The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020) came into force on 6 April 2022. Proceedings issued by the court on or after 6 April 2022 are subject to the provisions of DDSA 2020 and the changes to procedure under the amended Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955. For further information, see Practice Note: Introduction to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. Proceedings issued by the court on or before 5 April 2022 will continue to progress under the pre-DDSA 2020 law, whether submitted on the digital system or via paper forms. Such applications will not be impacted by the coming into force of DDSA 2020, nor the consequential changes to procedure. This document covers the position for proceedings issued online prior to 6 April 2022. Legislative changes have been made as a consequence of DDSA 2020, including to FPR 2010, Pt 7. To view a historic version of FPR 2010, Pt 7, and FPR 2010, Practice Direction 7A as applicable to proceedings issued prior to 6 April 2022, see below: This

This toolkit brings together various resources and documents associated with the HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) online system and online proceedings, including signposting to permanent provisions in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) and pilot schemes that are in operation in the Family Court under FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 36. It also signposts to Lexis+® UK Practice Notes and HMCTS guidance available to assist practitioners dealing with proceedings online. See: Managing proceedings online—overview. The digitisation programme set out by HMCTS aims to increase the efficiency of family proceedings. Amendments have been made, and continue to be made, to FPR 2010 to provide that certain applications and proceedings proceed by electronic means, ie online rather than on paper. A number of pilot schemes have been introduced in the Family Court. They are set out in FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 36, and the associated Practice Directions. Some pilots have expired and been replaced with permanent provision in the FPR 2010. Some pilots are ongoing. The purpose of the pilot schemes is to assess the use of new

Law360, London: On 23 September 2024, a London judge ordered an online gambling software developer to publicise that it had plagiarised code protected by copyright when producing products which competed with the online betting game Slingo.

MLex: Operators of online marketplaces must proactively identify and control the processing of personal data contained in user-posted advertisements, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has ruled, tightening compliance expectations for platforms hosting classified ads. The court said marketplace operators qualify as controllers for personal data in ads published on their sites under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU GDPR) even when users upload the content.

MLex: Social media platforms have been the focus of most of the discussion about how to enforce the EU’s Digital Services Act—yet it’s increasingly clear that online marketplaces and e-commerce sites are becoming the next frontier. But there is a fierce battle ahead between those who argue marketplaces present as much of a danger as hate speech and echo chambers on social media, and those who say the law is simply not meant for them.

IP analysis: Emily Roberts and Harry Jewson of Burges Salmon LLP consider the Court of Justice’s decision on the potential liability of marketplaces like Amazon for counterfeits sold by third parties on their platform.

MLex: If online platforms continue their rush to implement age assurance gateways to comply with regulations, they risk facing enforcement under EU data protection rules regarding transparency, an official from the Irish Data Protection Commission warned. Age assurance typically involves processing the data of visitors to an online service.

MLex: Online safety regulators are to meet for the first time on 19 February 2024 as the EU’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA) starts to apply to all online platforms in the EU. The content moderation and online safety legislation, which has applied to the largest platforms since August 2023, will also be applicable to smaller platforms from tomorrow. The European Board for Digital Services, an advisory group that consists of digital services coordinators (national DSA enforcers) and the European Commission, will meet for the first time next Monday, the commission said today.

MLex: Online platforms could find international compliance increasingly straightforward as members of the Global Online Safety Regulators Network (GOSRN) develop common metrics for risk assessment and align on complaints handling, information requests and safety measure expectations. A position paper on ‘regulatory coherence’ explains how regulators’ efforts could reduce the burden on services, as the data they need to provide across jurisdictions would vary less and less. The network includes the online safety regulators for Australia, France, Ireland, South Africa, South Korea, the UK and new member Slovakia. A larger group of organisations are observers. Statement follows, position paper attached:

MLex: Online platforms must adopt risk-based, privacy-preserving measures to shield minors from harmful content and interactions, under new European Commission guidelines published on 14 July 2025. The guidelines (issued under Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, the EU Digital Services Act (EU DSA)) are accompanied by the rollout of an age-verification app prototype, now entering a pilot phase with Member States. Platforms are urged to integrate or test the new tool and ensure that age checks are accurate and non-intrusive.

MLex: Senior UK lawmakers from across the political spectrum have said that the online safety regulator’s efforts to implement the Online Safety Act fall short of the legislation’s provisions. In a joint letter to Melanie Dawes, CEO of Ofcom, the lawmakers state the draft code on child safety does not enforce underage use of online platforms, does not mitigate against known risks to children (such as live streaming) and does not require age-appropriate services. ‘We are bewildered at the decision to do nothing at all to protect children under 13, and at the same time give regulated companies safe harbour’ the letter's signatories state.

This Practice Note looks at the key definitions and terms used to describe platform solutions, and gives an explanation of the common types of platform and terms associated with them. It also includes an explanation of the definitions, in each of the key EU pieces of legislation, used to determine the entities caught within the scope of that legislation. Detailed consideration regarding electronic data interchanges or other platforms used to facilitate the computer-to-computer exchange of business or trading data and documentation is beyond the scope of this Practice Note. This Practice Note does not cover UK law, for more information on legislation applicable to online platforms in the UK, see practice: Online platforms—introduction. For more information on the main recent digital (Directive, Regulation and Code of Conduct) initiatives that online platforms should consider when trading, offering or providing services in the EU or when they are established in the EU, see Practice Note: Key EU digital initiatives—summary. Online platforms In recent times, online platforms have seen significant growth in both economic and societal importance,