In March 2019 the European Commission intends to finalise AI Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI). The EU Commission's High Level Expert Group published draft ethics guidelines in December 2018 and stakeholders had until 18 January 2019 to provide… Read more

On 8 February 2019 Ofcom issued a clarification update to its proposed consultation to award 200 MHz of spectrum - with 80 MHz in the 700 MHz band and 120 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band. The regulator anticipates that… Read more

On 6 February 2019 the UK Government announced plans to move forward on advanced trials for automated vehicles. Whilst only limited scale trials of fully driverless cars have taken place to date in Europe and the United States, more extensive… Read more

NO DEAL PLANNING FULL STEAM AHEAD? With just under 2 months to go before the UK is due to exit the EU and the possibility of a no-deal Brexit still looming, the UK audiovisual media services industry, the largest in… Read more

  2018 was a landmark year for digital TMT and sourcing. Against the backdrop of the UK's impending departure from the EU, there were a wealth of highlights as regulation moved further towards greater harmonisation at the European level; the… Read more

In May 2015, as part of its Digital Single Market Strategy, the European Commission published proposals to reform the EU telecommunications regulatory framework. Following a series of consultations in 2015, the Commission published further proposals to reform the EU legislation… Read more

As part of its Digital Single Market Strategy and following extensive consultation in 2015, in May 2016 the European Commission adopted new legislative amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive ("AVMSD"). The proposals seek to modernise the Directive to reflect… Read more

The EU geo-blocking Regulation (Regulation 2018/302 of 28 February 2018) (the Regulation) comes into force on 3 December 2018. The Regulation aims to remove barriers to cross-border trade and enable consumers to purchase goods and services from businesses located in… Read more

The House of Commons Treasury Committee has launched an inquiry into IT failures in the financial services sector. The inquiry will focus on the causes and consequences of operational incidents in the financial services sector and will examine the work… Read more

The EU Commission has published a news release on the EU Blockchain's Industry Roundtable held on 20 November 2018. The roundtable was an important step towards creating a European community to support the deployment of blockchain in the European Union.… Read more

On 6 November 2018, the Council of the European Union formally adopted a new directive revising the existing Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2010/13/EU) ("AVMSD"). This is the final stage in the lengthy legislative process and the new directive will enter… Read more

If the level of capital flowing into the financial technology sector is any indication, the growth in number and size of financial technology start-ups cannot be denied. According to a report by KPMG, global investment in fintech companies reached US… Read more

Transformation in the global telecoms ecosystem is gathering momentum. It is driven by evolving technologies, growing customer appetite for hyperconnectivity and a new breed of competitor. In their quest for a place within this fast moving landscape, traditional telecoms companies… Read more

Growing social and political pressures combined with disruptive technologies and scientific innovation are changing the way pharma companies do business. In their mission to address unmet medical need and deliver differentiated products, pharma companies and other players in the sector… Read more

Advances in technology and changing business models are transforming the global economy across all industry sectors. The measures announced by the Chancellor in Monday's Budget Speech showcase how the UK Government is seeking to embrace innovation and new and emerging… Read more

The Court of Appeal has today dismissed an appeal against the High Court's decision that Morrisons was vicariously liable for its employee’s misuse of data, despite: (i) Morrisons having done as much as it reasonably could to prevent the misuse;… Read more

The Australian National Blockchain will help create a new technology platform to securely and transparently manage legal agreements. Herbert Smith Freehills, CSIRO’s Data61, and IBM have formed a consortium to build Australia’s first cross-industry, large-scale, digital platform to enable Australian… Read more

Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) will have a dramatic impact on the way we live and work. The technology is advancing rapidly and it no longer seems to be a question of 'if' but 'when'. The introduction of CAVs has… Read more

In light of the booming market of the Internet of Things (“IoT”) and of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has published an article focusing on the key factors manufacturers and retailers of IoT devices… Read more

Many people believe that we are currently witnessing a fourth industrial or technological revolution, with the advent and increasing use of a wave of disruptive technology. Over the past fi ve years, the market has seen the arrival of a… Read more

It has been a decade since the invention of blockchain, the technology with the potential to disrupt industries and sectors far and wide. Yet it remains an area of confusion for many, with its application in the cryptocurrency sphere gaining… Read more

Challenges and Opportunities for the Communications Industry The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us. The increasing availability of technologies such as 5G wireless, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud, big data analytics and the Internet of Things is dramatically transforming… Read more

As the UK Parliament's Treasury Committee launched an investigation in March 2018 into the benefits and risks of cryptocurrencies and the potential impact of Distributed Ledger Technology ("DLT"), and the European Commission launched an EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum in… Read more

The GDPR introduces a new mandatory requirement for all controllers to notify the appropriate data protection authority of a “personal data breach” likely to result in a risk to people’s rights and freedoms, for example following a cyber-attack. This will… Read more

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) ruling in Barbulescu v Romania (61496/08) is a timely reminder of the limits of employers’ ability to monitor their employees’ private activity on work IT systems. The case concerned… Read more

In July 2017, the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper on the impact of Brexit on the recent abolition of mobile roaming charges (the "Briefing Paper"). The European Commission's 2015 regulation on roaming and net neutrality (the so-called… Read more

Ofcom has recently published its annual report monitoring internet service providers' ("ISP") compliance with the EU Net Neutrality Regulation (the "Regulation"). The Regulation came into effect on 30 April 2016 and imposes a range of obligations on ISPs including the… Read more

On 18 July 2017 the House of Lords European Union Committee (the "Committee") published a report covering the impact of Brexit on four aspects of the EU Data Protection Package: the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR") which will become… Read more

The first commencement instrument under the Digital Economy Act 2017 (the "Act") has now been published. The Act anticipates staggered commencement dates with many of the provisions being commenced and the detail provided by secondary legislation. The recent Digital Economy… Read more

The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (the "Act") received Royal Assent on 29 November 2016. Dubbed the "Snoopers' Charter" it has been heavily criticised by various commentators, including the advocacy group Liberty. The main source of criticism has been around the… Read more