The recent decision no. 35/2022 issued by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) on July 13, 2022 (Decision), marked a record-high EUR 20 million fine against US company Clearview AI Inc. (Clearview). This Decision adds even higher pressure on Clearview, on top of other data protection authorities’ (DPAs) relevant decisions (French, Italian, British), while a similar decision is expected soon by the Austrian regulator, all as a response to a series of complaints filed by an alliance of non-profit privacy-driven organizations.

The information and technology sector has grown exponentially in Kosovo in the past five years, mainly focusing on the provision of services to international markets. This growth has happened mainly because of two reasons: first, the labor force is cheaper compared to the European market and, second, around 70% of the population is under the age of 35 and has advanced digital skills. The mix of these two has ensured access to international markets and the provision of quality deliverables.

According to publicly available research reports, Poland holds the seventh place in terms of the number of experts working on artificial intelligence (AI) projects in the European Union and even takes the lead in CEE. On the other hand, the level of adoption of AI-based solutions by Polish businesses is relatively disproportionate. The estimations made by the government visualize the potential impact of AI on the Polish economy. According to these calculations, the implementation of AI solutions in the Polish economy could contribute to increasing the GDP growth rate by 2.65% annually.

Following Russia’s war in Ukraine, Latvia has adopted preventive legislation in the name of its national security and interests. In particular, in May and September 2022, the Latvian Parliament adopted amendments to the law aimed at strengthening its information space. Thus, it is no longer allowed to retransmit programs whose jurisdiction undermines or threatens the territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national independence of another country.

All evidence shows that the legal rules regarding the marketing activity which is carried out by influencers will increasingly be the subject of legal analysis in the coming years. Influencer marketing has grown into a global industry showing significant growth year after year. In comparison, according to the Influencer Marketing Hub, the value of the market was estimated globally only at USD 1.7 billion in 2016 while, by 2022, this figure reached USD 16.4 billion.

At the end of September 2022, the European Commission (EC) published the long-expected proposals for legal regulation on civil liability for damage caused with the involvement of artificial intelligence (AI Liability) and liability for damage caused by a defective product (Product Liability). Whereas a proposal on AI Liability already existed (Civil liability regime for AI, published by the European Parliament in 2020), this is the first draft of an updated Product Liability.

When establishing a company in Montenegro, the new legal requirement which refers to the registration of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO) should be considered. The Revenue and Customs Administration of Montenegro established the UBO Register within the Central Registry of Business Entities, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in 2021. 

At the end of 2020, there were 26 banks operating independently from other banks in Serbia. At the end of 2021, there were 23 such banks.  A few merger processes are still ongoing and will lead to that number shrinking to just 19 before the end of 2022. 

According to the United Nations eGovernment Development Survey 2022, Serbia’s eGovernment Development Index was evaluated as “very high,” moving forward 18 places. Following the Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence, Serbia set the use of AI in the healthcare sector as a priority and started supporting projects for cooperation between public bodies and commerce to share and use data. Digitalization prevents corruption but, on the other hand, cannot meet the expectations of citizens if data protection principles are not implemented in real time.

The telecommunication industry in Serbia and the region is going through transformative changes at the core of its business. The market has seen significant consolidation and competition for consumers has become tough. Considerable investment has ensued in the sector, introducing significant changes in both services and delivery. These trends have sparked a remarkable focus shift from traditional land and mobile telephony services to information technologies and media distribution. Consumer needs and aspirations, fueled by the convergence of technologies, have set the bar high, and telecommunication companies have been able to adapt quickly.

The Serbian Competition Authority (SCA) has been relatively busy lately, and the outcome is an abundance of soft law on the one hand and inconsistent practice in actual casefiles on the other.

M&A activity in Serbia finally showed some positive trends in 2022, despite high inflation and supply chain challenges. During the first three quarters of 2022, the Serbian M&A market has performed well, given the current economic environment, and was primarily defined by deals in the energy and real estate sectors, the IT industry, and further consolidation of the banking sector. 

Consumer protection is strongly enshrined in the Czech legal system and will be strengthened or clarified even further. It will therefore be necessary for sellers to adjust their terms and conditions in this regard.

In its judgment dated June 28, 2022 and numbered 2018/6161, published in the Official Gazette dated December 20, 2022 and numbered 32049, the Constitutional Court ruled against the GSM operator that had rejected to provide phone line records upon the GSM owner’s request, on the grounds that as a result of such rejection, the right to effective remedy in connection with the right to request the protection of personal data within the framework of the right to respect for private life was violated.

As the terms “hunger” and “benefits” in most cases exclude each other and expectations of all interested parties are high on both ends, we spent hours listening carefully
to what lecturers and panelists of our data protection conference were saying, to summarise ideas and solutions to a complex question from the headline.

Law 367/ 2022 on social dialogue was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 1238 of 22 December 2022 ("Law 367/ 2022").

On April 1, 2023, the Law which enables foreigners to become e-residents in Ukraine (hereinafter “e-residence / e-resident”), will enter into the force (the “Law”).

The Communiqué on Increasing the Monetary Limits in Article 68 of the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 and Article 6 of the Regulation on Consumer Arbitration Committees (“Communiqué”) was published in the Official Gazette dated 16.12.2022 and numbered 32045.