Artificial Intelligence

The European Commission's proposed EU Kids Act introduces sweeping new requirements for digital service providers, establishing a harmonised age threshold of 15 for social media access and mandating safety-by-design principles across online platforms. This comprehensive regulatory framework fundamentally reshapes how providers must verify ages, design interfaces, and protect minors in the digital space, with sanctions reaching up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover for non-compliance.

The UK Government has introduced a new procurement policy note requiring public authorities to prioritize national security considerations when procuring in four critical sectors: energy infrastructure, steel, AI, and shipbuilding. This market-shaping approach mandates collaboration with designated Sector Leads and fundamentally changes how contracting authorities must assess value for money, moving beyond immediate commercial outcomes to consider long-term strategic resilience and supply chain security.

Researchers routinely use AI tools like AlphaFold and Schrödinger's software without scrutinizing license agreements that contain restrictions on commercial use, confidentiality, and mandatory disclosure requirements. These overlooked terms can create significant legal obstacles when translating academic innovations into commercial products, affecting everything from sponsored research agreements to patent filings and university spinouts.