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Data ethics

Data underpins the digital economy.

Thanks to advanced analytics and massive improvements in processing power, data can be used to optimise processes and create new products and services tailored to our needs. But this huge leap forward is not without risks. As innovators push the boundaries, so the spotlight is falling on the ethics of data use – shifting the debate from what we can do with data to what we should.

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Blogs

Data Act: Commission issues updated FAQ

To aid in the implementation of the EU Data Act, the European Commission has released a set of frequently asked questions (FAQ). For a concise overview of these FAQs, refer to our previous blog post.…

Author(s): Gernot Fritz, Estella Dannhausen

  • consumer
  • data
  • data protection
  • eu data act
  • europe
  • internet of things
  • manufacturing
  • eu digital strategy
  • regulatory
  • regulatory framework
  • tech media and telecoms

Lights, Cameras, AI Action

Energised by our attendance at the recent Tortoise Responsible AI Forum, Paris AI Action Summit and City & Financial AI Regulation Summit, the international Freshfields AI team looks at five key…

Author(s): Rachael Annear, Beth George, Natasha Good, Giles Pratt, Laéna Bouafy

  • africa
  • ai
  • americas
  • asia-pacific
  • data
  • eu ai act
  • europe
  • innovation
  • tech media and telecoms
  • us
  • political change

The Responsible AI Forum 2025: Companies are facing growing regulatory and litigation risks over the use of AI, and not just from the new laws grabbing the headlines

Freshfields is a Knowledge Partner on the Responsible AI Forum 2025, hosted at Spencer House by Tortoise Media, in partnership with the Rothschild Foundation. The Responsible AI Forum sets out an…

Author(s): Giles Pratt

  • ai
  • asia-pacific
  • data
  • eu ai act
  • europe
  • intellectual property
  • us
  • political change

German Election #2: Digital Policies in the 2025 Election Campaign – How Germany’s Political Parties Want Germany to Catch Up on Digitalisation

On 23 February 2025, almost 60 million German voters will elect a new federal parliament in snap elections after the collapse of the governing coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats…

Author(s): Alex Schmidtke

  • 2024 elections
  • ai
  • cyber security
  • data
  • data protection
  • eu ai act
  • eu cyber resilience act
  • eu data act
  • eu data governance act
  • eu digital markets act
  • eu digital strategy
  • eu nis2 directive
  • political change
  • europe

Polish proposal on CSAM delays decisions on content scanning

Negotiations on the EU’s regulation to combat the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online have been stalled in the Council for some time. Previous drafts proposed mandatory…

Author(s): Christoph Werkmeister, Elena Brandt, Max Grewe

  • data
  • europe
  • platforms
  • political change

10 Key MedTech Themes for 2025

Note: this article originally ran in MedCity News The MedTech industry is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. As AI reshapes the landscape, global collaborations are expanding, and the regulatory…

Author(s): Vinita Kailasanath, Shannon O'Hara

  • ai
  • antitrust and competition
  • cyber security
  • data
  • data protection
  • eu ai act
  • global
  • innovation
  • life sciences
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • regulatory framework
  • us

Freshfields Fintech: Our Predictions for 2025

As we did in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, we have crowdsourced predictions for the year ahead from the Freshfields global fintech team. Here, we identify common themes in 2025 across different…

Author(s): Cyrus Pocha, Claire Harrop, David Sewell, Emma Probyn, Rikki Haria, Daphne van der Houwen, Christine Simpson, Eva Schneider, Daniel Klingenbrunn, Nariné Atamian, Tristan Lockwood, Noah Schmidt

  • ai
  • aml
  • bnpl
  • cryptocurrency
  • data
  • financial crime
  • financial services
  • fintech
  • payments
  • political change
  • us
  • uk
  • europe

It’s not just about the quantity, but also about the intent: CJEU’s take on "excessive" requests under the GDPR

Is there a threshold for the number of requests under the GDPR after which they can be denied? The Austrian data protection authority certainly thought so when it rejected an individual’s complaint,…

Author(s): Estella Dannhausen, Thomas Retière, Jérôme Philippe

  • data
  • data protection
  • europe
  • gdpr

EU Commission held accountable on Privacy –The EU General Court's verdict

The General Court, the European Union’s first instance Court, recently handed down a decision on privacy (T-354/22) that stands out. The decision involves alleged shortcomings regarding compliance…

Author(s): Christoph Werkmeister, Benjamin Blum

  • data protection
  • data
  • europe
  • gdpr

Navigating GDPR Risks in AI: Insights from the EDPB’s latest Opinion & the UK ICO’s AI Consultation Response

Balancing innovation with GDPR compliance In December 2024, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (UK ICO) separately published significant guidance…

Author(s): Christoph Werkmeister, Giles Pratt, Tristan Lockwood, Benjamin Blum

  • ai
  • data protection
  • data
  • gdpr
  • ico

Harnessing Smart Data in the UK as a National Asset: What businesses need to know

