Inline Insights

In 2025, the value of the data economy in the European Union will be comparable to the GDP of the Netherlands. The actual impact that data will have on European economies and societies, however, will depend as much on technological advancements as on the rules that will govern data use and data sharing. In February 2022, the European Commission is expected to publish a proposal for a Regulation to facilitate data sharing and use between companies (business-to-business, or B2B) and between businesses and governments (business-to-government, or B2G). Known as the Data Act, this long-awaited initiative will have far-reaching impacts on companies, the public sector, and consumers. In this two-part series, we look at what issues the Data Act should address to harness the value of data while ensuring innovation, property rights, and privacy. This blog focuses on business-to-business data-sharing.

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become embedded in many of the processes of business operations, public life, and politics. Yet as AI is increasingly becoming a part of people’s lives, suspicions have mounted as to whether AI is a force for good, or whether its algorithms create bad outcomes for some of those on the receiving end of its calculations. In a 2020 survey by KPMG, only 26% of UK citizens were willing to rely on information provided by an AI or to share data with an AI. To combat the festering mistrust in AI, the UK Government published its novel Algorithmic Transparency Standard in late November 2021. This blogpost introduces the standard, evaluates its potential, and points to the questions which remain open.

Governments across the world are working towards an energy transition for phasing out fossil fuels and meeting emissions targets. Sustainable energy technologies play an increasingly pivotal role in making this happen. We look at how the UK Government’s policies foster the development of technologies in the wind energy industry and how emerging technologies are driving efficiencies and reducing costs in this sector.

The UK Government has published a draft Online Safety Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. This marks the start of a lengthy legislative process likely to be full of lively debate. In this blog, Nicolette Stickland outlines the next steps and some areas of the Bill likely to attract scrutiny by Parliamentarians.

This month, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) updated its ambitious Digital Markets Strategy. The 2019 strategy was originally meant to address the growth of digital markets and its effect on consumers and competition. The recent update reflects the work that the CMA has done since it first published the strategy - including its all-important recommendations for a pro-competition regime for digital markets - and comes as debates around digital competition continue to gather pace in the UK and beyond.

The European Commission will shortly unveil new rules on digital services as part of its agenda for shaping Europe’s digital future. In this blog we will explore what we expect to see in the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) and how they will impact the tech industry.

The European Commission’s recently adopted New Consumer Agenda frames its objectives for EU consumer policy up to 2025. In this blog we outline what it means for the tech and digital sectors, and what consumer policy initiatives we can expect.

The European Commission will launch several ambitious policy and legislative initiatives in December 2020, to deliver on its political priorities for this legislative term. In this briefing, we outline nine initiatives that will affect the tech sector.

Few policy areas fit neatly within the remit of one regulatory authority or government department. Online advertising is no different. Earlier this year, we evaluated proposals by DCMS and the UK’s competition regulator to regulate digital marketing. Building on this jigsaw of stakeholders, we examine the latest strategies developed by another critical policymaking actor - the Advertising Standards Authority – and its recent efforts to defend what was historically its territory.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, enabling a seamless, contactless, traveller journey is becoming more a matter of necessity rather than an option. We provide an account of the regulatory challenges and opportunities for biometric technologies companies facilitating a seamless traveller experience.

Preventing illegal hate speech online is a priority for policymakers worldwide, and the need to do so is increasingly evident. How can governments strike the right balance between tackling the mechanisms and incentives behind the proliferation of illegal hateful content online, while also ensuring that platforms do not enable censorship? A closer look at present and future debates demonstrates the intricacies of keeping an ever-growing number of internet users safe and preserving their fundamental rights.

As we explained in our previous blog, European policy makers are pondering whether to revise the 1985 Product Liability Directive to make it ‘future-proof’ and ensure it remains fit for purpose amidst the growth of new technologies. Both the European Commission and European Parliament have addressed the issue in various formats and within different frameworks, both as part of a broader revision of European product safety regulation and/or as part of a planned regulation on Artificial Intelligence – whose aim would be to address the legal challenges of new automated technologies.

The continued growth and application of new technologies raises new challenges for regulators and policymakers. Alongside new policy frameworks, existing regulations need to be re-evaluated to ensure that they remain proportionate, effective, fit-for-purpose and ‘future proof’. One such regulation is the Product Liability Directive, with growing calls for it to be reviewed.

As the UK prepares some of the most ambitious online harms legislation in the world, the unprecedented efforts taken by tech companies to curb the spread of COVID-19 falsehoods have raised a number of questions for regulators and policymakers. The UK may need to adapt its original stance on online harms in order to face the ‘new normal’.

Strengthening and deepening the Single Market is a key strategic priority for the 2019-24 European legislative cycle. Following the publication of the European Commission’s Single Market Enforcement Action Plan in March 2020, we look at the role and importance of the EU Single Market Transparency Directive in addressing market barriers, promoting the growth of the single market, and supporting a more harmonised regulatory environment for businesses.