Cyprus enacted a new competition framework in 2022, introducing additional powers for the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition (the CPC). The new legislation consolidates previous statutes regulating collusive conduct, abuses of dominance and abuses of relationships of economic dependence.

The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (EU) 2018/1808 amending the Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services is now transposed into Cyprus law.

Further to television broadcasts and on-demand audiovisual media services, the new framework also regulates video-sharing platforms. The framework also provides for safeguards regarding the prohibition of hate speech, the protection of minors as users of audio-visual media services to maximise consumer protection and general media accessibility in view of changing market realities.

New legislation in Cyprus sets out rules concerning contracts for the supply of digital content or digital services. These rules include requirements for conformity with the contract for the supply of digital content or services and remedies available for non-conformity or failure to supply. The new rules result from the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/770 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services into Cyprus law.

Cyprus law applies to any contract where a trader supplies digital content or digital services to the consumer for a price. It also applies when the consumer does not pay a price but provides personal data to the trader (unless personal data provided is only processed for the purpose of supplying the digital content or digital service or for the trader to comply with legal requirements).

The centralised architecture of cyberspace means that sovereigns can enforce the rules of their legal orders against online companies. Shifting our commercial and social activities into a mixed reality would pit the physical world, where our legal orders exist and normatively prevail, against the virtual world, which is the realm of code.

In alignment with European Union law, Cyprus law requires that a joint venture performs on a lasting basis all the functions of an autonomous economic entity for it to be considered a concentration.

New Cyprus whistleblowing legislation regulates the disclosure or reporting of breaches of EU and Cyprus law in the public and private sectors. The new legislation, the Protection of Persons Reporting Breaches of Union and National Law of 2022 (the Whistleblowing Law), applies to the reporting of breaches of EU or Cyprus law by individuals working in the private or public sector who acquired information on breaches of EU or Cyprus law in a work-related context.

Cyprus law provides for certain localisation and disclosure requirements with respect to online purchases of digital services and content. These digital services and content include streaming and video-on-demand, such as movies and series, music, as well as in-app purchases in mobile apps. The applicable framework transposes relevant EU directives and primarily serves to protect consumers.

The concept of a lead supervisory data protection authority facilitates monitoring cross-border processing or processing that relates to persons in more than one member state by a ‘one-stop’ authority. Businesses engaged in cross-border processing activities may identify their lead authority depending on the location of the controller’s ‘main establishment’ or ‘single establishment’ in the EU.