Townsend Feehan

Opinion IAB Europe responds to criticisms of the use of ‘consent or pay’ models and argues that publishers must be entitled to determine their own business models. Do “consent or pay” models implemented by online publishers force users to make an “impossible choice” between access to content on the one hand and the protection of their fundamental right to privacy on the other? Is consent-or-pay even illegal under the EU’s flagship data protection law, GDPR, as well as UK law that derives from it?

The EU has hailed its Recovery Plan for Europe as a “once in a lifetime chance to emerge stronger from the pandemic”. But despite a commitment to making the Union more digital, the reality of Brussels policymaking paints a very different picture for the small and medium businesses (SMEs) that are the backbone of the European economy, for digital media, and ultimately for our broader society.

Věra Jourová, the Czech-born official in charge of the Commission's work on values, transparency and upholding the rule of law, accused Orbán of building a “sick democracy” in an interview with German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel. In response, Orbán wrote to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen demanding the resignation of Jourová and saying that her comments “prevent any meaningful dialogue” between her and Hungary.