Computers & Law Online

Computers & Law is the Society’s magazine available online, and in downloadable digital editions. To get full access to the content on this site plus the digital editions of C&L magazine, become an SCL member.

(with apologies to Charles Dickens) Sarah Harris, Henry Goodwin and Ashley Winton update the perennial themes of Scrooge to a 21st century setting where Scrooge is struggling to stay relevant….. Published shortly before Christmas in 1843, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was an instant hit in 19th century Britain, telling the salutary tale of Ebenezer…

Read More… from AI Christmas Carol 2.0

cover of Technology and Security For LAwyers by Kuan Hon

The Basics and Beyond Rónán Kennedy reviews a book aimed directly at the legal professional who needs to understand the technology they advise on. Those who work in law and technology are sure to encounter some aspect of hardware or software that they do not understand, either because it is new or because they simply…

Read More… from Technology and Security for Lawyers and Other Professionals

Mark Ryan and Tom Sweet of SES Secure trace the evolution of software escrow and the impact of AI on its use As many readers will know, software escrow is a risk mitigation tool that safeguards the critical assets, such as software applications, organisations are reliant on. It typically involves a tri-party legal agreement being…

Read More… from Software Escrow – Its Evolution, Use in Legal Frameworks and The Influence of AI

James Gill and Fiona Vickerstaff of Lewis Silkin summarise a recent case on the legal status of software as a service. Those of us working in the tech space will remember the relatively recent case of The Software Incubator Ltd v Computer Associates UK Ltd in which the CJEU decided that a perpetual licence to use software constituted…

Read More… from The return of the great SaaS debate: is it goods or services?

Ofcom has published its review of public service broadcasting and says that broadcasters are delivering well for UK audiences, in challenging times. As part of its role to support and strengthen the quality of public service broadcasting (PSB), Ofcom has a duty to periodically review how television services provided by the BBC, ITV, STV, Channel…

Read More… from Ofcom issues review of Public Service Media 2019-23

Ofcom has published its first-edition codes of practice and guidance on tackling illegal harms, such as terror, hate, fraud, child sexual abuse and assisting or encouraging suicide, under the UK’s Online Safety Act. The Act places new safety duties on social media firms, search engines, messaging, gaming and dating apps, and pornography and file-sharing sites….

Read More… from Ofcom publishes final version of illegal harms guidance under Online Safety Act

The European Commission has opened formal proceedings against TikTok for a suspected breach of the Digital Services Act in relation to TikTok’s obligation to properly assess and mitigate systemic risks linked to election integrity, notably in the context of the recent Romanian presidential elections. The investigation will focus on management of risks to elections or…

Read More… from European Commission opens formal proceedings against TikTok on election risks under the Digital Services Act

For the first time following a full trial, the English High Court in D’Aloia v Persons Unknown, Bitkub and others [2024] EWHC 2342 (Ch) has confirmed that cryptocurrency, specifically USD Tether (USDT), can be traced and can constitute property under English law. The court also made observations as to key legal and evidential links needed…

Read More… from High Court considers cryptocurrency status in English law and key aspects of cryptocurrency fraud claims

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in Case C-446/21 | Schrems.  It said that an online social network such as Facebook cannot use all the personal data obtained for targeted advertising, without restriction as to time and without distinction as to type of data. In 2018, Meta Platforms Ireland started using…

Read More… from Court of Justice rules in another case brought by Max Schrems

The CJEU has issued its ruling in Case C-548/21 | Bezirkshauptmannschaft Landeck. The Austrian police seized the mobile telephone of the recipient of a parcel following the discovery that the parcel contained 85 grams of cannabis. The police then tried unsuccessfully to unlock the mobile telephone to access the data it contained. The police were…

Read More… from CJEU considers police access to data in a mobile telephone

The Court of Justice has ruled in Case C-264/23 | Booking.com and Booking.com (Deutschland) that price parity clauses cannot, in principle, be classified as “ancillary restraints” under EU competition law. Booking.com is incorporated under Netherlands law with its registered office in Amsterdam. It offers a worldwide online intermediation service to reserve accommodation. Hotels pay commission…

Read More… from Online accommodation reservation platforms

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in the case of Case C-768/21 | Land Hessen. A German savings bank found that one of its employees had accessed a customer’s personal data on several occasions without authorisation. The savings bank did not inform the customer of this, as its data protection officer…

Read More… from CJEU rules that a supervisory authority is not required to exercise a corrective power in all cases of breach of the GDPR

Mauricio Figueroa summarises the key points from the SCL AI Conference hosted by Herbert Smith Freehills on 8th October. Practitioners, lawmakers, academics, trainees, in-house lawyers, and civil society representatives gathered at Herbert Smith Freehills’ offices in London for the annual Society for Computers and Law AI conference. The event brought together experts to explore the…

Read More… from The SCL AI Conference: Key Takeaways

Victor Gurr, Trainee Solicitor, Gisby Harrison Solicitors was nominated to attend the recent SCL 50th Anniversary Conference on 10 October 2023 as a tech law “rising star”.  “Rising stars” are invited to record their impressions of the Conference in any form they choose (in previous years these have been event reports, infographs and even poems!). These…

Read More… from SCL 50th Anniversary Conference 2023 – Rising Star Impression

What separates humanity from technology? The sudden omniscience of ChatGPT in November 2022 has prompted a good deal of philosophising on that question with the apparent gap between the human and the machine growing ever less defined. There is as yet little common ground on where the boundary lies but one oft cited difference is…

Read More… from SCL 50th Anniversary Conference Event Report: “The Dragon Under the Sofa and other stories”

Speakers Anita Bapat (Kemp Little LLP) Tom O’Flynn (Google) James Evan (Verizon media) Alex Abrahams (DMGT) Karishma Brahmbhatt (Allen & Overy LLP) Event Overview With ad-tech a key focus for data protection authorities such as the ICO and CNIL, panellists James, Alex and Tom methodically described ad-tech infrastructure, and the various players involved within the…

Read More… from Key Takeaways from the SCL Privacy and DP Group Event: Ad Tech – Bring Everyone to the Table