The ICO is consulting on new guidance for smart products. It points out that from smart speakers and fitness trackers to Wi-Fi fridges and interconnected air fryers, smart products often collect large amounts of personal information from users, including sensitive information, so manufacturers and developers must ensure their products are designed with data protection in…

Read More… from ICO consults on guidance for consumer Internet of Things products and services

The Online Safety Act 2023 established the basis for creation of an online safety super-complaints regime. The process will allow for complaints about systemic issues (features or conduct of regulated services) to be raised with the regulator where those issues are, appear to be, or present a material risk of: For the online safety super-complaints…

Read More… from Super-complaints regime for online safety due to come into force on 31 December 2025

Ofcom has opened formal investigations into online discussion board 4chan and seven file-sharing services – Im.ge, Krakenfiles, Nippybox, Nippydrive, Nippyshare, Nippyspace and Yolobit.  Ofcom has not received responses to its statutory information requests, to which services are legally required to respond. It also says that it has received complaints about the potential for illegal content…

Read More… from Ofcom opens nine new investigations under Online Safety Act 2023

Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, fake reviews are a blacklisted commercial practice which is always unfair.  The CMA issued guidance on fake reviews in April. Under the DMCC Act, the CMA can now decide independently whether consumer law has been infringed, rather than going through the courts. It can also tackle…

Read More… from Amazon gives undertakings to CMA regarding fake online reviews

During its latest plenary, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted the final version of its guidelines on Article 48 GDPR about data transfers to third country authorities. The EDPB also discussed the European Commission’s request for a joint EDPB-EDPS opinion on the draft proposal on the simplification of record-keeping obligation under the GDPR. Finally,…

Read More… from EDPB publishes final version of guidelines on data transfers to third country authorities and SPE training material on AI and data protection

In recent years, a significant aspect of the Law Commission’s work has focused on emerging technologies, including smart legal contracts, electronic trade documents, decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) and digital assets such as crypto tokens. These developments often rely on distributed ledger technology (DLT). It is now consulting on proposals for law reform. It focuses primarily…

Read More… from Law Commission seeks views about the law on digital assets and (electronic) trade documents in private international law