newtech.law - legal aspects of new technologies

The Act on Trust Services and Electronic Identification is intended to adapt Polish law to the EU’s eIDAS Regulation. Among other things, it repeals the Electronic Signature Act. The new act is part of a broad trend toward creation of a new regulatory framework for digital commerce.

Consultations are nearing the end on the proposed Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) for strong customer authentication announced by the European Banking Authority pursuant to the revised Payment Services Directive (2015/2366, known as PSD2). This proposal was much awaited by the entire financial technology industry. The standards could have a huge impact on business models and tech solutions applied on the FinTech market.

Consumers and producers alike complain that labels on food products are hard to understand. Could the solution for crowding in too much information be an electronic label where data of interest to the consumer could be checked using a smartphone app?

Phrases like “using the cloud,” “software in the cloud,” or “cloud computing” long ago ceased to generate primarily meteorological associations. Our mail hangs in the cloud today, along with various computer programmes—from simpler tools like “GoToMeeting” to complex customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resourcing planning (ERP) systems.

It has been known for some time that the European Commission plans to extend the EU’s regulations on anti-money laundering and combating of terrorism financing (AML/CTF) to cover digital currencies. In February 2016 the Commission announced that it would present a proposal for changes in law in this area by the middle of the year.

The legislative proposal was presented in July 2016. It may bring about many changes for individuals and firms operating in the area of digital currencies, and perhaps also for those involved in distributed ledger (blockchain) technology.

There are lots of indications that financial technology, or FinTech, is one of the next chapters in the digital revolution unrolling before our eyes.