Insights on outsourcing and other lessons from a data breach – the UK FCA perspective

On 13 October 2023, the UK FCA published its Final Notice to Equifax Ltd, the UK subsidiary of US company Equifax Inc, in relation to a major 2017 data breach which affected over 13.7 million UK consumers. The FCA determined that Equifax Ltd had breached Principles 3, 6 and 7 of its Principles  and imposed a fine of over £11m. The firm agreed to resolve the matter and so qualified for a 30% discount for early settlement. The FCA's Final Notice helps to explain the rationale behind the UK regulatory authorities developing and enhancing the operational resilience regime in 2019. It also highlights some particular pitfalls in managing intra-group outsourcings effectively. Read more

Online Safety Act Becomes Law: What can organisations do now to prepare?

A new era for online regulation awaits as the long-anticipated Online Safety Act (“OSA“) finally received Royal Assent today. This follows significant delays and intense Parliamentary scrutiny on its long journey to becoming law. Please click on our interactive timeline to find out more about the path to Royal Assent and the ongoing trajectory of … Read more

AI regulation remains EU priority, as UK Committee Report on AI raises issues but answers still pending

Yesterday European Commission President von der Leyen presented the 2023 State of the Union address which, as anticipated, included a focus on prioritising the responsible use of artificial intelligence. This is set against the global policy discussions around AI at G7 and G20 last week, the impending UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit and publication of … Read more

Talking Shop: A consumer sector podcast series – EP7: AI booms – whilst regulation looms

AI booms – whilst regulation looms Peggy Chow, Kaman Tsoi, Duc Tran and Claire Wiseman join Aoife Xuereb to discuss the increasing use of AI in consumer sector digital marketing strategies. Analysing customer data to personalise content and target advertising according to purchasing behaviour and demographic information has become commonplace, along with the use of tools such as chatbots to automate customer … Read more

Talking Shop: A consumer sector podcast series – EP5: Why NFTs; why now?

Why NFTs; why now? Josh Todd, Giulia Maienza and George McCubbin join Aoife Xuereb to discuss the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) marketplace in the consumer sector – from fine wine and fashion to enhancing the customer experience. They explain how types of marketplaces work, whether that be trading NFT-linked physical products or digital assets in the real world or the metaverse. Commercial … Read more