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The Data (Use and Access) Act (“the Act”) received Royal Assent in the United Kingdom Parliament on 19 June 2025. The Data (Use and Access) Bill was described when introduced to the House of Lords (IRIS 2025-1:1/13). The provisions of the Act will come into force automatically by virtue of section 142 of the Act. This includes any regulation-making powers in the Act, including those in Part 1 allowing for the future development of smart data schemes. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement No.1) Regulations 2025 (The Regulations) came into effect on the 21^st July...

The UK’s public service broadcasters (PSBs) – the BBC, ITV, STV, Channels 4 and 5, and S4C – remain central to public service media (PSM). Yet Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, warns that their survival, and with it a cornerstone of UK culture, is threatened by mounting financial pressures, technological change, and global competition. Ofcom’s July 2025 review presents stakeholder proposals, weighing their benefits and practical implications, building on its statutory five-year assessment under section 264 of the Communications Act 2003. In December 2024,...

The UK’s communications and online safety regulator, Ofcom, announced the implementation of new requirements obligating all online platforms that host pornographic content to deploy ‘highly effective’ age assurance measures by 25 July 2025. This regulatory shift stems from the Online Safety Act 2023 and aims to prevent minors from accessing harmful content, including pornography, while safeguarding adult users’ rights to access legal material. Scope of application, implementation and compliance requirements The new age verification regime will apply broadly across...

Following the High Court judicial review decision, R (GB News Ltd) v. Ofcom [2025] EWHC 460 (Admin), brought by GB News and challenging Ofcom’s application of section 5 of the Broadcasting Code relating to due impartiality, the regulator launched a consultation which closed on 23 June 2025 entitled “Politicians presenting news: consultation on proposed amendment to Rule 5.3 of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code” (the Consultation).  The High Court decision determined that GB News was allowed to use Jacob Rees-Mogg (who was an MP at the time) to act as a newsreader in a...

In R (GB News Ltd) v. Ofcom [2025] EWHC 460 (Admin), High Court judge Collins Rice allowed GB News judicial review by quashing two decisions reached by Ofcom that had assessed the broadcaster to have breached Rules 5.1 and 5.3 of the Broadcasting Code. GB News is a UK free-to-air TV and radio news channel. One of GB News' distinct characteristics is that it hires prominent politicians to host current affairs programmes including former Conservative government minister, now Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg (Rees-Mogg).  Previously, Ofcom had assessed two broadcasts of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s...