On 17 January 2017, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) confirmed that a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) had been reached with Rolls-Royce, the British aero-engineering company. Approval was given at a hearing before Sir Brian Leveson QC, President of the Queen’s Bench Division. The agreement will result in the payment of approximately £500 million plus interest under a schedule lasting up to five years, and a payment in respect of the SFO’s costs. Continue reading
Key themes and developments on the agenda for businesses in February include a consultation on the reform of corporate criminal liability, guidance on the duty to report on payment practices and performance, and assistance with complying with the General Data Protection Regulation.
I recently attended an event where the host reminded the audience in his opening that the day was being run under the Chatham House Rule. It reminded me of the first event that I attended when I started out in practice. I hadn’t understood what this rule meant, and in a time before a smartphone would have facilitated a response through a quick internet search, I was too embarrassed to raise the question for fear of being seen as ignorant.
There have been several important Brexit developments in the past few weeks, including the Supreme Court’s decision on triggering Article 50 and publication of the government’s European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.
Don’t panic! The date for compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has not been brought forward. But one GDPR-related deadline is approaching fast.
Following Theresa May’s speech today, announcing the UK’s trajectory towards a so-called “clean and hard” Brexit, we’d be forgiven for not seeing the value in investing heavily in any EU consultation exercise such as the one currently being conducted by the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (WP29). This consultation is in respect of the guidelines the WP29 has recently adopted on data portability, data protection officers and identifying lead supervisory authority (see also Practical Law Data Protection legal update). Continue reading
Key themes and developments on the agenda for businesses in January include the government’s Green Paper on corporate governance reform, the duty to report on payment practices and performance and the rise of the “gig economy”.
Private and voluntary sector employers with 250 or more employees will be required to publish gender pay gap information by 4 April 2018 and annually thereafter.
For decades, Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) has served as an inspiration for Hollywood’s latest heroes and bleakest dystopian futures. More recently, AI systems have taken on the role of personal assistants: our phones and computers, cars and planes, homes and cities, they are all powered to an ever increasing extent by AI systems. Even your TV remote will soon understand when you speak to it.
In most of these cases, the instructions given to the AI system are within the confines of human predictability, based on an individual’s consent or what can be deemed to be the data controller’s legitimate interest. The assumption is that AI systems use personal data to make things easier and that individuals should be able to choose how their data is used. Continue reading
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has just published its Cyber Security Regulation and Incentives Review which considers whether there is a need for additional regulation or incentives to boost cyber risk management in the UK economy.
The Review brings to fruition an in-depth consultation with a wide range of businesses, industry partners and stakeholders, and evidence from a wide range of sources, and forms part of the Government’s £1.9 billion strategy to protect the UK in cyber space. Continue reading
“Brexit means Brexit – and we’re going to make a success of it”
Theresa May’s words on 31 August may have been mocked in some quarters but the UK business community is committed to making the best of the risks and opportunities Brexit will throw at the UK, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which published its ‘Making a Success of Brexit’ report yesterday. Continue reading