04/30/2023
🇫🇷 Advertising / Justice: An advertisement for an alcoholic beverage is lawful if it is staged in a usual place of sale or consumption, without the general impression being festive (CA Paris, April 14, 2023 , No. 21/07299).
🇺🇸 [ IP / Regulation ] Publication of the “Special 301 Report” by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) – Press release of April 26, 2023.
🇺🇸 [ Piracy / Twitter ] The Super Mario Bros movie currently in the cinema was posted without permission on Twitter on April 30th and viewed by millions of users before being reported (Press release of April 30, 2023).
🇮🇹 [ AI / Regulation ] The Italian National Commission for data protection and privacy (GPDP) reauthorises ChatGPT, with OpenAI guaranteeing it more transparency and more rights for European users (Press release of 28 April 2023).
🇫🇷 Copyright / Regulation: The French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM) publishes the 2022 report presenting the assessment, by rights holders, of the tools made available to them by content sharing service providers and establishes 13 recommendations for content providers. services and rights holders (Press release of April 27, 2023).
🇩🇪 [ AI / Justice ] German photographer Robert Kneschke is suing LAION, an AI database operator, for copyright infringement before the Hamburg Regional Court (Press release of April 27, 2023).
🇪🇺 [ AI / Cybersecurity ] ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) has published an assessment of AI cybersecurity standards with the aim of identifying potential gaps to support the implementation of the next EU policies (Press release of 27 April 2023).
🇺🇸 [ PI / Regulation ] Publication of the “Special 301 Report” by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) (Press release of April 26, 2023).
🇨🇭 [ Counterfeit / Customs ] The Swiss Federal Council adopts a bill introducing a simplified procedure for the destruction of small consignments of counterfeit goods held at the border (Press release of April 26, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Cybersecurity / Report ] The French National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI) has published its 2022 activity report which lists its actions to face cyber threats in France (Press release, April 26, 2023).
🇺🇸 [ AI / Personal Data ] Open AI has announced the possibility to delete chat history on ChatGPT and disable data collection for AI training purposes (Press Release April 25, 2023).
🇪🇺 [ Digital Services Act ] The European Commission designates 17 very large online platforms (VLOPs) and 2 search engines (VLOSEs) that reach at least 45 million active users per month (Press release of 25 April 2023).
🇪🇺 [ Consumer Affairs / Legislation ] On April 25, the Council of the EU adopted the General Product Safety Regulation which strengthens safety rules for products sold offline and online (Press release of April 25, 2023).
🇪🇺 [ Twitter / Regulation ] Twitter accepts a “blank” audit from the European Commission to enable it to comply with European rules (Press release of April 25, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Digital / Legislation ] Among the measures of the “roadmap” presented on April 25, the government unveils a new bill on digital to fight against online scams and cyber-bullying (Press release of April 25, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Geolocation / Regulation ] The French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) has published its work program for 2023 on connected vehicles (Press release of 25 April 2023).
🇺🇸 [ Apple / Justice ] On April 24, the San Francisco Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s judgment acquitting Apple of unfair competition in the case against Epic Games. However, Apple will have to change the rules of the App Store to allow developers to redirect users to their own payment methods and thus avoid Apple’s 30% commission.
04/21/2023
🇺🇸 [ NFT / Justice ] On April 21, a California court ruled in favour of the Bored Ape Yacht Club in a lawsuit accusing artists Ryden Ripps and Jeremy Cahen of trademark infringement, following a parody of the collection (Judgment April 21, 2023, CV 22-4355-JFW).
🇪🇺 [ AI / Regulation ] The European Consumers’ Organisation has asked the European Consumer Protection Network (CPC Network), in an open letter, to open an investigation on generative AI (Press release of 21 April 2023).
🇺🇸 [ AI / Big Tech ] Google and Meta are planning the creation of AI-assisted advertisements (Press release April 21, 2023 ).
🇧🇷 [ Piracy / Regulation ] 36 Japanese anime pirate websites were closed between February and March 2023 following the “Operation Anime” carried out by the Brazilian authorities and the anti-piracy association CODA (Press release of April 20, 2023).
