A first-instance Court in the United Kingdom ruled in October 2016 that the relationship between, ride-sharing app, Uber and its drivers was that of an employer and employee. Uber unsuccessfully contended that its drivers were merely independent contractors. The case – Aslam v Uber BV [2017] IRLR 4 – naturally sent ripples throughout the gig-economy, given the […]
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Presentation: E-commerce and the Barbados Services Sector
A bit late with this one. Apologies. In September 2017, I gave a presentation at a breakfast seminar put on by the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries. The seminar was focused on E-Commerce in Barbados and I was asked to consider legal implications. My presentation touched on: Elements of an enabling e-commerce environment. Common barriers […]
Freedom Online Coalition publishes Recommendations on Cybersecurity Policy and Human Rights
Working Group 1 of the Freedom Online Coalition (“FOC”) has published a list of recommendations which it hopes will lead to cybersecurity policies which are inherently more rights respecting. These Recommendations were produced at the sixth iteration of the FOC’s annual conference in Costa Rica. The FOC, according to its website, is “…a group of […]
CANTO Code of Practice and Net Neutrality in the Caribbean
A voluntary code titled: Voluntary Code on Safeguarding the Open Internet" (”the Code”) was publicly unveiled at the recently held Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (“CANTO”) meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Code’s stated objective indicates that: “The Code is in response to concerns brought forward by operators about consumer rights in accessing […]
North America Summit Statement on Global Cyber Issues… and why we may need to ditch aspects of HIPCAR
In keeping with the effects of the Monroe doctrine and the Caribbean Basin Initiative, when the USA sneezes, we catch a cold in the Caribbean. At least, so goes the standard narrative of regional geo-politics, If we accept that there is any truth to this, then paying attention to every huff coming from our neighbors […]
Listed in this year’s INSOL International Directory. The directory is home to the leading accountants, law firms, counsel and licensed practitioners in insolvency, bankruptcy and restructuring.
ECTEL proposes net neutrality language in draft regulations to complement revised Electronic Communications bill
The Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) is the regional, multi-state telecoms regulator for the Eastern Caribbean. Recently, ECTEL put forward a slew of recommendations on various regulatory instruments to be enacted in the Eastern Caribbean. The regulations would go hand-in-hand with the proposed revisions to the Electronic Communications bill. The proposed regulations cover: infrastructure sharing; […]
Cyber security Report on Latin America and the Caribbean
Last Month, the Inter-American Development Bank, in association with the Organisation of American States, launched a publication titled: Cybersecurity: Are We Ready in Latin America and the Caribbean? According to the blurb on the website: The 2016 Cybersecurity Report is the result of the collaboration between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of American […]
Results of ECLAC Survey on Priorities for the Information Society in the Caribbean
Some months ago, I had mentioned that the Caribbean Development Portal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) launched an online survey “to get a sense of views within the region regarding the relative importance of various policy objectives in the area of ICT”. Like most in the region, […]
The Brazil Whatsapp Shutdown and Lessons for the Caribbean
By now, the news cycle surrounding the temporary shutdown of Whatsapp by a Brazilian Court has petered out. If you missed it (or are only reading this 50 years later!), the gist is that in 2015 Whatsapp is a large transnational mobile messaging service with global appeal and very high reach in Brazil. Prosecutors in […]