On April 24, 2025, the UK’s Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom—the regulator responsible for enforcing the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA)—issued its Protecting Children from Harm Online Statement. The statement requires online services to conduct and document a children’s risk assessment in accordance with the OSA by July 24, 2025. Services will be required to implement measures to protect children from content that is harmful to them by July 25, 2025.Continue Reading The UK’s Online Child Safety Duties Are Coming into Force: Steps to Take Now

On March 27, 2025, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced a fine of 3 million GBP (3.9 million USD) against a software provider (the company) for security deficiencies following a ransomware incident (e.g., lack of multi-factor authentication (MFA)). This is the first time the ICO has fined a processor under the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This post provides an overview of the decision and outlines the key points companies should consider, including the security measures the ICO expects them to implement.Continue Reading UK Regulator Issues Three Million GBP Monetary Penalty in Connection with Ransomware Attack

On February 11, 2025, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted a statement (Statement) on age assurance. The Statement comes at a formative time in the development of age assurance practices, as EU and UK regulatory frameworks increasingly require companies to take steps to identify and protect child users of online services. The Statement outlines key privacy principles that should be followed when developing and deploying age assurance processes, together with the risks to individuals’ rights that can arise.Continue Reading European Privacy Regulators Issue Guidance on Age Assurance

On February 2, 2025, the European Union’s (EU) Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) will start to apply in phases. This alert summarizes the new obligations that will apply as of February 2, 2025. It also indicates when companies can expect the first enforcement actions, and what the enforcement regime will look like. For more information about the scope and requirements of the AI Act, please see our 10 Things You Should Know About the EU AI Act.Continue Reading The EU’s AI Act Starts to Apply as of February 2, 2025

In the last month, Ofcom, the regulator tasked with enforcing the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), has published guidance enacting requirements under the OSA to carry out illegal harms risk assessments and children’s access assessments. Providers of in-scope services must document an illegal harms risk assessment by March 16, 2025, and a children’s access assessment by April 16, 2025. This alert outlines the steps that in-scope services must take to prepare for these deadlines. For more information on the OSA and its phased implementation, refer to our previous blog post hereContinue Reading The UK’s Online Safety Regime Is Coming into Force: Steps to Take Now

On January 8, 2025, the second highest court of the European Union (EU), the General Court of the Court of Justice of the EU (the Court), ordered (in Bindl v European Commission, Case T-354/22) the European Commission (EC) to pay EUR 400 in damages to an individual for transferring their personal data to the U.S. without having implemented a data transfer mechanism under EU law.Continue Reading EU Court Awards Damages for Breach of EU Data Transfer Rules