On 1 October 2024, the UAE Government has issued a new Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2024 to regulate medical products, the pharmacy profession and pharmaceutical establishments (the “Law”).
The Law replaces Federal Law No. (8) of 2019 on Medical Products, Pharmacy Profession and Pharmaceutical Establishments including its later amendments. However, its implementing regulations remain in effect to the extent they do not contradict with the Law.
On 5 December 2024, the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore published an update regarding products found by foreign regulators in November 2024 to contain impermissible and potent ingredients that may cause harmful side effects.
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) conducted a large-scale operation in collaboration with major e-commerce and social media platforms, removing over 3,300 listings of illegal health products. The operation highlights the HSA’s commitment to consumer safety, targeting substandard or counterfeit products that are potentially unsafe and pose health risks.
The European Accessibility Act is a directive aimed at improving the accessibility of products and services for people with disabilities across the European Union. It establishes common accessibility requirements for a wide range of products and services provided to consumers to ensure that people with disabilities have better access to digital and physical environments, thereby promoting their inclusion and participation in society.
The proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection Act Regulations in South Africa aim to enhance consumer privacy by regulating direct marketing practices. Open for public comment until 15 January 2025, these changes focus on creating an opt-out registry managed by the National Consumer Commission, allowing consumers to block unsolicited electronic communications. Direct marketers will be required to register, renew annually, and cleanse their databases regularly to comply with the new rules. The amendments also introduce enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance and align with the Protection of Personal Information Act, ensuring comprehensive consumer protection against unwanted marketing.
On 16 October 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule that applies to businesses that offer goods and services through automatically renewing payment plans, free or discounted trials that convert into full plans, or other “negative option features” that interpret a consumer’s silence as permission to keep charging them (collectively, “recurring subscriptions”). Under the finalized rule, the FTC may seek civil penalties of over USD 50,000 per violation, injunctive relief and consumer redress for companies that violate the requirements of having detailed transparent, consent and simple cancellation processes for recurring subscriptions and memberships.
On 13 December 2024, the new Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (GPSR) will finally apply in all EU Member States, replacing the current Directive 2001/95/EC on general product safety.
The GPSR addresses risks related to new technologies and online trading, covering a wide range of products. It represents the most comprehensive reform of European product safety law in over 20 years and will impact most economic operators (manufacturers, importers, distributors, fulfillment service providers, etc.) in the EU market.
In response to the persistent issue of fraud, the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act (FCHPA) was passed by the Legislative Yuan and came into force on 31 July 2024. The FCHPA requires financial institutions, virtual asset service providers, telecom enterprises, online advertising platform operators, third-party payment service providers, e-commerce and online gaming companies to respectively take certain fraud prevention measures.
In September 2024, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) published the criteria of the online advertising platforms that would be subject to the FCHPA, designated four foreign online advertising platform operators that meet the criteria, and asking them to report their legal representative (can be a law firm) in Taiwan by 31 October 2024.
On 7 November 2024, the FTC announced it will be sending refunds to 536,000 consumers deceived by Rejuvica’s and its owners’ unsupported claims that Sobrenix, a dietary supplement marketed and sold by Rejuvica, could reduce and eliminate alcohol cravings and consumption. In addition to the refunds, the FTC’s proposed order requests a permanent injunction and other relief due to violations under the FTC Act and the Opioid Addiction Recovery Fraud Prevention Act of 2018
The recently published OECD survey involving 43 member countries found that less than half of the countries require the publication of drug list prices, while the remaining countries are affected by legal and/or contractual constraints that prevent the publication of drug price information.