UK law Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 receives Royal Assent The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 has received Royal Assent. It updates the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 with the aim of ensuring that the UK’s investigatory powers framework remains fit for purpose in the face of evolving threats. It follows the Home Secretary’s statutory report…
Advocate General Szpunar (AG) has issued an Opinion in Case C?159/23: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd v Datel Design and Development Ltd and others. The Advocate General has expressed the opinion that Article 1(1) to (3) of Directive 2009/24/EC on the legal protection of computer programs (Software Directive) must be interpreted as meaning that the…
UK law ICO issues reprimand to housing association for exposing personal information on online portal The ICO has issued a reprimand to Clyde Valley Housing Association in Lanarkshire after personal information was accessible to other residents on an online customer portal. Residents could access documents related to anti-social behaviour cases and view personal information about…
UK law UK government announces new law to tackle deepfake creation The Ministry of Justice has announced a new offence for individuals who create a sexually explicit deepfake even if there is no intent to share. Offenders will face prosecution and an unlimited fine and if the image is shared, offenders may be subject to…
The House of Commons Culture Sport and Media Select Committee has published its report into creator remuneration. The report points out that despite although the UK creative industries are important and enjoy global success, professional creators are struggling to make a living. Many people in the sector experience precarious rates of pay, employment conditions and…
Read More… from House of Commons Culture Sport and Media Committee issues inquiry report
UK law Patents Court refuses interim declaration that draft licence is FRAND The Patents Court has recently issued its judgment in the case of Lenovo Group Limited and others v Interdigital Technology Corporation and others [2024] EWHC 596 (Ch). It refused Lenovo’s application for a declaration that a proposed draft interim licence of various cellular…
UK law Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill receives second reading The Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill has received its second reading in the House of Lords. Committee stage is yet to be scheduled. The Bil is a private member’s bill which would introduce a new body, the AI Authority, which would have various functions designed to help…
The Digital Markets Act regulates gatekeepers (large digital platforms that provide an important gateway between business users and consumers, whose position can grant them the power to create a bottleneck in the digital economy). Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft were designated by the European Commission as gatekeepers in September 2023, and were required…
Read More… from European Commission launches investigations under Digital Markets Act
Ofcom is seeking evidence to inform its codes of practice and guidance on the additional duties that will apply to some of the most widely used online sites and apps, designated as “categorised” services, under the Online Safety Act. Under the Act, all in-scope tech firms must put in place appropriate safety measures to protect…
Sasha Henry and Archie Millar summarise the cyber threats recently identified by the World Economic Forum What is the current state, and where are we going? From opportunistic ransomware to complex crime-as-a-service, threat actors have adapted their methodologies to facilitate enterprise scale attacks by monetising major business disruption. With increasing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)…
Read More… from Global Outlook: World Economic Forum’s warning on cyber challenges we all face