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Encompass Print Solutions Tel: 0844 2480 112 London June 2021 Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd This article was first published in July 2021 For further information please contact [email protected] www.lexology.com/gtdt 1 © Law Business Research 2021 Contents Introduction 3 Philippines 103 Alexander Brown and David Trapp Rose Marie M King-Dominguez, Miguel Franco T Dimayacyac and Simmons & Simmons LLP Leo Francis F Abot SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan Brazil 4 Mauricio Vedovato and Daniela Maria Maria Rosa Nascimento Portugal 109 Huck Otranto Camargo Advogados Nuno Peres Alves and Mara Rupia Lopes Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados China 11 Jingyuan Shi, Ryo Lu and Jenny Liu Russia 118 Simmons & Simmons LLP Anastasia Dergacheva, Ksenia Andreeva, Anastasia Kiseleva, Kamil Sitdikov and Alena Neskoromyuk Egypt 21 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Mohamed Hashish and Farida Rezk Soliman, Hashish & Partners Singapore 127 Lim Chong Kin European Union 28 Drew & Napier LLC Anne Baudequin, Christopher Götz and Martin Gramsch Simmons & Simmons LLP South Korea 141 Ji Yeon Park, Juho Yoon and Kwang Hyun Ryoo Greece 46 Bae, Kim & Lee LLC Dina Th Kouvelou, Nikos Th Nikolinakos and Alexis N Spyropoulos Nikolinakos & Partners Law Firm Switzerland 149 Mario Strebel and Fabian Koch Ireland 56 CORE Attorneys Ltd Helen Kelly, Simon Shinkwin and Kate McKenna Matheson Taiwan 158 Robert C Lee and Sharon Liu Italy 67 Yangming Partners Alessandra Bianchi Simmons & Simmons LLP Turkey 164 Cigdem Ayozger Ongun, Volkan Akbas and Selin Cetin Japan 76 SRP Legal Atsushi Igarashi, Takuya Yamago, Koshi Okabe and Yukito Nagaoka TMI Associates United Arab Emirates 175 Raza Rizvi Mexico 84 Simmons & Simmons LLP Julián Garza and Paulina Bracamontes B Nader Hayaux & Goebel United Kingdom 182 Alexander Brown and David Trapp Nigeria 93 Simmons & Simmons LLP Chukwuyere E Izuogu, Otome Okolo and Tamuno Atekebo Streamsowers & Köhn United States 199 Colleen Sechrest, Kent D Bressie, Michael Nilsson and Paul Caritj Harris Wiltshire Grannis LLP 2 Telecoms & Media 2021 © Law Business Research 2021 Introduction Alexander Brown and David Trapp Simmons & Simmons LLP Continual changes to technology and how end users consume informa- many TMT companies opportunities for growth in meeting the demands tion mean that the laws concerning the telecoms and media sectors of consumers seeking new solutions for home working, homeschooling remain under constant review. The purpose of Telecoms & Media is to and indoor entertainment and it will drive the digital transformation of give an overview of the framework in these areas across a wide range businesses as they have had to adopt cloud services at speed and scale of different jurisdictions. to address some of the challenges posed by the coronavirus. The answers to the questions posed in this publication address Moreover, it seems likely that working practices may never be not only the regulatory structure in each market but also the practical the same post-lockdown as many businesses are announcing moves aspects of how those regulations impact service providers and end to hybrid or fully remote working patterns. This could see a significant users alike. The responses to each question highlight any key changes proportion of the workforce working from home much of the time if not over the past year, as well as any proposed plans for change and future full time. That will impact, for example, communications service providers developments. In answering these questions, the responses seek to as demand for high bandwidth broadband shifts, to some degree, from address both the legal and practical aspects of these industries. metropolitan areas to less densely populated areas. That may cause The importance of telecoms and media for end users generally governments to revisit rollout obligations and universal service obliga- means that, for many countries, these areas are heavily regulated tions associated with fixed and mobile broadband. However, that desire and are subject to detailed competition law requirements. Attention to improve connectivity may well have to be adjusted to take account of is, therefore, also given to how these restrictions on competition will funding (both within the public and private sectors) being likely to be impact organisations operating in these sectors. Additionally, considera- somewhat constrained in the aftermath of the covid-19 crisis. tion is given to how areas of law that are not specific to these sectors, On another topic, and more parochially, the United Kingdom left such as cybersecurity and data protection legislation, may impact the the European Union on 31 January 2020 with a transition period in place telecoms and media sectors. that ended on 31 December 2020. Accordingly, the United Kingdom has The responses to these questions avoid focusing on only one or now left the EU regulatory regime and we may increasingly see UK two segments of the industries but instead look to give an overview of a regulation diverge from that of the European Union. While the United wide range of areas, from mobile communications to broadband connec- Kingdom has implemented the European Electronic Communications tivity for telecoms and newspapers to online video content for media. Code, which is of relevance for the telecoms sector, it has indicated, for At the time of writing the introduction to last year’s publication, example, that it does not have plans to implement the Digital Copyright the covid-19 lockdowns were taking full effect on a global scale. Sadly, Directive, the implementation deadline of which fell outside the Brexit they remain in place in many countries at the time of writing of this transition period. introduction and we have seen the profound effect that covid-19 and Following the agreement of the Brexit Trade and Cooperation the lockdowns have had on society and business. The crisis has had Agreement at the end of 2020, a clearer picture developed for the United a mixed outcome on the technology, media and telecommunications Kingdom’s trading and regulatory environment post-Brexit, but not all (TMT) sector. Those technologies and services that have enabled the loose ends relevant to the TMT sector are tied up. For example, remote working and maintaining personal contact have thrived (eg, concerning the important area of data transfers, we still await news of video conferencing, cloud services, home broadband and e-commerce) whether the European Commission’s recent draft adequacy decision on while those that feed off live interaction with people or are connected to the United Kingdom’s data protection regime will be approved. Friction the offline retail sector have been hit harder (eg, services supported by concerning data transfer between the European Union and the United broadcast advertising, live events streaming or ticketing services, etc). Kingdom will hamper TMT businesses just as we are seeing the growing However, longer-term it is clear that the covid-19 crisis will be the friction in data