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Part 6 – Practical Considerations

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

This is Part 6 of 'Regulation of AI – raising the trillion dollar bAIby'

Part 5 – AI Regulation Globally

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

This is Part 5 of 'Regulation of AI – raising the trillion dollar bAIby'

Part 3 - AI regulation in the US

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

Back in October 2022, the White House published federal guidance – a Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights identifying five principles aiming to guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems. It was designed to operate as a roadmap to protect the public from AI harms and was followed in October 2023 by the US President's Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence...

Part 2 - AI regulation in the EU

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

The EU AI Act, the main elements of which are covered in our previous article, was provisionally agreed in December 2023. Shortly after it was agreed, the Commission released some Q&As to flesh out the key provisions and timelines for application. It is anticipated that the latest text of the Artificial Intelligence Act will be formally adopted by both Parliament and Council in April, triggering a graduated two year period for compliance (with obligations for high-risk systems defined in Annex II applicable in 3 years).

Part 1 - UK AI regulation

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

There has been consistent messaging from the UK Conservative-led government that the UK has decided to adopt a light touch approach to regulating AI. This was evident in the AI white paper published in March 2023 which outlined a principles based framework (see ['The Ethics of AI – the Digital Dilemma'] for more information about the principles themselves and see here for additional coverage of the AI white paper). The UK government held a consultation on the AI white paper in 2023 and published a response on 6 February 2024 that adds slightly more flesh to the bones of the UK framework.

What is a foundational model?

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Rory Graham, Associate

What is AI and why is it topical?

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Helen Armstrong, Partner and Charles Buckworth, Partner and Caroline Tuck, Partner

Whilst there is no universal definition of what constitutes artificial intelligence, at its core, AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans. This encompasses the ability to reason, learn from experience, understand complex concepts, interact with their environment and look to solve problems.

Regulation of AI - raising the trillion dollar bAIby - introduction

Published on 03 Jun 2024. By Caroline Tuck, Partner and Joshy Thomas, Knowledge Lawyer and Ricky Cella, Senior Associate

As with any new technology, existing data protection and privacy, intellectual property, competition, product liability, data security and consumer laws apply to its application in each jurisdiction. This has thrown up a number of important and newsworthy issues and considerations for AI developers and providers, legislators, consumers and rights holders. There are also several sets of high profile legal proceedings both decided and ongoing in several jurisdictions. These issues and legal proceedings are discussed in other sections of this AI Guide.

ICO publishes updates to its guidance on Transfer Risk Assessments

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

How will recent updates to the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) guidance on Transfer Risk Assessments (TRAs) affect how UK organisations conduct their TRAs?

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology consults on proposed data infrastructure statutory framework

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

What statutory obligations could the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s (DSIT) proposed statutory framework impose on UK data centre providers?

ICO launches consultation series on generative AI and data protection

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

What is the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) intended approach to developing guidance on how data protection law should be applied to the development and use of generative AI?

CJEU rules on what constitutes “automated decision-making” under the GDPR

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

Does the production of a credit score constitute “automated decision-making” for the purposes of Article 22 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? What wider impact will this have for AI technologies?

ICO warns UK’s most visited websites to improve cookie choices

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

What steps is the ICO taking to ensure that website cookie banners are compliant with law?

ICO fines HelloFresh £140,000 after 7-month spam marketing campaign

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

Where did HelloFresh go wrong with their email and text marketing campaign and what lessons can be learned from the ICO’s investigation and subsequent fine?

New ICO guidance on content moderation and data compliance

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

How can organisations using content moderation technologies and processes best comply with data protection laws?

EDPB adopts opinion on “main establishment” of a controller in the EU

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

What is meant by “main establishment” under article 4(16)(a) of the GDPR for the purposes of determining the application of the one-stop-shop mechanism?

New Development: EU Data Act published in Official Journal

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

The EU Data Act (the Act) came into force on 11 January 2024. The Act sets out rules regarding the fair access to and use of data, aiming to enhance the data economy for individuals and businesses by overcoming barriers to data sharing and establishing frameworks around data access and use.

ICO issues preliminary enforcement notice against Snap for its “My AI” Chatbot

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

How can organisations who wish to join to the world of generative AI ensure that they adequately assess the risks from the perspective of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)?

New Development: EDPB provides clarification on tracking techniques covered by the ePrivacy Directive

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

On 14 November 2023, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted a set of new guidelines (the Guidelines) on the technical scope of Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive (the ePD).

