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Digital transformation: the risks of providing non-digitally accessible products in the EU and UK
A team from Hogan Lovells consider the regulatory regimes governing digital accessibility in the UK and EU. Summary: In the era of digital transformation, the need to ensure products and services are accessible to all, including those who experience some form of disability, is greater than ever. While there is not (yet) a global uniform…
FemTech and the use of AI
A team from DLA Piper survey the opportunities and legal risks associated with the burgeoning ‘FemTech’ sector Due to an exponential growth in the investment in female health and wellbeing, Forbes and Dealroom reported that 2023 saw $1.14bn raised collectively across 120 deals in ‘FemTech’. The phrase refers to technology products and services that help…
The UK’s Automated Vehicles Act – unlocking opportunities for UK investment and innovation in the automotive sector
A team from Bird & Bird precis the key points of the Automated Vehicles Act, which received Royal Assent just before Parliament was dissolved. The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 20 May 2024. Its swift motion through parliament in an election year has been a relief to many, having been first introduced…
The Post Office Horizon IT Scandal: How should organisations react when IT systems go wrong?
Andrew Woolsey and Sophie Ashcroft take a fresh look at the legal issues surrounding defective software through the lens of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal…
Emerging technologies and the climate: charting a pathway to pre-emptive oversight
Once upon a time technologies like artificial intelligence and the metaverse were confined to the annals of science fiction. No longer, both innovations exist in the here and now, with vast potential to transform our world. These emergent technologies, however, are not without attributes of concern, one of which is energy consumption and the consequent…
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Latest News
View more news >This Week’s Techlaw News Round-up
UK law Software development that built on existing code qualified as R&D In Get Onbord Ltd (in Liquidation) v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 617 (TC) the First-tier Tribunal held that expenditure incurred by a company when it developed a new AI-based analytical process qualified for R&D tax relief. The project built on existing material, but its…
European Commission coordinates action by national consumer protection authorities against Meta on “pay or consent” model
The EU’s Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network is taking action following concerns that Meta’s “pay or consent” model might breach EU consumer law. The Commission is coordinating the action. It is due to Meta requesting that consumers either subscribe to use Facebook and Instagram for a fee, or consent to Meta’s use of their personal…
ICO Annual Report: Highlights
The Information Commissioner’s Office has published its annual report for 2023-24. This article sets out the highlights. The ICO commits to four “enduring strategic objectives”: Investigations The ICO concluded 285 civil investigation cases and 80 incidents in 2023-24. Five prosecutions and five cautions were brought for ‘unlawfully obtaining’ offences under the Data Protection Act. These…
Committee on Advertising Practice issues guidance on using AI as a marketing term
The Committee on Advertising Practice has issued guidance on using AI as a marketing term. It points out that AI has become a prominent topic in the media and has become more widely available to the public (including businesses). Therefore, CAP says that it is important that marketers do not mislead about what AI products…
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This Week’s Techlaw News Round-up
UK law DRCF publishes new report on consumer use and understanding of generative AI The DRCF has published a new report on consumer perceptions of and responses to benefits and risks of generative AI in financial services, and consumer appetite for future use of generative AI including the impact of regulation and warnings on trust…
Latest Cases
View more cases >Consumer protection associations may bring legal proceedings for infringement of data subject rights
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd v Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände – Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband eV (Case C-757/22). It considered if a consumer protection association has standing under Article 80(2) of the GDPR. Meta Platforms Ireland manages Facebook and is the controller of users’ personal data…
Court of Appeal considers FRAND terms in InterDigital v Lenovo case
In InterDigital Technology Corporation & Ors v Lenovo Group Ltd & Ors [2024] EWCA Civ 743both parties appealed a decision by Mellor J about what Lenovo should pay for a licence. The licence was on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms of InterDigital’s portfolio of patents which have been declared essential (standard-essential patents or SEPs)…
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CJEU considers status of order button when a consumer buys goods or services online
The CJEU has issued its ruling in Case C-400/22 | Conny. It ruled that the order button, or a similar function, must clearly indicate that, by clicking on it, the consumer assumes an obligation to pay. This applies even if the obligation to pay depends on the satisfaction of a subsequent condition. The case arose…
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CJEU rules that a Member State may not impose additional obligations on an online service provider established in another Member State
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in Joined Cases C-662/22 | Airbnb Ireland and C-667/22 | Amazon Services Europe, Case C-663/22 | Expedia, Joined Cases C-664/22 | Google Ireland and C-666/22 | Eg Vacation Rentals Ireland, and Case C-665/22 | Amazon Services Europe. In Italy, providers of online intermediation services and…
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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Latest Event Reports
View more event reports >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…
