Season's Greetings from everyone at Bird & Bird and welcome to the 17th edition of BirdWatch - our regular newsletter to keep US businesses informed on the latest developments in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

Our Focus is the 2021 outlook for competition law developments, and how businesses can best prepare. Furthermore, we recently launched our Dawn Raid investigations eLearning platform, which prepares your employees to adequately respond in the event of a surprise investigation by competition or regulatory authorities.

Our Updates include the European Commission's landmark proposal to regulate digital platforms and services, a Brexit-related trade overview and a data protection checklist for Brexit, considerations for global employers with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, a Q&A discussing changes we might see in the brand and influencer community over the next year, and a review of the EU's draft data governance act from our newly formed Digital Rights & Assets group. Brexit will finally become a reality on the 31st of December 2020 with the legal separation of the UK from the EU. At the time of issue, a trade agreement is still not agreed between the UK and EU.