ICO publishes guidance to ensure lawful monitoring in the workplace

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

How can employers monitor their workers whilst maintaining their trust and complying with data protection regulation?

Clearview AI cleared of £7.5m ICO fine for processing data outside the UK

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

Just how did the processing of personal data by Clearview AI (Clearview) fall outside the scope of UK GDPR?

ICO publishes its draft “Data Protection Fining Guidance” for public consultation

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

How will the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) calculate the amount of a fine under the UK GPDR and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018?

EU Advocate General’s opinion on data subjects’ rights to compensation for non-material damage under the GDPR

Published on 11 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

Does the theft of an individual’s sensitive personal data by a wrongdoer give rise to compensation for non-material damage under Article 82 EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), if the wrongdoer has not used, or taken steps to use, the sensitive personal data for any purpose?

ICO updates its guidance on AI and data protection

Published on 07 Jul 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

What are the key data protection principles which the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) expects organisations to follow when integrating AI into their product and service offerings?

The Times recognises RPC among Best Law Firms 2024

Published on 30 Oct 2023.

International law firm, RPC, has been recognised by The Times in its Best Law Firms 2024 report, an annual ranking of the top 250 law firms in England and Wales.

What in the AI is going on… April to June 2024

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

Meta launched its newest generation of its open-source LLM (large language model), Llama 3, which is the technology that powers its AI systems. The launch of Llama 3 signals a step closer to human-like AI that can reason and bestow a memory. OpenAI also discussed plans for its next AI model, GPT-5. Like Llama 3, GPT-5 will see improvements to the model’s planning and reasoning capabilities, going beyond its current capability to deal with discrete tasks. GPT-5 is expected to be released later in the year.

CMA publishes update paper on AI Foundation Models

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

What is the state of play for the market of AI Foundation Models (FM) and what issues in the market is the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) most concerned about?

EU AI Act is signed!

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

What are the core elements of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act and how does it impact the regulation of AI systems?

Online Safety Act: Ofcom consults on draft codes to protect children online

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

What must businesses do to ensure online safety for children under the latest codes of practice published by Ofcom?

UK’s Digital Regulation Co-operation Forum announces new AI and Digital Hub Pilot

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

What is the AI and Digital Hub and how can AI innovators use it?

EU designates Apple a gatekeeper for iPadOS but not for iMessage

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

Can a business avoid being designated a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) even if it satisfies the quantitative criteria under the DMA?

New EU guidelines on mitigating risks for electoral

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

What are the European Commission’s new guidelines and how do they protect the integrity of electoral processes?

EBA encourages banks to pool their resources for cloud audits

Published on 02 Jun 2017.

The EBA has set out that banks are no longer required to provide their auditors (or themselves) with an independent right to audit their cloud service providers.

How will the "Genny lec" impact the world of cyber and tech?

Published on 24 Jun 2024. By Rachel Ford, Partner and Helen Monachan, Associate

On 22 May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stood in the pouring rain to announce a General Election, thus commencing a summer of political and meteorological uncertainty for those in the UK.

Fines for PDPA Breaches: How Clear is the Crystal Ball?

Published on 16 Nov 2023. By Nick Lauw, Partner and Pu Fang Ching, Senior Associate

The Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission ("PDPC") has recently issued a number of new enforcement decisions.

Adams v Carey – where does the Court of Appeal's decision leave the SIPP market?

Published on 01 Apr 2021. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Ash Daniells, Senior Associate

The Court of Appeal has today dismissed Mr Adams' appeal against Carey in respect of COBS 2.1.1R. However, the appeal in relation to s.27 FSMA has been upheld. We discuss the background to the proceedings, the Court of Appeal decision and where it takes the SIPP (and wider financial services) market.

The summer of discontent?

Published on 31 Jul 2020. By Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG strategy lead and Ben Roberts, Partner

What comes to mind when you hear the word "summer"? The unbridled joy of no more school for 6 whole weeks? Buckets, spades and wind-swept beaches? Perhaps the call of a sun-soaked tropical island? For most, summer means taking some time out to recharge and switch off.

Going Green – staying on the right side of competition law

Published on 15 May 2023. By Melanie Musgrave, Of Counsel and Leonia Chesterfield, Of Counsel

Environmental issues are high on the agenda for many consumers and businesses alike. They are also increasingly an area of focus for competition authorities around the world, including the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), who are keen to ensure that competition law concerns do not unnecessarily prevent businesses from collaborating legitimately on environmental sustainability initiatives.

UK Government sets out proposals for regulation of AI

Published on 10 Oct 2022. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

What are the UK Government’s plans for the future regulation of artificial intelligence (AI)?

