On 5 March 2024, the UK data protection regulator (ICO) published guidance on biometric recognition (the Guidance), following a consultation with stakeholders in October 2023. The Guidance clarifies the concept and properties of biometric data and provides practical considerations for organisations contemplating or using biometric recognition systems.Continue Reading ICO Publishes Biometric Data Guidance
Employee monitoring isn’t new, but its extent and how it has been conducted has seen significant changes in the last few decades; we have come a long way from the punch cards of the 1900s to the current use of video surveillance, e-comms monitoring and AI, among other monitoring tools.
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Earlier this year, the UK government released an AI white paper outlining its light-touch, pro-business proposal to AI regulation. Eight months on, and the UK appears to be sticking firm with this approach, with Jonathan Camrose (UK First Minister for AI and Intellectual Property) stating in a speech on 16 November 2023 that there will be no UK law on AI ‘in the short term’.
This stance has been taken in spite of the developments being made around the world in this area. The EU for example, by contrast, continues to make significant steps towards finalization and implementation of its landmark AI Act, with policy-makers announcing that they had come to a final agreement on the Act on 8 December 2023. Progress has also been made across the pond with President Biden issuing the executive order on Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence on 30 October 2023, with the intention of cementing the US as a world leader in the field. The UK’s reluctance to regulate in this area has been criticised by some as not addressing consumer concerns – but will this approach continue into 2024?Continue Reading AI Regulation in 2024 – Will The UK Continue to Remain The Outlier?
The debate concerning the UK’s controversial Online Safety Bill (OSB) has continued to rumble on in recent days, with the UK Government reportedly again being warned that there is a real risk that certain messaging apps could be withdrawn from the UK if compromises cannot be reached on a number of issues.
The OSB, which is currently being debated in the House of Lords, aims to increase the responsibility of social media platforms for their users’ safety. It is intended to protect both children and adults in various ways. Continue Reading Controversy around the UK’s Online Safety Bill continues
The United Kingdom and the United States joined forces last week in an initiative to combat ransomware attacks by sanctioning seven Russian nationals believed to be members of a hacking network. Together with U.S. authorities, the UK’s Foreign Office has reportedly identified the individuals in question, frozen their assets and imposed travel bans in respect of them.
Ransomware is a type of malware that typically renders systems or data inaccessible, often due to the encryption of files. Devices are often locked, and data may be leaked, in addition to being encrypted or deleted, unless and until the victim pays a “ransom” to the actors who deployed the ransomware in return for decryption. Continue Reading UK Takes Action Over Cybercrime
The new approach to regulatory and enforcement action adopted by the UK Information Commissioner’s office (ICO) looks set to continue in 2023. The ICO has indicated recently that it is modifying its attitude towards regulatory action in respect of public sector organisations. It has also noted that enforcement does not necessarily equate to fines, but includes various other “corrective powers,” including warnings, reprimands, compliance orders, limitation orders, erasure of data and suspension of data flows.
Going forward, the ICO intends to regulate for outcomes rather than outputs, observing that the number or level of fines should not be used as a yardstick by which to judge the ICO’s success and that achieving preferential outcomes and publicising these may have a more significant impact on UK citizens’ rights than monetary penalties might achieve.