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The Rise of AI Agents: Pizza, Parameters and Problems
JJ Shaw on the rise of the AI agent and some legal issues to watch out for. “AI Agents” are making a case to become the new buzzword for 2025. These autonomous AI-powered tools can act on a user’s behalf, performing online tasks and making independent decisions with minimal human input. Whilst AI agents are…
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US Social Media Liability: Quicksand?
Ryan E. Long warns of the US lawsuits currently targeting social media platforms The Set Up Great news! Your UK based social media dating company – “Better Than Cupid” – just got funded. It’s been launched in the US and is slated to be released in other countries. You just started celebrating. But then you…

Robot Judges podcast: An interview with Tomás McInerney
SCL has recently launched a new season of podcasts surveying Technology and Privacy Law Around the World, hosted by Mauricio Figueroa. The first one in the season looks at idea of Robot Judges and Mauricio spoke after recording with one of the panel, Tomás McInerney, to find out more about his experience in being part…
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The Drawbacks of International Law in Governing Artificial Intelligence
Mauricio Figueroa argues why we need to look beyond the conventions of international law to regulate AI Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are being deployed across industries and sectors of the economy; it is certainly a global problem. At first glance, international law seems like an obvious way forward: a platform designed to address cross-border issues….
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New Year’s Resolutions For Procuring Technology Solutions in 2025
Jagvinder Singh Kang provides some timely advice for your procurement projects this year. IntroductionTechnology procurement has evolved over the decades. Gone are the days of just procuring IT hardware alone, or standard software. Organisations have become more dependent upon Cloud solutions, usually in the form of SaaS, and now there will be an inevitable movement…
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Latest News
View more news >This Week’s Techlaw News Round-Up
UK law ICO issues direct marketing guidance tool The ICO has launched a free online tool to help organisations ensure their direct marketing activities comply with UK law – including the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations (PECR), and the UK GDPR. The tool has been designed with small organisations in mind, who might have less…
Treasury Committee calls for evidence about use of AI in financial services
The Bank of England has published statistics which show that 75% of firms are already using AI, with a further 10% planning to use it over the next three years. Therefore, the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee has launched an inquiry to explore how UK financial services can take advantage of the opportunities in…
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European Commission publishes guidance on prohibited AI practices under AI Act
The European Commission has published guidelines which provide an overview of AI practices that are deemed unacceptable due to their potential risks to European values and fundamental rights. The AI Act, which aims to promote innovation while ensuring high levels of health, safety, and fundamental rights protection, classifies AI systems into different risk categories, including…
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This Week’s Techlaw News Round-up
UK law Gambling Commission issues industry warning notice about licensed software appearing on illegal market The Gambling Commission has issued an industry warning notice about licensed software appearing on illegal markets. The Commission said that it knows about casino games supplied by licensed operators appearing on unlicensed websites available to consumers in Grean Britain illegally….
ICO issues guidance on consent or pay models
The ICO has issued guidance on “consent or pay” models. The ICO intends the guidance to provide clarity and advice for any organisation currently operating, or considering, a “consent or pay” model in the UK. “Consent or pay” models present people with a choice. People can: The ICO says that if you are implementing a…
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Latest Cases
View more cases >GDPR and rail transport: gender identity is not necessary data for the purchase of a transport ticket
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in Case C‑394/23 Mousse v CNIL and SNCF that asking customers to state their gender title (Mr or Ms) when buying train tickets is not necessary for the contract and may violate GDPR rules, especially the principle of data minimisation. Mousse (a LGTB association) complained…
General Court orders Commission to pay damages to website visitor due to transfer of personal data to the US
In Bindl v Commission, an individual in Germany complained that the Commission had infringed his right to the protection of his personal data when, in 2021 and 2022, he visited a Commission website and registered using the Commission’s EU Login authentication service, having selected the option of signing in using his Facebook account. The individual…
High Court considers cryptocurrency status in English law and key aspects of cryptocurrency fraud claims
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…
Court of Justice rules in another case brought by Max Schrems
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…
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CJEU considers police access to data in a mobile telephone
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…
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Latest Event Reports
View more event reports >The SCL AI Conference: Key Takeaways
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…
SCL 50th Anniversary Conference 2023 – Rising Star Impression
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…
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SCL 50th Anniversary Conference Event Report: “The Dragon Under the Sofa and other stories”
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…
The SCL 50th Anniversary Conference – a visual overview
Gerald Brent, Associate, Addleshaw Goddard, provides a visual summary of some of the key elements from the recent SCL 50th Anniversary Conference….
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Key Takeaways from the SCL Privacy and DP Group Event: Ad Tech – Bring Everyone to the Table
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…