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Comment & Opinion

Technology & Digital round-up: 26 August 2022

Welcome to our latest round-up of legal and non-legal tech-related news stories. This edition covers regulation of self-driving vehicles, a class action against PlayStation, Leeds Digital Festival, cyber security, and much more.

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Get in touch with Sally Mewies or Luke Jackson if you have any queries or need advice or assistance.

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The legal part…

  • The government unveiled its plan to roll out self-driving vehicles on UK roads and is consulting until 14 October 2022 on the approach that self-driving vehicles should be expected to achieve an equivalent level of safety to that of a competent and careful human driver. Organisations, such as manufacturers, could face sanctions if standards are not met.
  • In related news, the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation published a report setting out proposals for a trustworthy approach to the regulation and governance of self-driving vehicles.
  • Consumer champion Alex Neill is seeking compensation from Sony on behalf of 8.9 million UK users of PlayStation, claiming a breach of competition law. It’s alleged that Sony has been exploiting its UK customers by charging them too much for PlayStation digital games and in-game content through its control over the entire PlayStation ecosystem.
  • The Law Society published a report on how advances in neurotechnology could change the law. Neurotechnologies are described as technologies that interact directly with the brain, or more broadly the nervous system, by monitoring and recording neural activity, and/or acting to influence it. Sometimes neurotechnology is implanted in the brain but it may also be in the form of a headset, wristband or helmet.
  • The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce of LawtechUK is consulting until 23 September 2022 on how English law can support the issue and transfer of equity or debt securities on blockchain and DLT (distributed ledger technology) systems.
  • The Financial Conduct Authority published a new website showing data on the firms supported to date by its Regulatory Sandbox and Innovation Pathways service, including sectors, technologies, areas of innovation and locations.
  • In related news, the FCA released the webinar recordings from its July 2022 Innovation Open Day event. Topics include the approach to cryptoassets, technology trends to watch, and algorithms and regulation.
  • A new report from TheCityUK warns that the world risks fragmenting into regional and national ‘splinternets’ unless governments can agree on a shared approach to data regulation and cross-border data transfers.
  • The Information Commissioner’s Office updated its guide to the UK eIDAS Regulations which provide the legal framework for the use of electronic trust services offered within the UK and recognise equivalent services offered in the EU.

…and in other news

  • Walker Morris is proud to be one of the executive sponsors of the upcoming Leeds Digital Festival which takes place from 19 to 30 September 2022. Join us for our event “Start caring about data sharing: the reality of GDPR compliance in 2022”, Thursday 22nd September. Our panel of experts will be providing their top tips for leveraging the data in your business to gain a competitive advantage whilst remaining on the right side of data protection law.
  • The National Cyber Security Centre published new guidance for construction businesses planning to take part in joint ventures on the best approach for managing information security risks. See the related blog post.
  • The government published the results of an in-depth study exploring the experiences of a range of businesses and organisations affected by cyber security breaches.
  • In the latest twist in Elon Musk’s legal battle with Twitter, the Tesla CEO launched legal action to summon Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey to appear in court.
  • And finally, in related news, a former Twitter security chief turned whistleblower raised security concerns, testifying that the company misled users and US regulators about gaps in its security.

If you have any queries or need further advice or assistance, please get in touch with Sally, Luke or one of our Technology & Digital experts.

More from Walker Morris

  • Want to watch a previous webinar? Visit our digital academy, home to a library of digital content including webinars, our bite-sized video nuggets and podcasts, including our 60 second videos on what is an NFT and what is a blockchain.
  • Want to learn more from our Technology & Digital experts and be the first to receive important updates, developments and events from the team? Then visit our #WMTechTalk page or sign up for our newsletter, the Technology & Digital round-up here.

Sally
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Luke
Jackson

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