UK government announces the launch of an AI standards hub

Published on 12 Apr 2022. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner

What does the new artificial intelligence (AI) standards hub mean for businesses seeking to develop AI technologies?

Parliamentary 'wash up' – which Bills made it through?

Published on 31 May 2024. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer and Shahil Goodka, Trainee Solicitor

On 22 May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that a General Election will take place on 4 July 2024. Parliament was then prorogued on 24 May 2024 which allowed a mere 2 days for 'wash up' - the process by which outstanding bills may be rushed through the parliamentary process.

DORA Watch – June and July 2024

Published on 22 Jul 2024. By Jon Bartley, Partner and Laura Thackeray, Senior Associate

As financial entities and ICT service providers undergo the final stages of implementation of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) requirements into their systems and processes, it is imperative to understand the legal developments and ongoing updates arising from EU Member States as they go through their respective transposition and alignment processes. Through TerraLex - our global legal network, which provides us with access to 22,000 lawyers from highly regarded and carefully vetted law firms stretching more than 120 countries – we have collated legal updates focusing on DORA and its implications in EU jurisdictions.

Is the FCA to blame for BSPS? MPs seem to think so

Published on 22 Jul 2022. By Rachael Healey, Partner

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday published a report entitled "Investigation into the British Steel Pension Scheme". The report makes a number of recommendations in light of its investigations in to the FCA's conduct and regulatory oversight at the time of the issues arising from the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) and in particular the decision by 7,834 members to transfer to a personal pension arrangement. The report is heavily critical of the FCA's handling of BSPS and its regulatory oversight of the defined benefit transfer market generally. Given the request in the report for an update from the FCA on its progress on the various recommendations and conclusions in 6 months' time, we wait to see how the FCA reacts to yet further criticism of its handling of BSPS at a time when it is reviewing responses to the consumer redress scheme consultation.

SIPPs and FOS - does the Rowanmoor decision change anything?

Published on 02 Feb 2022. By Rachael Healey, Partner

Last week FOS published a decision it reached last year in a complaint against a SIPP provider involving advised sales. The FOS upheld the complaint, finding that the SIPP provider should have rejected business from the regulated financial adviser, CIB Life and Pensions Limited (CIB), given, broadly, red flags available to the SIPP provider with respect to the operation of CIB's business model including that CIB was not advising on the ultimate investment within the SIPP and as a result such introductions involved a significant risk of consumer detriment. The decision has received quite a bit of press attention - but has it moved the dial for SIPP complaints before FOS or not?

The Future of Insolvency Regulation

Published on 04 Jan 2022. By Rachael Healey, Partner

On 21 December 2021 the Government launched a consultation into the future of insolvency regulation. The changes proposed in the consultation document will have a wide ranging impact on the insolvency profession (and its insurers) with the proposals including: the direct regulation of insolvency firms, the introduction of a single regulatory body with powers to order compensation against insolvency practitioners and firms, a new additional requirements regime, changes to the bond regime and a public register of insolvency practitioners and firms. Many of the changes proposed require primary legislation and so it may be some time before the changes to take effect (if adopted). But there does appear to be some wind behind these proposals given they follow on from the Call for Evidence in 2019 and a more general focus on insolvency issues in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Work Couch: Bonus Live episode: Exploring the cost of untapped talent, with Tskenya-Sarah Frazer, Trevor Sterling and Mark Ash

Published on 31 Jul 2024.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast where we discuss all things employment.

Supporting and retaining Gen Z talent (Part 2): Work-life balance, communication and wellbeing, with Rose Sellman-Leava and Laura Verrecchia

Published on 24 Jul 2024.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast series where we explore how your business can navigate today's tricky people challenges and respond to key developments in the ever-evolving world of employment law.

Employer lessons from teacher's menopause bias win

Published on 17 Jul 2024. By Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG strategy lead and Ellie Gelder, Senior Editor Employment & Equality

On May 31, a Scottish employment tribunal made its decision in Allison Shearer v. South Lanarkshire Council and awarded a teacher over £60,000 ($77,829) for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal, following her dismissal for ill health after a period of long¬term sickness absence.

The Work Couch: Supporting and retaining Gen Z talent (Part 1): Myths and opportunities, with Rose Sellman-Leava and Laura Verrecchia

Published on 10 Jul 2024.

Welcome to The Work Couch, the podcast series where we explore how your business can navigate today's tricky people challenges and respond to key developments in the ever-evolving world of employment law.