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22 March 2024
Issue: 8064 / Categories: Legal News , Cyber , Cybercrime , Technology , Privacy , Criminal , Artificial intelligence
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NLJ this week: Can this Act keep us safe online?

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From deepfakes to revenge porn, the rise of online crime has created a tough environment to police

In this week’s NLJ, Farrer & Co partner Thomas Rudkin and associate Emily Costello assess the chances of the Online Safety Act 2023, the latest sheriff in town.

Will the Act live up to the government’s boast that it makes the UK ‘the safest place in the world to be online’? Rudkin and Costello examine some key provisions of the Act. They note the ‘potentially dramatic and rapid technological—and indeed social—developments’ that pose a major challenge to regulation of this area, such as artificial intelligence. 

The authors write that while it could be said the Act ‘doesn’t provide sufficient detail’ to cover some gaps that have been identified, ‘some of its more generic wording may serve to cover technological advances yet to emerge’.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DAC Beachcroft—Paul Brehony

DAC Beachcroft—Paul Brehony

Commercial disputes practice expands with partner hire in London

Ward Hadaway—Maria Coster

Ward Hadaway—Maria Coster

Partner appointed to lead family and matrimonial department in Leeds

Slater Heelis—Helen Marsh

Slater Heelis—Helen Marsh

Commercial property team expands in Manchester with partner appointment

NEWS
Financial protections for domestic abuse victims would be strengthened and cohabiting couples be given inheritance and separation rights, under historic government proposals
Doctors and nurses could be sued for mistakes made by the artificial intelligence (AI) equipment they use to treat patients, researchers have warned
The law sector has been chosen as the testing ground for the government’s AI Growth Labs—speeding up development, testing and regulatory compliance so software can be market-ready more quickly
A range of options beyond burial, cremation and burial at sea could become legally available, under Law Commission recommendations
Artificial intelligence (AI) legal assistants will be deployed to cut delays in the Crown Court, ministers have announced
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