IT contracts and disputes have long concentrated on functional specifications, tests and defects to assure that projects deliver what is intended. This is only part of what is required. William Hooper examines the role of design in contract and dispute….
Who’s been regulating my AI?: Goldilocks and the House of Lords Report on LLMs and Generative AI
A team from DLA Piper dig deeper into the House of Lords report on balancing risk and innovation in AI regulation, in particular, the open source question While much attention has been paid to the finalisation of the EU’s AI Act in recent weeks, developments in AI continue at a frenetic rate. On 2nd February…
Spotlight on Bitcoin trading funds
The price of Bitcoin has climbed since the SEC allowed new trading funds. Martyna Dudek explains what’s changed and the FCA’s own moves to allow crypto trading….
5 steps to building a high performance in-house legal team
Áine Rafferty knows an in-house legal team is a critical component for many technology firms and has been recognised by industry peers for leading high performing in house technology teams. Here she provides some steers on how to make sure the team is valued by the other parts of the business. The role of the…
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Council of the EU confirms agreement on new platform worker rules
The Council of the EU has confirmed the Platform Work Directive. The Directive aims to improve working conditions and regulate the use of algorithms by digital labour platforms. The Directive aims to make the use of algorithms in human resources management more transparent, ensuring that automated systems are monitored by qualified staff and that workers…
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CJEU issues ruling in IAB Europe referral about auctioning of personal data for advertising purposes
The CJEU has issued its ruling in Case C-604/22 | IAB Europe. Companies, brokers and advertising platforms, which represent thousands of advertisers, can bid in real time, behind the scenes, to acquire online advertising space to display advertisements which are tailored to a user’s profile. However, before such targeted advertisements can be displayed, it is…
False citations: AI and ‘hallucination’
Adrian Aronsson-Storrier and Helen Hart look at the recent case of Harber, a tax case involving fictitious case references generated by ChatGPT…
Ofcom publishes draft children’s code under Online Safety Act 2023
Ofcom has published its draft Children’s Safety Codes of Practice, which sets out how it expects online services to meet their legal responsibilities to protect children online. This is the second key consultation under the Online Safety Act and includes Ofcom’s proposals for how internet services that enable the sharing of user-generated content (user-to-user services)…
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Upper Tribunal issues ruling in ICO Experian case
The Upper Tribunal has dismissed the ICO’s appeal in ICO v Experian [2024] UKUT 105 (AAC). Experian is a well-known credit reference agency. It holds and processes data relating to over 51 million people living in the UK (effectively the entire adult population). It also processes the data of UK residents to provide marketing services…
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This Week’s Techlaw News Round-up
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…
Commission opens formal proceedings against Facebook and Instagram under the Digital Services Act
The European Commission has opened formal proceedings to assess if Meta (Facebook and Instagram), may have breached the Digital Services Act. As regular SCL readers will be aware, Facebook and Instagram were designated as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) on 25 April 2023 under the DSA, as they both have more than 45 million monthly…
Digital Disputes
An increasing number of IT disputes occur within the context of digital transformation. What are the implications of this for those who seek redress? In a previous article, I addressed a definition of digital transformation and identified some of the factors that may give rise to disputes.[1] An awareness of that may usefully inform those…
Advocate General gives opinion on scope of Software Directive’s computer program protection
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…
UKJT publishes Legal Statement on digital assets and English insolvency law
Following consultation, the UKJT has published its Legal Statement on Digital Assets and English Insolvency Law. This is the third Legal Statement issued by the UKJT. The first was its Legal Statement on the Status of Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts. published in November 2019. The second was its Legal Statement on the Issuance and Transfer…
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Public statement by social network user about sexual orientation means data is public but that does not mean it can be used for personalised advertising
The Advocate General has delivered his opinion in Case C-446/21 | Schrems. In 2018, Meta Platforms Ireland started using new Facebook terms of service in the EU. Consent to those terms is required to sign up for, or access, Facebook’s accounts and services. Mr Maximilian Schrems (S) a Facebook user and well-known activist in the…
This Week’s Techlaw News Round-up
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…