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Welcome to The Lens newsletter, a selection of our latest blogs on all things digital from our experts and thought leaders.

AI momentum shows no sign of slowing: recent regulatory developments in the EU and UK

We know the AI regulatory landscape is evolving, but the last few weeks have seen policymakers and regulators in both the EU and UK announce a range of developments which illustrate the pace of this change. In the EU, the staged... Read more 

New Statement on Liability for AI Harms

What happens when someone suffers loss because of an AI chatbot’s mistake? The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT) explored this question – and others around liability for non-deliberate harm – in its recent 130-page Legal Statement on Liability for... Read more 

Caught in the web: EDPB guidelines on scraping for generative AI

As regulators and legislators across Europe continue to grapple with the intersection of AI development and data protection, the EDPB has published new draft guidelines on one of the most contentious data collection practices underpinning... Read more 

JJH Enterprises v Microsoft: exhausting another avenue in the battle over software resale markets

As the software resale market continues to develop, questions remain over when holders of UK and EU copyrights might be able to prevent sales of second-hand software licences. More than a decade after the CJEU’s landmark 2012 ruling in... Read more 

AI as witness coach? Court of Appeal draws the line

Can a witness who turns to AI for assistance in preparing for cross-examination be said to have been impermissibly “coached”? In R v FGD [2026] EWCA Crim 918, the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) has answered that question in the... Read more 

EU Clarifies AI Transparency Duties as Deadline Looms

The AI Act’s transparency rules (or most of them at least) apply from 2 August 2026, with the goal of increasing transparency of AI-generated or manipulated content. Having published the Code of Practice in June (see our blog), the Commission has... Read more 

Summer data protection forecast: Insights from the new ICO strategy, EDPB and more

Data protection regulators on both sides of the Channel are signalling a pivot towards pragmatism. A regime change in the UK Government this week is shortly going to be followed by a reshuffle at the UK’s data protection regulator, with the ICO... Read more 

Need-to-know July developments: Children’s online safety, social media bans and age assurance

This morning we hosted an Online Safety Lawyers’ Network event in our London office, focused on the wave of social media bans and what this means for the development of online safety regulation and for age assurance. Despite being long-planned... Read more 

EDPB Finalises Guidelines on GDPR and Blockchain

Following its public consultation in Q2 2025, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has now published its finalised Guidelines on processing of personal data through blockchain technologies. In short, very few changes have been made to... Read more 

CJEU confirms no communication to the public where effective geo-blocking used

The CJEU has confirmed, in Anne Frank Fonds (Case C-788/24), that there will be no communication to the public, for copyright purposes, where effective website geo-blocking is used to restrict access to copyright works in those countries where the... Read more 

OSA categorisation: Who has been named and what’s coming next?

Last week Ofcom published its register of categorised services, naming those platforms subject to additional obligations under the Online Safety Act (OSA) rulebook. To accompany this decision, Ofcom has published two new consultations on certain... Read more

Anonymous to whom? The EDPB's new draft guidelines on Anonymisation

The question of whether data is anonymous, and therefore outside the scope of the GDPR, has become increasingly important in a world of constant data re-use, time-consuming data subject access requests and innovative projects typically involving... Read more 

What the Mills Review says about AI in financial services

The Mills Review is the FCA’s most recent attempt to work out how AI will reshape retail financial services by 2030. It arrives against a backdrop of mounting regulatory pressure following the release of Anthropic's Claude Mythos model... Read more 

Meta Joins TikTok in the Commission's Crosshairs Over 'Addictive Design' Under the DSA

On 10 July 2026, the European Commission issued preliminary findings that Meta has breached the Digital Services Act ("DSA") for what it has termed the "addictive design" of Instagram and Facebook. The announcement follows a similar... Read more 

Explore all of our latest blogs on The Lens. If you have a digital issue you would like to discuss, or any questions regarding any of the blog items, please get in touch with one of our team or your usual Slaughter and May contact.