Technology

The UK Government today announced that it intends to ban social media platforms from offering services to children under 16, alongside wider restrictions on certain online functionalities that the Government has identified as harmful to children.

The announcement follows the conclusion of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s (“DSIT”) consultation, “Growing up in the online world,” which received more than 116,000 responses (we originally wrote about that consultation here). The Government intends to bring the first regulations to Parliament before the end of the year using powers created by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (“CWSA”), with protections expected to come into force in Spring 2027. Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of significant developments reshaping the UK’s online safety framework. We summarize some of these latest developments below.

Continue Reading Online Safety in the UK: Social Media Ban for Under 16s and Other Recent Developments

On 19 May 2026, the European Commission published its long-awaited draft, non-binding guidelines on the classification of high-risk AI systems (“HRAIs”) under the EU AI Act (the “Guidelines”). Across three documents—covering general principles, high-risk classification in the context of regulated products (Annex I), and high-risk use cases (Annex III)—the Commission sets out its approach to one of the AI Act’s central questions: when does an AI system fall within the high-risk regime (and, just as importantly, when does it not)?

Continue Reading EU AI Act Update: The European Commission Publishes Draft Guidelines on HRAIs

On June 3, the European Commission published its Tech Sovereignty Package, a set of legislative and policy initiatives designed to address what the Commission characterizes as Europe’s technological dependencies on non-European suppliers. The Package marks a further step in the evolution of the EU’s technology policy, with initiatives spanning the full tech stack—from chips and infrastructure to software, cloud, and artificial intelligence. Through this “ecosystem” approach, the Commission seeks to reduce supply-side dependencies by strengthening domestic capabilities in Europe and stimulating demand in downstream sectors.

The Package comprises four components: two legislative proposals—(i) the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), and (ii) the Chips Act 2.0—as well as two non-legislative initiatives—(iii) the EU Open Source Strategy and (iv) a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in Energy.

This blog post provides an initial, high-level overview of the four initiatives through which the Commission seeks to advance a “European way” to tech sovereignty, with potential implications for industrial ecosystems in Europe and beyond, including cloud, telecoms, automotive, aeronautics, and defense sectors.

Continue Reading EU Tech Sovereignty Package

California’s new autonomous vehicle regulations create the state’s first pathway for testing and deploying heavy-duty AVs while imposing a more rigorous permitting, safety-case, reporting, and enforcement framework for all AV manufacturers.

Finalized by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (the DMV) on April 28, 2026, the regulations (the Regulations) introduce significant new safety and oversight…

Continue Reading California’s New AV Rules Open Door to Heavy-Duty Deployment While Imposing Significant New Compliance Obligations

International regulators are finalizing the first global safety standards for Automated Driving Systems (“ADS”). In January, the UN Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (“GRVA”) approved a draft UN Regulation (“UNR”) under the 1958 Agreement and a draft Global Technical Regulation (“GTR”) under the 1998 Agreement, submitting both for adoption by the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations.

Developed in parallel to ensure harmonized technical requirements across jurisdictions, the UNR and GTR are expected to be adopted at the 199th WP.29 session in June 2026. In the meantime, work continues on finalizing the accompanying Guidance and Interpretation Document. This post provides an overview of the UN regulatory framework, the legislative status of the ADS instruments as of May 2026, an outline of the key provisions, and implications for companies across the ADS value chain.

Continue Reading UN Regulation and GTR on Automated Driving Systems: Current State of Play

This update highlights key legislative and regulatory developments in the first quarter of 2026 related to artificial intelligence (“AI”), connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), and Internet of Things (“IoT”).

I. Federal AI Legislative Developments

In the first quarter, members of Congress introduced several AI bills related to nonconsensual images, chatbots, support for small businesses, and…

Continue Reading U.S. Tech Legislative & Regulatory Update – First Quarter 2026

On March 17, Colorado Governor Jared Polis released a draft bill that would substantially overhaul the Colorado AI Act, replacing its core requirements with a narrower regime focused on disclosure, recordkeeping, and consumer notice requirements for “automated decision-making technology” (“ADMT”).  The proposal, which is still in draft form and not yet introduced in the…

Continue Reading Colorado Officials Push to Repeal and Replace the Colorado AI Act

On March 25, 2026, the UK’s Office of Communications (“Ofcom”) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published a joint statement setting out their common expectations for age assurance on online services (“Joint Statement”). The Joint Statement is aimed at services likely to be accessed by children that fall within the scope of the Online Safety Act 2023 (“OSA”) and UK data protection legislation, and is designed to help providers comply with both their online safety and data protection obligations when deploying age assurance.

The Joint Statement arrives alongside a broader push from both regulators—including Ofcom’s recent call to action directed at major tech firms, an open letter from the ICO urging platforms to strengthen their age checks, and several enforcement actions by both regulators.

Continue Reading Ofcom and ICO Issue Joint Statement on Age Assurance

U.S. state lawmakers have introduced more than 40 bills across at least 24 states to regulate personalized algorithmic pricing in 2026 thus far, already outpacing the number of personalized algorithmic pricing bills introduced in all of 2025.  While their definitions and scope vary, the 2026 bills broadly refer to “personalized algorithmic” or “dynamic” pricing as…

Continue Reading State Lawmakers Introduce New Wave of Personalized Algorithmic Pricing Bills

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies continue to advance and states increasingly pass legislation to regulate AI development and use, Congress and the White House are proposing comprehensive nationwide laws.

New proposals from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) offer comprehensive approaches to centralizing AI regulation within…

Continue Reading White House, Blackburn Introduce Visions of Comprehensive Federal AI Policy