The ASA upheld one point, but dismissed two others after review overall. See: LNB News 12/06/2024 34. Ofcom consults on renewing co-regulatory arrangements for ODPS and VSP Ofcom has opened a consultation on its plans to extend, for a decade to 31 October 2034, the co-regulatory framework governing broadcast advertising, on demand programme service ( ODPS) advertising, and video-sharing platform ( VSP) advertising arrangements in place. The...

VT, UR v Conny Gmb H Case C-400/22 What are the practical implications of this case? Traders and consumers using websites to conclude distance contracts should note that the trader’s duty to secure, at the moment of ordering, the consumer’s clear confirmation of a commitment to pay, as required by Article 8(2) of Directive 2011/83/ EU, applies even where payment falls due only once a later condition is met. These consequences carry particular weight for traders that, as in the case before the Court of Justice, operate assignment-based models to advance consumers’ rights, with remuneration owed only if certain triggers occur—for example, a wholly or partly successful assertion of rights, or another formal step towards that result. Although the matter arises from a specific national context in which a trader offers to pursue tenancy-related entitlements, the knock-on effects are broader and touch any set-up where traders invite...

R (on the application of Cambrian Offshore South West Ltd) v Norfolk County Council [2024] EWHC 1042 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? Procurement professionals should remain constantly vigilant to identify and address potential conflicts of interest, both internally and within external bodies. They must apply robust procurement best practice, together with suitable audit measures and financial prudence, so that public funds are correctly and appropriately accounted for. The decision also assists those advising private contractors, underscoring the need to manage conflicts of interest properly within organisations to avoid non-recovery... What was the background? The project was supported by the European Regional Development Fund and governed by EU Regulation No 1303/2013. Norfolk County Council ( NCC) acted as the Managing Authority for the Programme, and the interested party ( OREC Ltd) was the Programme’s Lead Partner, contracting with 18 Project Partners. Cambrian...

Meta is facing complaints from 11 European data protection authorities After announcing a privacy policy revision signalling it would use personal data to develop ‘ AI technology’, Meta now faces formal complaints from 11 European data protection authorities. Max Schrems’ campaign group NOYB has lodged cases with privacy watchdogs in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain, urging the regulators to urgently stop the change before it takes effect on 26 June. NOYB has specialised in strategic complaints, including those that led to the invalidation of Meta’s legal basis under contract for processing personal data for advertising. Since then, Meta has switched to the ‘legitimate interest’ legal basis. While the General Data Protection Regulation sets out six potential legal bases for processing personal data, the prevailing doctrine arising from data protection authorities’ guidance and decisions has......