News

IT legislation and regulation

• March 20, 2026 20 Mar'26

  Essex Police halts live facial recognition over bias and accuracy risks

  LFR deployments by Essex Police will not continue until risks associated with bias and inaccuracy have been reduced

• March 19, 2026 19 Mar'26

  UK government puts brakes on opt-out copyright exemption for AI

  The UK government has ruled out forcing creatives to opt out of their intellectual property being used by artificial intelligence developers as its preferred solution to the AI-copyright controversy, but may still implement copyright exemptions later

• March 19, 2026 19 Mar'26

  Zopa Bank continues its transformation with further growth

  UK digital challenger bank has 1.7 million customers, five years after it completed its transformation from a peer-to-peer lender

• March 18, 2026 18 Mar'26

  UK MoD awards more than two dozen contracts for AI targeting systems

  The UK Ministry of Defence is ramping up its investment into military artificial intelligence in a bid to increase the ‘lethality’ of the British armed forces

• March 18, 2026 18 Mar'26

  Ofcom sets out regulation to push UK gigabit broadband to ‘final phase’

  UK communications regulator lays down regulation required to drive full-fibre roll-out through its end phase to universal access across the country, aiming to allow businesses to unlock economic gains

• March 17, 2026 17 Mar'26

  Contactless payment limit removal will happen overnight, but change won’t

  Banks will be able to set their own contactless card payment limits from 19 March, following rule change by Financial Conduct Authority

• March 17, 2026 17 Mar'26

  Health workers call for Palantir to be booted from NHS contracts

  Health justice charity Medact warns that Palantir’s involvement in NHS data systems is a threat to patients and healthcare organisations

• March 16, 2026 16 Mar'26

  Companies House restarts online services following cyber breach

  Companies House was forced to pull its WebFiling service offline at the weekend after it emerged that a flawed update was putting data at risk of exposure

• March 16, 2026 16 Mar'26

  UK government unveils gigabit broadband upgrade tracker

  As full-fibre broadband deployments maintain steady pace across the nation, UK government introduces tool to allow businesses across England and Wales to discover if they are due a government-backed broadband upgrade

• March 13, 2026 13 Mar'26

  Interpol obliterates cyber criminal infrastructure

  A major Interpol operation has resulted in the seizure of thousands of malicious cyber criminal IP addresses and servers, and multiple arrests

• March 12, 2026 12 Mar'26

  The UK government’s digital identity scheme: Dystopian nightmare or modernised public services?

  Critics and supporters of digital ID are honing their arguments for the government’s consultation – but it’s the public that will decide. How should you choose?

• March 11, 2026 11 Mar'26

  UK government announces package to get more women in tech

  The UK government aims to add billions of pounds to the economy through getting more women into the tech sector

• March 11, 2026 11 Mar'26

  UK government reforms could see datacentres jump grid connection queue

  With electricity grid demand ballooning, the UK government plans for consultation and reform to ensure feasible and prioritised projects get the thumbs up

• March 10, 2026 10 Mar'26

  Whitehall launches digital ID consultation

  Eight-week consultation aims to get the public’s view on how the proposed digital ID system would work, and contemplates introducing a universal unique identifier linked to the ID

• March 10, 2026 10 Mar'26

  Met Police to ‘trial’ handheld facial recognition tech

  London Mayor Sadiq Khan reveals in a scrutiny session with London Assembly members that the Met is set to trial a facial recognition phone app for police officers

• March 09, 2026 09 Mar'26

  UK to launch cyber fraud squad in April

  The UK’s Online Crime Centre, launching next month, will bring together government, police, intelligence agencies, banks, mobile networks and tech firms to take coordinated action against cyber fraud

• March 09, 2026 09 Mar'26

  Trump looks to power up post-quantum, AI security

  The US has unveiled a six-pillar national cyber security strategy, with developing technological areas such as post-quantum cryptography and artificial intelligence front and centre

• March 06, 2026 06 Mar'26

  Scattered Spider attack on TfL affected 10 million people

  The 2024 Scattered Spider attack on Transport for London affected approximately 10 million people, many of whom remain blissfully unaware their data was compromised

• March 06, 2026 06 Mar'26

  Stephen Lawrence detective calls for better checks after child’s Instagram account ‘memorialised’

  Former detective Clive Driscoll, who secured convictions in the Stephen Lawrence case, calls for better checks after Instagram ‘memorialised’ the account of a child without the family’s knowledge

• March 06, 2026 06 Mar'26

  House of Lords urges UK government to protect IP against AI misuse

  Machine-readable indelible watermarking in content supply chain is among proposals that could protect copyrighted content

• March 05, 2026 05 Mar'26

  Government wants to build digital ID system in-house

  The Home Affairs Committee hearing on digital ID reveals consultation is due next week; there will be no central database; and while government wants to build the system in-house, it will not replace private digital ID providers

• March 05, 2026 05 Mar'26

  Police do not have to explain to lawyer Fahad Ansari why they seized his phone data, says court

  A high court judge has ruled that police do not have to give reasons to lawyer, who acts for Hamas, why they seized his mobile phone data

• March 04, 2026 04 Mar'26

  Tycoon2FA phishing platform dismantled in major operation

  A Europol-led sting against the infamous Tycoon2FA MFA bypass phishing service has been successful, with operations disrupted and ringleaders and cyber criminal users identified

• March 04, 2026 04 Mar'26

  Landmark legal challenge against Home Office eVisa system heard

  The UK High Court will examine whether the Home Office policy of refusing to issue alternative proof of immigration status outside of its electronic visa system is lawful

