Technology, Data and Privacy

In the latest episode of Fieldfisher's Data and Privacy Matters podcast, hosts Martin McElroy, Anna Rawlinson and Rida Ahmed provide a comprehensive roundup of the key legal developments from September 2025. 

Read more here: Data and Privacy Matters: Legal Updates - September 2025

In this latest episode of Fieldfisher’s Data and Privacy Matters podcast, hosts Anna Rawlinson, Lorna Cropper and Emma Yaltaghian  provide a comprehensive roundup of the key legal developments from August 2025.

The team start by discussing the growing criticism of the EU’s digital regulations, including the Digital Services Act and AI Act, with concerns about their impact on innovation. They also touch on the EU Data Act, effective September 2025, which brings new rules on data access and interoperability. 

 Discussion then turns to ICO consultations on the new lawful bases of recognised legitimate interests and complaints procedure.  Attention is also give to the Online Safety Act which now requires strict age verification for adult content and the surge in VPN use.

 The podcast also covers legal challenges to consent models, increased oversight of influencer marketing, and major enforcement actions, including sizeable fines in Spain and Poland.

In the latest episode of Fieldfisher’s Data and Privacy Matters podcast, hosts Lorna Cropper, Emma Yaltaghian and Leo McSweeney provide a comprehensive roundup of the key legal developments from July 2025. 

The team start by discussing how the ICO released guidance to prevent data breaches in document disclosure and how the European Commission has reviewed the UK's adequacy decision. Focus then turns to AI advancements, including the European Commission’s AI Code of Practice and the UK’s digital library for AI guidance.

Lorna reports on the GDPR’s positive impact on cybersecurity by way of the CNIL's report, showing reduced identity theft across the EU before highlighting OFCOM's children's codes of practice, which became effective in July and aim to improve online safety for children.

The episode wraps up with significant enforcement news, including a major inquiry into a data breach affecting Afghan and British military officials and an £18,000 fine imposed on a Scottish charity for the unauthorised destruction of personal records.

In the latest episode of Fieldfisher’s Data and Privacy Matters podcast, hosts Martin McElroy, Emma Yaltaghian and David Horne provide a comprehensive roundup of the key legal developments from June 2025.

Read more, and find the sources here.

In the latest episode of Fieldfisher's Data and Privacy Matters podcast, hosts Martin McElroy, Anna Rawlinson and Leo McSweeney provide a roundup of the significant legal updates from May 2025.

We begin with the Irish Data Protection Commission’s engagement with Meta’s plans to train its generative AI models using public Facebook and Instagram content. We also cover the potential for legal challenges to Meta's plans from civil society as well as other Meta developments in Germany and their response to the EDPB’s ‘consent or pay’ opinion. 

Shifting focus to broader data protection issues, we discuss the EDPB’s positive opinion on the European Patent Organisation’s adequacy decision and its cautious stance on extending the UK’s adequacy status. We also consider the European Commission's proposed targeted GDPR compliance simplifications for a specific category of small mid-cap (SMCs) enterprises.

Enforcement actions continue across the EU, with the Irish DPC fining TikTok €530 million for unlawful data transfers to China, the Italian SA fining Luka Inc. €5 million over its AI chatbot, Replika and France’s CNIL penalising SOLOCAL €900,000 for unlawful marketing practices. 

In the UK, the Data Use and Access Bill faced amendments around AI transparency in the House of Lords, and the ICO responded to the major cyberattacks on several UK retailers. 

These updates underscore the intensifying regulatory focus on AI, cross-border data flows, and commercial data use—essential insights for anyone navigating the evolving digital compliance landscape.

Find the sources of news discussed here.

April was another eventful month in the world of data and privacy, so join us as we delve into the latest news in this month's episode of the Fieldfisher Data & Privacy Matters podcast.

Lorna Cropper, Matthew Gregson,  and Charley Guile dive into the recent developments regarding the use of personal data for training AI systems, highlighting new inquiries by the Irish Data Protection Commission and Meta's ongoing efforts in the EU. This episode also covers the European Commission's AI Continent Action Plan and provides actionable insights for organisations to comply with the upcoming EU AI Act. 

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2025 is shaping up to be an exciting year for data and privacy. Dive into the hottest stories from March in this month's episode of the Fieldfisher Data & Privacy Matters podcast.

Listen here to keep updated!

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February was another eventful month in the world of data and privacy, so join us as we delve into the latest news in this month's episode of the Fieldfisher Data & Privacy Matters podcast.

Martin McElroy, Matthew Gregson, and Jonathan Comfort kick off the episode with a look at the latest AI developments, including the European Commission's draft guidelines on prohibited AI practices and the continued scrutiny of the Chinese AI tool DeepSeek by various EU authorities. We also comment on the Paris AI Summit and the expanding scope of the European Data Protection Board's ChatGPT task force which now covers broader AI enforcement.

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January was a busy start to 2025 in the world of data and privacy so join us in this month's episode of the Fieldfisher's Data & Privacy Matters podcast to get some insight into the key news.

Lorna Cropper, Charley Guile, and Salma Eleyan start the episode discussing China's latest AI model, its industry impact, and the swift regulatory responses. They also delve into the UK government's AI Opportunities Action Plan and the ICO's reaction to this ambitious strategy.

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Join the team as Lorna Cropper, Chloe Abbot and Anna Rawlinson discuss the European Data Protection Board’s (EDPB) opinion regarding AI models and personal data processing including the considerations that must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, particularly when using legitimate interests as a foundation for AI development.

Lorna then turns to the EU's progress on the General Purpose AI Code of Practice, which guides AI providers on compliance with the AI Act. This draft involves several working groups, and the next iteration is expected soon, aimed at ensuring seamless integration and practicality.

Anna follows on with updates on the ICO's consultation series on generative AI including lawful bases for using web-scraped data, the necessity for transparency, and the importance of designing AI products with data protection in mind from the outset. 

With the EU's digital strategy advancing, it's clear that the GDPR cannot be looked at in isolation and its interplay with the EU AI Act, the EU Data Strategy and the Digital Services Package is something the EDPB wants to receive more consideration, which it flags in its response to the EU's second GDPR evaluation report. 

The episode then covers the UK’s Data (Use and Access ) Bill, which proposes significant amendments to automated decision-making rules and multiple enforcement actions such as Italy's data protection regulator fining OpenAI €15 million for GDPR breaches and concludes with a discussion on Ofcom's new codes of practice aimed at addressing illegal online content under the UK's Online Safety Act.

Find the sources here.