🇪🇺 [ Crypto-assets / Legislation ] The European Parliament has approved the European regulation on crypto-asset markets (“Markets in Crypto-Assets” or “MiCA”), first legislative text of the European Union for the traceability of crypto-assets transfers and the prevention of money laundering (Press release April 20, 2023).
🇺🇸 [ Counterfeiting / Big Tech ] Amazon announces the establishment of the Anti-Counterfeiting Exchange (ACX) program to facilitate the fight against counterfeiting on its platform (Press release April 20, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Cybersquatting / Regulation ] The French Ministry of the Economy announced the deployment of the fight against cybersquatting of State identities, initiated in 2022 by ANSSI, to all ministries (Press release April 20, 2023).
🇺🇸 [ Cryptocurrencies / Justice ] The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has launched legal proceedings against the Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange platform (Press release of April 17, 2023).
🇧🇪 [ PDO / Customs ] Belgian Customs seized and destroyed a shipment of over 2,300 cans of American beer bearing the inscription “The Champagne of Beers” bound for Germany (Press release April 17 2023).
04/14/2023
🇬🇧 [ Narcotics / OSINT ] The Judicial Police of Versailles dismantled two drug delivery platforms “Rapidservice78” and “Pharmacien78” thanks to a cyber infiltration (Press release April 14, 2023).
🇺🇸 [ TikTok / Legislation ] The State of Montana has passed a law to ban TikTok (Press release April 14, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Gambling / Justice ] On April 14, the French Council of State ruled that the monopoly of the Française des Jeux was in accordance with European Union law and justified by reasons of public order and control risks (Press release April 14, 2023).
🇫🇷 Hosting / Justice: In an action for infringement following the unauthorised marketing by a platform of products reproducing the brands of a third party, the French Court of Cassation overturned the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal which exempted from liability of the platform due to its quality as a data host. By offering the creator a logistical service for the manufacture and delivery of products in return for the authorisation to reproduce his work, the platform had an active role such as to incur his liability (Cass. Com. April 13, 2023).
🇪🇸 [ AI / Regulation ] The Spanish Data Protection Organisation (AEPD) opens an investigation on ChatGPT (Press release of April 13, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ AI / Regulation ] Several complaints were filed with the French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty against ChatGPT for lack of transparency, lack of loyalty and lack of legal basis for data processing during the first two weeks of April.
🇬🇧 [ Comcyber / Regulation ] The cyber defense command unveiled its main strategic axes for the years 2024 to 2030 during its hearing before Parliament on April 13 (Report of the hearing of April 13, 2023).
🇬🇧 [ Sports Betting / Sponsorship ] Premier League clubs collectively agreed on April 13 to withdraw gambling sponsorship from shirts effective from the end of the 2025/26 season (Press release April 13, 2023).
🇪🇺 [ AI / Regulation ] On April 13, the European Data Protection Board announced the launch of a working group on ChatGPT (Press release April 13, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Cyberattack / DDoS ] The Météo France websites were the victims of a denial of service attack making access impossible for several hours (Press release April 12, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Hosting / Justice ] The DSTORAGE company, operator of the file hosting website 1fichier.com, was condemned by the Paris Court of Justice and the Paris Court of Appeal for having infringed the intellectual property rights of the Nintendo company by refusing to withdraw access to pirated copies of the publisher’s video games (CA Paris, April 12, 2023)
🇫🇷 [ AI / Regulation ] Jean-Noël Barrot, the French Minister Delegate in charge of the Digital Transition declared that France would not ban ChatGPT despite the risks that AI could present (Press release April 11, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Metaverse / Regulation ] The French Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition and Telecommunications announces the launch of a public consultation on the metaverse, in addition to the European consultation initiative launched at the end of March (Press release April 11, 2023).
🇺🇸 [ AI / Security ] OpenAI has announced the opening of its Bug Bounty program in order to find and fix vulnerabilities in ChatGPT (Press release April 11, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Olympics 2024 / Personal Data ] On April 11, the French Parliament adopted the Bill relating to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a text which provides, among other things, rules on video surveillance and behavioral recognition (Bill 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games).