On 23 October 2024 the UK government introduced the Data (Use and Access) Bill to Parliament (the DUAB). The DUAB is a wide-ranging and significant reform package with implications for all businesses…

Author(s): Giles Pratt, Rachael Annear, Tristan Lockwood, Adam Gillert, Hazel Ling

  • data
  • data protection
  • digital payment
  • e-commerce
  • energy and natural resources
  • financial institutions
  • fintech
  • gdpr
  • ico
  • innovation
  • regulatory
  • regulatory framework
  • telecommunications

AI Regulation Is Evolving Globally and Businesses Need to Keep Up

This article was first published on Bloomberg Law on 10 December 2024. Freshfields’ attorneys examine generative AI’s global impactCompanies must understand how regulators approach AI Artificial…

Author(s): Beth George, Giles Pratt, Lutz Riede

  • ai
  • data
  • eu ai act
  • global
  • intellectual property
  • regulatory
  • tech media and telecoms
  • us
  • political change

UK reforms to Digital Verification laws: new opportunities for businesses

The Data (Use and Access) Bill (DUAB) proposes wide-ranging and significant reforms to the existing legislative framework around data in the UK.  One of the key proposals in the DUAB centres around…

Author(s): Adam Gillert, Claire Harrop, Cyrus Pocha, Katie Hyewon Sa, Rachael Annear, Tristan Lockwood

  • data
  • data protection
  • financial services
  • gdpr
  • ico
  • regulatory

The UK’s new approach to international data transfers: making international transfers easier?

On 23 October 2024, the UK government introduced the Data (Use and Access) Bill to Parliament (the DUAB). Our previous blog summarised the changes to the UK’s data protection framework that it will…

Author(s): Rachael Annear, Joseph Mason, Adam Gillert, Rhea Dennis

  • ai
  • data
  • data protection
  • europe
  • gdpr
  • governments and public sector
  • tech media and telecoms
  • political change
  • uk

Email monitoring in Italy: Are employers ready for stricter rules after the latest Italian DPA’s decision?

Introduction A recent decision by the Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA) has underscored the challenges employers face when managing employee email accounts under Italian data protection law.…

Author(s): Davide Borelli, Matteo Tola, Giovanni Fabris, Isabella Oldani

  • data protection
  • data
  • employment
  • gdpr
  • investigations

Synthetic data: a privacy panacea?

Data-driven businesses are increasingly looking toward synthetic data – ie, data that is artificially generated but may be derived from real-world datasets – as an option to unlock larger volumes of…

Author(s): Gernot Fritz, Markus Kattnig, Christine Chong, Christine Lyon

  • data
  • data protection
  • europe
  • gdpr
  • global
  • regulatory
  • us

UK announces data reforms: what businesses need to know

On 23 October 2024 the UK government introduced the Data (Use and Access) Bill to Parliament (the DUAB). The DUAB is a wide-ranging and significant reform package with implications for all businesses…

Author(s): Giles Pratt, Rachael Annear, Tristan Lockwood, Adam Gillert

  • ai
  • data
  • data protection
  • e-commerce
  • europe
  • gdpr
  • ico
  • internet of things
  • platforms
  • regulatory
  • regulatory framework
  • tech media and telecoms
  • onlinesafety

Leading the Change: 2025 Data Law Trends report

We’re excited to share our latest report, Leading the Change: 2025 Data Law Trends.  Data now impacts all aspects of businesses, from risk management and global operations to growth strategies. The…

Author(s): Christine Lyon, Giles Pratt, Christoph Werkmeister

  • ai
  • americas
  • asia-pacific
  • cyber security
  • data
  • data protection
  • e-commerce
  • eu ai act
  • eu data act
  • eu digital strategy
  • europe
  • european data spaces
  • gdpr
  • global
  • ico
  • innovation
  • internet of things
  • platforms
  • regulatory framework
  • tech media and telecoms
  • us
  • onlinesafety

EU AI Act unpacked #15: Will the AI Act remain as is? Level II legislation and Commission guidance

[You can find all episodes of our EU AI Act unpacked blog series by clicking here.] In part 15 of our EU AI Act unpacked blog series, we take a look at when and how the EU AI Act (AI Act) will…

Author(s): Verena Kirchmair, Victor Garcia Lopez, Christoph Werkmeister, Theresa Ehlen, Lutz Riede, Philipp Roos

  • ai
  • data
  • eu ai act
  • eu ai act series
  • europe

EU Commission publishes practical guide on an evolving EU digital economy

Aiming to encourage voluntary data sharing for business and citizen benefits through secure and trustworthy exchanges, the Data Governance Act (DGA) is a core part of the European data strategy. The…

Author(s): Gernot Fritz, Estella Dannhausen, Markus Kattnig

  • data
  • e-commerce
  • eu data act
  • eu data governance act
  • eu digital strategy
  • europe
  • european data spaces
  • global
  • platforms
  • regulatory
  • regulatory framework
  • tech media and telecoms
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