Ireland: IT and Internet

The European Commission has proposed the EU KIDS Act, establishing one of the most prescriptive child-safety frameworks yet at EU level. This comprehensive regulation would introduce graduated age-based access controls for social media, mandate safety-by-design requirements, and create a harmonized age-verification system across Member States. The proposal carries far-reaching implications for digital services accessible to minors, requiring providers to fundamentally redesign products, implement strict def

The European Union's Data Act introduces a groundbreaking "access by design" requirement that fundamentally changes how manufacturers must approach product development for connected devices and IoT products. From September 2026, businesses placing connected products on the EU market must ensure users can directly access their generated data by default, shifting data accessibility from a reactive request-based model to a proactive design imperative.

The European Commission is poised to introduce sweeping restrictions on children's access to digital platforms, including social media, video sharing services, AI chatbots, and online games. The proposed EU Kids Act would establish age-based limitations and verification requirements across all EU member states, potentially superseding individual national measures currently under consideration in countries like Ireland.

The Product Liability Directive EU 2024/2853 introduces sweeping changes to Irish product liability law, expanding definitions to include software and digital products, introducing new categories of compensable damage, and establishing rebuttable presumptions that shift the burden of proof. How will these modernized protections impact Irish businesses operating in technology, medical devices, and digital services sectors as they navigate increased compliance obligations and extended liability exposure?

The European Commission has released draft guidelines clarifying how AI systems should be classified as high-risk under the EU AI Act, while simultaneously extending key compliance deadlines by up to two years. These guidelines provide detailed interpretative guidance on classification thresholds, the role of human oversight, and how complex or interconnected AI systems should be assessed for regulatory purposes.

The European Commission has issued interpretive guidelines on Article 50 of the AI Act, clarifying transparency obligations for emotion recognition systems, biometric categorization, and deepfake content.

In this first article of our mini-series ‘A Practitioners Guide to IT Outsourcing', Rhiannon Monahan, an Associate Director within our Governance and Consulting Services Group and former Head of Outsourcing Oversight.

Last week, the European Central Bank ("ECB") released its horizontal analysis of the most recent Outsourcing Registers submitted by significant institutions (SIs).

The Berec Board of Regulators invites comments until 19 February 2025 on the Draft BEREC Report on the regulation of physical infrastructure access.