Tag Archives: ICO
ESMA publishes report on ICOs and Crypto-Assets
ESMA has published an own initiative report on additional steps it can take to contain the risks for investors arising from ICOs and crypto-assets (noting that there are no obvious related stability risks as yet). The report recommends that: additional guidance is produced by EMSA on the interpretation of MiFID with respect to applicability to […]
FCA writes Dear CEO letter on crypto and financial crime
FCA has written a “Dear CEO” letter on the financial crime risks of crypto-assets. The letter notes the scope for cryptoassets to be used for both criminal purposes and non-criminal purposes that nonetheless present the risk for abuse. The letter sets out what FCA regards as good practice for how banks handle these risks. The letter suggests: that […]
FCA and ICO update on GDPR
An update from FCA and the ICO confirms FCA’s view that firms can comply with both the GDPR and its rules. The update notes that GDPR is a board level responsibility, and firms must produce evidence to show what they have done to comply with it. FCA also notes that, although the ICO will regulate […]
The UK’s developing cyber insurance market
We have written an article that assesses the UK’s developing cyber insurance market in the context of the changing regulatory landscape and looks at the possible benefits and risks associated with the proposal to share data breach information between insurers and the ICO.
FCA publishes distributed ledger technology feedback statement
Following the publication of its discussion paper regarding the risks and opportunities, and characteristics of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in April 2017, the FCA’s feedback statement FS17/4 sets out responses received and the FCA’s next steps. The responses related to the following issues: operational risk, including outsourcing and network security; digital currency, including digital currency […]
Initial coin offerings: regulation and the risks
We’ve written a briefing on recent regulatory warnings about ICOs, and how they may fall within the UK’s regulatory perimeter.
ESMA warns investors and firms on dangers of ICOs
ESMA has become the latest body to denounce initial coin offerings (ICOs), issuing statements directed at investors and firms highlighting the distinct risks involved. Echoing FCA’s previous warnings , ESMA has focused on the risks of investors to losing all their invested capital, and firms conducting ICOs potentially also carrying on regulated investment activities. Investors are […]
FCA warns on risks of ‘ICOs’
The FCA has today made a statement on Initial Coin Offerings or ‘ICOs’. The FCA has said that ICOs, which can vary widely in design, are ‘very high-risk, speculative investments.’ They went further to say that ‘whether an ICO falls within the FCA’s regulatory boundaries or not can only be decided case by case.’ The […]
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission makes statement on initial coin offerings
Much like the recent investigative report from the SEC in the USA in relation to the DAO token issuance, in which it was determined that a token sale amounted to the issuance of securities, this statement from the SFC serves to explain that, depending on the facts and circumstances of an ICO, digital tokens that are […]
HM Treasury reports on the progress of Insurance Fraud Taskforce’s recommendations
HM Treasury has published a report on the progress made during 2016 on the original 26 recommendations put forwards by the Insurance Fraud Taskforce. The Taskforce was set up to investigate the causes of fraudulent behaviour and recommend solutions to reduce the level of insurance fraud in order to ultimately lower costs and protect the […]
ICO fines Moneysupermarket.com £80,000
ICO has fined Moneysupermarket.com Ltd £80,000 for sending 7.1 million unsolicited direct marketing emails over a period of ten days to update its customers on its Terms and Conditions. Crucially all the recipients of the emails had previously opted out of direct marketing, and Moneysupermarket sent the T&Cs by email which included a section noting the […]
ICO fines loan firm for nuisance texts
The Information Commissioner’s Office has fined Provident Personal Credit Ltd £80,000 for sending nearly 1 million unsolicited texts promoting personal loans. The company used third party affiliates to send the communications, to which the recipients had not consented.
ICO fines credit broker for unsolicited texts
The ICO has fined a credit broker £20,000 for sending unsolicited communications in breach of regulation 22 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. Munee Hut markets its services partly through affiliates that send marketing texts that direct recipients to Munee Hut’s website. Between mid-2015 and spring 2016, 885 complaints were made about receipt […]
ICO and FCA hold big data use forum
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and FCA have published a summary of their forum on the use of Big Data in retail general insurance. The forum, held on 16 January 2017, was to engage with the insurance industry following stakeholder concerns raised as part of FCA’s call for input, on which it published a feedback statement […]
ICO fines RSA for DP breach
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance PLC (RSA) with a monetary penalty notice (£150,000) because of a serious breach of the seventh principle (the requirement to keep data secure) of the Data Protection Act 1998 by RSA. Between 18 May 2015 and 30 July 2015, a portable Network Attached […]
ICO revises Privacy Notices code of Practice
The ICO has recently issued a revised Privacy Notices Code of Practice, which we have reviewed in our recent article on the Code for the Privacy and Data Protection Journal.
UK confirms adoption of the GDPR
The UK Government has confirmed that the UK will adopt the GDPR . Secretary of State Karen Bradley MP stated: ‘We will be members of the EU in 2018 and therefore it would be expected and quite normal for us to opt into the GDPR and then look later at how best we might be […]