🇮🇱 [ Spyware / Cybersecurity ] After Pegasus, Microsoft and the Citizen Lab research laboratory identify the Israeli QuaDream spyware which targets journalists, political opponents and NGOs (Citizen Lab report of April 11, 2023).
💊 [ Health / Regulation ] The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) suspends the commercialisation of Trex products, presented as natural “detox” products, following reports of numerous serious adverse effects (Press release April 11, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Digital / Study ] Arcep and Arcom have published their common reference of digital uses in France (Repository of Digital Uses – April 2023).
🇺🇸 [ Consumer / Regulatory ] The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined a company $600,000 for manipulating product reviews and ratings (“review hijacking”) on Amazon (Press release, April 10, 2023).
🇺🇸 [ Twitter / Regulation ] Twitter has removed restrictions on official Russian accounts (Press release of April 10, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Trademarks / Justice ] In a judgment of April 7, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled that the trade name used in business life with only local scope is an anteriority defeating the registration of a brand (CA Paris, 7 April 23, 22/02032).
🇳🇱 [ Cybercrime / Personal Data ] The FBI and Europol, in collaboration with the Dutch police, have dismantled Genesis Market, one of the largest illegal marketplaces for hackers (Press release, 5 April 2023).
04/07/2023
🔓 [ Tesla / Personal Data ] An investigation reveals that Tesla employees accessed and shared videos recorded by customers car cameras (Press Release, April 6, 2023).
🇺🇸 [ Personal Data / Justice ] Following revelations about Tesla employees sharing videos recorded by customer car cameras, a class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Class Action, Case No: 3:23-cv-01704, April 7 2023).
🇫🇷 [ AI / Study ] The PEReN (French Pole of Expertise for Digital Regulation) has published an enlightening document on conversational AI to explain how they work and how they are used (Report of 6 April 2023).
🇺🇸 [ Google / Personal Data ] Google will require Android application developers to integrate an option that makes it easier for users to delete their personal data and accounts (Press release, April 5, 2023).
🇮🇹 [ Meta / Competition ] The AGCM (Italian Competition Authority) has opened an investigation against Meta for abuse of economic dependence towards the SIAE (Italian collective management society for artists’ rights) (Press release of 5 April 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Fraud / Banks ] Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr and the Banque de France launch the campaign against fraud by social engineering “Fraud Fight Club” (Press release of April 5, 2023).
🇦🇺 [ TikTok / Regulation ] After the EU, Canada and the United States, it is now the turn of the Australian Department of Justice to ban the use of TikTok on government business devices (Press release of April 4, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Cyberattacks / Regulation ] The French military programming bill for 2024-2030, registered on April 4, proposes to extend the French National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI)’s means of fighting threats likely to affect national security (Military Programming Bill).
🇺🇸 [ Twitter / Cryptocurrencies ] Elon Musk is accused of influencing the price of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin after he replaced Twitter’s logo with a shiba inu dog, the cryptocurrency’s symbol, on April 4 (Press release, April 4, 2023).
🇺🇸 [ Copyright / Justice ] On April 4, Nintendo filed a DMCA request in the Northern District Court of California following the disclosure on Discord of an artbook a few months before the official launch date of the game Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Case 3:23-mc-80109-DMR).
🇫🇷 [ Personal Data / Regulation ] The French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) has published the new version of its personal data security guide (Press release of April 3, 2023).
🇮🇹 🇨🇦 [ AI / Regulation ] After Italy, the British Information Commissionner’s Office (ICO) warns companies against ChatGPT. In Canada, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner opens an investigation into OpenAI (ICO press release of April 3, 2023, Office of the Privacy Commissioner press release of April 4, 2023).
🇫🇷 [ Personal Data / Regulation ] The French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) has given notice to the Ministry of Economy to regularise a file used by the customs (Decision of April 3, 2023).
🇬🇧 Web3 / Regulation: UKIPO Issues New Trademark Guidance on NFTs, the Metaverse and Virtual Goods (Press release of April 3, 2023).
