In late December 2025, the FCC updated its “Covered List” to add foreign-produced unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, and their critical components after an Executive Branch interagency body determined that they pose “unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons.” Subsequently,…

Germany has kicked off a new Pharma and MedTech Dialogue that aims to develop new policies and regulatory reform proposals to re‑establish Germany as a competitive, innovation‑friendly location for life sciences R&D and manufacturing. The outcome of this dialogue shall be the basis for a new German Pharma and MedTech Strategy.

I. The Pharma &…

On January 21, 2026, the FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice providing new guidance on how it will evaluate whether broadcast television stations have triggered an obligation to provide “equal opportunities” to political candidates under Section 315 of the Communications Act.  

The FCC’s equal opportunities rule generally says that if a station gives…

In 2025, courts continued to issue significant decisions concerning the application of wiretap and privacy laws to pixels, session replay, and other website technologies. Over the past year, we have featured posts discussing claims regarding website analytics and advertising tools brought under the federal Wiretap Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”), the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”), and other laws.  A selection of posts highlighting important developments in this area is below. 

On 16 December 2025, the European Commission presented the Automotive Package (the “Package”), a set of interlinked legislative and policy initiatives aimed at supporting the European automotive sector’s transition to clean mobility. The Package has four core components: (i) a proposal to revise the CO₂ emission performance standards for cars and vans, (ii) the so-called “Battery Booster Strategy”, (iii) a proposal on greening corporate vehicle fleets, and (iv) a proposal for an “Automotive Omnibus” regulation that would amend several pieces of automotive legislation to simplify regulations for vehicle manufacturers. Together, these initiatives signal a material recalibration of the EU’s approach to vehicle decarbonization.

As 2026 gets underway, the European Union enters a pivotal year for data protection, AI governance, and cybersecurity regulation, among other matters. EU institutions and national authorities are expected to progress a number of significant digital‑policy files, roll‑out new cyber‑resilience obligations, and make transparency in the privacy space a top priority. Below is an overview of the key developments to monitor.

On 20 January, the UK Government announced a consultation on planned reforms to the UK’s merger and markets regime. Key proposed changes include narrowing certain jurisdictional thresholds, centralising Phase II decision-making within the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Board through removal of the Phase II independent panel (CMA Panel), and the introduction of a new “single-phase” market investigation review process.

Whilst reform may be welcome to businesses in some respects, the proposals are likely to further centralise decision-making power within the CMA, as well as increasing the oversight of Government in the administration of key aspects of the UK’s antitrust regime. For merger decisions in particular, the removal of the CMA Panel, combined with the Government’s commitment to retain the judicial review standard of appeal, may reignite calls for a full merits review standard to be introduced alongside the proposed reforms.

Why now? 

Having gained a reputation for taking bold stances on global mergers with arguably limited nexus to the UK (e.g., Facebook/Giphy and Sabre/Farelogix), the CMA has sometimes been accused of deterring some transactional investments in the UK economy. As part of a wider Regulatory Action Plan, the Government in January 2025 replaced the incumbent CMA Chair, Marcus Bokkerink, with Doug Gurr (formerly a global VP and the head of Amazon UK). The Government also committed to reviewing and narrowing the UK’s notoriously broad jurisdictional thresholds under the Enterprise Act 2002.

A resulting flurry of activity has already seen the CMA prioritising cases that have a direct impact on UK consumers or businesses; adopting a more neutral stance towards behavioural remedies in suitable cases; and promising to increase the pace, predictability, and proportionality (the “4Ps”) of its enforcement activities, in particular for merger reviews.  

The proposed reforms consolidate and entrench this direction of travel.

On November 5, 2025, the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (“MITECO”) adopted a Resolution setting out the National Plan for the control of compliance with access and benefit-sharing (“ABS”) obligations under Regulation 511/2014 implementing the Nagoya Protocol in the European Union.  The National Plan sets out a “risk-based” control system to ensure…

In a recently published award, an arbitrator rejected claims that Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. (“Dick’s”) violated the Federal Wiretap Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) by purportedly installing website analytics and marketing technologies on its website after an evidentiary hearing.  Asad v. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc., JAMS Ref. No. 5220005532 (Dec. 8, 2025).