• March 04, 2026 04 Mar'26

  Transnational AI regulation needed to protect human rights in the UK

  Tech companies have told MPs and Lords they would welcome greater harmonisation in regulatory standards at a global level

• March 03, 2026 03 Mar'26

  Santander and Mastercard complete test of AI-initiated payment

  Bank and payments giant complete first payment initiated by artificial intelligence in a controlled environment

• February 26, 2026 26 Feb'26

  India AI Impact Summit: Open source gains ground, but sovereignty tensions persist

  While open source artificial intelligence gained unprecedented recognition during the latest global AI summit, divisions over governance, market concentration and regulatory power cast doubt on whether the technology will benefit society as a whole

• February 25, 2026 25 Feb'26

  The UK’s proposed social media ban explained

  The UK government will use new legal powers to lay the groundwork for an under-16 social media ban after its consultation on children’s digital well-being, but opponents warn the measures being considered will only treat the symptoms of the problem ...

• February 25, 2026 25 Feb'26

  Institutionalised AI puts Visa top of ranking

  The payment card services giant leads the way in applying artificial intelligence in its sector, according to research

• February 23, 2026 23 Feb'26

  Governments urged to step up enforcement of big tech amid rush to ban social media for under-16s

  The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights says that European governments should consider better enforcement against big tech companies before banning children from social media

• February 23, 2026 23 Feb'26

  €126bn in Dutch tech projects blocked by permits and grid limits

  Ex-ASML chief Peter Wennink’s deregulation solution triggers warnings from academics and government advisors

• February 19, 2026 19 Feb'26

  ICO wins appeal over data protection obligations in Currys cyber attack

  The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has won an important appeal relating to data protection obligations arising from a 2017-18 cyber attack at electronics retailer Currys PC World

• February 19, 2026 19 Feb'26

  European politicians amplify disinformation about UN rapporteur

  Government officials from the US and Europe have condemned UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese for remarks about Israel she never made, based on a truncated clip circulating online that takes her statements out of context

• February 19, 2026 19 Feb'26

  Bank of Ireland UK fined for late security system implementation

  The payments regulator has fined the bank nearly £4m after it missed a deadline to implement a system to check payees

• February 19, 2026 19 Feb'26

  Minister wants ‘logical conclusion’ to review of digital evidence in light of Post Office scandal

  House of Lords debate saw government minister make an ambiguous promise in regard to the treatment of computer evidence in court

• February 19, 2026 19 Feb'26

  India AI Impact Summit begins

  The summit aims to democratise AI and bridge the growing divide between countries, but critics warn that it risks becoming a mere spectacle if the technology only serves the interests of power and profit

• February 17, 2026 17 Feb'26

  Artificial intelligence ‘creeping into’ high-risk stock trading

  Growing reliance on artificial intelligence is encroaching into the stock market, finds research

• February 17, 2026 17 Feb'26

  House of Lords committee concerned over digital forensics backlog

  Lords’ Science and Technology Committee warns policing and justice system is unequipped to make use of technologies such as AI, and calls on government to handle digital forensics backlog

• February 17, 2026 17 Feb'26

  Banks to discuss UK alternative to Visa and Mastercard

  Banks prepare to discuss a new payments infrastructure that would remove heavy reliance on US firms

• February 17, 2026 17 Feb'26

  Tesco vs VMware: Dell weighs in on VMware contractual obligation

  Are negotiated software renewal fees binding? Dell is arguing that this provision in Tesco’s VMware 2021 contract amounts to a commitment

• February 17, 2026 17 Feb'26

  Government pumps £20m into using tech to fight addiction

  Funding grants from Innovate UK will be used for medical technologies and digital tools such as artificial intelligence and wearables to reduce substance misuse and addiction

• February 17, 2026 17 Feb'26

  British Transport Police start using live facial recognition

  British Transport Police will deploy facial recognition for six months despite calls for the government to halt its rapid expansion of the technology

• February 13, 2026 13 Feb'26

  UK government calls for review into mobile market

  UK government creates programme to anticipate how the mobile market, and technologies that underpin it, will evolve over the next decade

• February 12, 2026 12 Feb'26

  European Commission: TikTok’s addictive design breaches EU law

  In a preliminary ruling, European Commission says TikTok’s additive design features are in breach of laws designed to create safer digital spaces

• February 11, 2026 11 Feb'26

  London Assembly member: Police should halt facial-recognition technology use

  In lieu of a full-blown ban on the technology, Green London Assembly member Zoë Garbett has called for a number of new safeguards to be implemented that she feels would protect Londoners from ‘escalating’ biometric surveillance

• February 11, 2026 11 Feb'26

  Lack of resources greatest hurdle for regulating AI, MPs told

  Regulators warned that statutory powers alone cannot address the ethical harms of artificial intelligence

• February 10, 2026 10 Feb'26

  Second ever international AI safety report published

  More than 100 artificial intelligence experts have produced the second international AI safety report ahead of a summit in India, outlining a high degree of uncertainty about the development and risks of AI

• February 09, 2026 09 Feb'26

  US bid for Dutch ID infrastructure raises sovereignty concerns

  Kyndryl’s proposed takeover shows how critical systems become exposed to foreign control without an overarching policy decision

• February 06, 2026 06 Feb'26

  Australia’s CommBank partners business school to research artificial intelligence

  CommBank wants to better understand how its customers perceive, use and trust artificial intelligence, as the technology is set to reach every corner of the finance sector

• February 04, 2026 04 Feb'26

  UK government must get its hands dirty on security, report says

  As the UK government develops its National Cyber Action Plan, a report from the Rusi think tank urges Westminster to take a more interventionist approach