DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
AI Act
Obligations now apply for providers of general-purpose AI models under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence. The European Commission has published guidelines clarifying who must comply with the obligations and a template for summarising the data used to train models. It is also confirmed that the GPAI Code of Practice is an adequate voluntary tool for providers to demonstrate compliance with the Regulation.
Digital Fairness Act
The European Commission is calling for evidence and consulting until 24 October 2025 to develop legislation to address gaps or areas of legal uncertainty concerning consumer protection online. The Commission intends to impact assess several options, including prohibitions to: prevent traders from using dark patterns and other unfair techniques; address addictive design features; address problematic personalisation practices, including situations where consumer vulnerabilities are targeted for the purposes of personalised advertising and pricing; and address problems with digital contracts.
Digital Markets Act: Review
The European Commission is required to review Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector by 3 May 2026 and every three years after that. The Commission is now calling for evidence until 23 September 2025 and consulting until 24 September 2025 to inform its assessment of whether the legislation is fit for purpose, relevant and on track to address the problems it was designed to tackle, such as insufficient contestability of, and competition in, platform markets, unfair gatekeeper practices towards business users, and legal uncertainty for market players.
TELECOMS
Market Monitoring Report
ComReg published correspondence with eir concerning ComReg's Market Monitoring Report in relation to wholesale broadband and physical infrastructure markets. ComReg published previous correspondence on this matter in July 2025. This correspondence outlines Eircom's view that there have been material changes in market conditions in the Commercial Next Generation WLA Market and that a new market analysis is warranted. ComReg, however, considers that the market has evolved in ways that are consistent with the assumptions underpinning the 2024 WLA/WCA Decision. On this basis, ComReg's view is that a new market analysis is not warranted.
COMREG Consumer Care Statistics Report
ComReg's Consumer Care Statistics Report for Q2 2025 is available. It aims to inform consumers on communication issues and escalated complaints made to electronic communications, postal and premium rate providers. ComReg recorded 7,700 consumer contacts in Q2 compared with 9,000 consumer contacts in Q1 2025. Of the issues recorded, 88% were queries and 12% were complaints, marking a 10% decrease in the number of recorded issues compared with Q2 2024. Of these recorded issues, 84.4% related to electronic services, with the remainder relating to premium rate services and 'Not for ComReg/Other' issues.
Irish Text Relay Service Accessibility Measures
In 2015, ComReg published decision D09/15, Provision of Access to a Text Relay Service, to ensure that end-users with disabilities enjoy equivalent access to electronic communications services. The Decision required service providers with more than 100,000 subscribers to provide access to a Text Relay Services to end-users with disabilities. Text Relay Services translate text to voice (TTV) and voice to text (VTT) to assist those with disabilities to access services. In August 2025, ComReg published take-up and usage statistics for the period January-June 2025. The published graphs indicate a slight variation in the number of VTT and TTV calls monthly in 2025. The graphs also indicate a marginal decline of service usage in the relevant period compared with the same periods in 2024 and 2023.
EIR Unfair Burden Report 2014-2015
ComReg published eir's 2014-2015 Universal Service Funding Application. Net costs to eir in meeting its universal services obligations in the financial year 2014-2015 did not represent an unfair burden. ComReg also published the related submissions received from respondents, ALTO, BT, Virgin Media and Vodafone regarding the assessment.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
