Inline Insights

The Labour Party's annual conference took place in Liverpool from Sunday 22 September to Wednesday 25 September. While the conference did not provide much detailed policy discussion, it was a chance for the new government to communicate its agenda and the role it foresees for tech. In this blog, we outline the key takeaways and policy announcements from tech discussions at the Labour conference.

I sat down for an hour-and-a-half in early August with Kai Zenner, longtime policy advisor to MEP Axel Voss. Brussels had emptied for the summer, and we sported shorts and t-shirts at an outdoor café in a quiet Place du Luxembourg. We talked about his background in EU digital policy, and in particular about the future of AI, in Europe and beyond. A recurring theme was the EU’s need to think globally and strategically — rather than along nationalistic or ideological lines — in order to compete and stay relevant. Here’s a summary of our conversation.

In this blog, we look at the future of European telecoms legislation, including the possibilities for a Digital Networks Act during the 2024-2029 mandate.

In this blog, we analyse the Labour government's planned reforms to the UK's data protection and cyber security frameworks.

In this blog, we investigate what role current French Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton might play in the upcoming European Commission.

On 28 June, the US Supreme Court overturned the ‘Chevron deference’, an administrative law principle allowing federal agencies to interpret and implement statutes with the understanding that federal courts would ultimately defer to those agencies’ interpretation of ambiguous laws. In this blog, we will go over the Supreme Court’s ruling and the implications it could have on the technology sector, with a particular focus on AI.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has won a second five-year term. Her focus will be competitiveness, security and sustainability — defined less by green ideology than a push for clean industrialisation. With the European Parliament’s committees now formed, work will start in the autumn: to vet commissioners-designate, and vie for political control of the new programme. In this blog, we explore the key committees and committee members for the tech sector.

On 17 July, King Charles III delivered the King's Speech, outlining the government's legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. The government has announced 40 bills which aim to unlock growth and ‘take the brakes off Britain’. This blog examines the proposals affecting the tech, climate, and energy sectors, and what business should expect as the government introduces legislation.

The electorate has given Labour the second-largest majority (after Tony Blair in 1997) in British parliamentary history since Clement Atlee led a Labour Government in 1945. While the result needs to be qualified by the low voter turnout (at an estimated 60%, it was the second-lowest in post-war history) and the low share of the vote that Labour obtained (at only approximately 34%), the size of its majority means the party will have a largely free hand in pushing its agenda through parliament. Now that the UK has a new Prime Minister, a new parliament, and, shortly, a new cabinet, we look at what Labour’s victory could mean for the tech as well as the climate and energy sectors.

In advance of the General Election on 4 July, Parliament has been formally dissolved. This Parliament, constituted following Boris Johnson’s landslide election victory in December 2019, has passed several pieces of important tech legislation, though some others have fallen by the wayside in the rush to finish business before dissolution. In this blog, we examine what the 2019-24 Parliament, and the government which commanded a majority within it, did for the tech sector. 

In the fast-paced world of social media, concerns about digital addiction are taking centre stage once again, with TikTok and Meta at the forefront of scrutiny.

The Media Bill is a broad piece of legislation which will, amongst other things, makes changes to the way in which video-on-demand services are regulated in the UK. On 28 February, the Media Bill will have its second reading in the House of Lords, having been passed by the House of Commons. In this blog, we discuss the implications the Media Bill will have for the video-on-demand sector in the UK, as well as the next steps. 

In the ever-changing global landscape marked by geopolitical tensions and technological shifts, the European Commission is fortifying the economic security of the European Union with a series of new initiatives.

As political institutions slowly emerge from their Christmas hibernation, we look at the key unresolved issues in tech regulation in the UK and the EU. 

After an intense three-day negotiation marathon, the European Parliament and the Council of the EUreached a provisional agreement on the much-anticipated EU AI Act on 8 December 2023. As the world’s first comprehensive legislation on artificial intelligence (AI), this marks a pivotal moment in global AI regulation. With a risk-based approach, the AI Act introduces a structured approach to AI oversight, tailoring regulations to the complexity and capability of various AI systems. 

In November 2023 the UK Government outlined its regulatory intentions for the cryptocasset industry. In this blog, we summarise the UK Government’s plans for the future regulation of cryptoassets and explain the next steps.

The Online Safety Bill was introduced in March 2022 to make the UK the ‘safest place in the world to be online’. After a long journey through Parliament, the Bill passed its final parliamentary stages on Tuesday 19 September and was granted royal assent on 26 October 2023, meaning it is now enshrined in law as the Online Safety Act (OSA). However, companies will not have to comply with most of the Act’s provisions immediately. Rather, many details are yet to be set out via secondary legislation and guidance. In this blog post, we take a look at the next steps under the UK’s new online safety regime.   

The European Union’s economic framework has for a long time been underpinned by advances in technology. Yet, in our rapidly evolving digital era, innovation may in some cases pose a threat to economic security. The European Commission has therefore announced that it will undertake in-depth risk assessments across a number of critical technologies. While this initiative pivots on reducing tech vulnerabilities, it also encompasses geopolitics, strategic partnerships, and safeguarding the EU’s economic interests. 

The European Commission has proposed new rules providing compensation for damage caused by AI systems. Below, we summarise the two key instruments which users and providers of AI systems will need to comply with.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has published his Autumn Statement, outlining the UK Government’s fiscal policies for the next five years. The statement includes a number of measures of interest for the tech sector, which we summarise below.