Recent Articles

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  28/06/2024

  United Kingdom

  FCA publishes Consumer Duty outcomes review – what do I need to know?

  The FCA has published the results of its multi-firm review into Consumer Duty outcomes monitoring. Although the review concentrated on 20 of the larger insurance firms, the FCA’s observations are relevant to all retail financial services firms and all firms should consider the review’s findings.What are the key takeaways for firms?Firms tend to concentrate too much on processes being completed rather than on outcomes being delivered. For example, reporting on whether there are overdue value assessments or product reviews, without providing any insight into the key findings, lessons...

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  28/06/2024

  Hungary

  US FCC issues USD 6 m fine for illegal robocalls – the takeaways and parallels in the EU AI Act

  On 23 May 2024 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a penalty of USD 6 million against a political adviser for illegal robocalls using deepfake generative artificial intelligence (AI) voice messages in a political campaign. This case shows that even without explicit deepfake and AI regulations, it is possible to take serious action against such conduct. The following article summarises the takeaways of this US case and outlines the parallels and relevant provisions in the European Union’s AI Act.BackgroundDuring the 2024 Democratic Presidential Primary Election, a political...

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  27/06/2024

  United Kingdom

  How might AI be regulated following the UK general election?

  In advance of the UK general election on 4 July 2024, we consider the manifesto commitments made in relation to artificial intelligence (AI) by the five main political parties (the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Reform UK).What is the current approach to regulating AI in the UK?The EU AI Act, which is due to enter into force this August, has been described as the world’s first comprehensive AI law. In contrast with the EU, the UK has not put in place AI-specific legislation and has not created a new AI regulator or authority to enforce AI-related laws. Instead,...

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  27/06/2024

  Poland

  Polish inspectorate rules pharma wholesalers can store commercial medicinal samples

  PL

  Poland’s Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate (Główny Inspektorat Farmaceutyczny or GIF) published a decision on its website in June 2024 that pharmaceutical wholesalers can legally store free commercial samples of medicinal products. The question of where and under what conditions samples can be stored had not been specifically addressed in the past, raising questions that the GIF’s recent ruling has finally put to rest. The decision was issued in response to an application for an individual ruling. The applicant asked whether a party licensed as a pharmaceutical wholesaler...

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  27/06/2024

  United Kingdom

  Taxation of carried interest: where are we now?

  Reform of the taxation of carried interest has long been Labour policy. It was one of first tax policies announced by Rachel Reeves after becoming the Shadow Chancellor in Spring 2021, shortly prior to the Labour party conference in Autumn of the same year.In the period between that announcement and the delivery of Labour’s manifesto on 13 June, there was some uncertainty over whether those proposals remained part of Labour policy. Those affected may have been buoyed by the absence of the policy from the Labour party’s conference in 2023 – and its omission from the three key tax...

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  26/06/2024

  United Kingdom

  Solar Energy UK's Bold Vision vs. Political Promises: Who Will Lead the Way?

  IntroductionIn anticipation of the UK general election, Solar Energy UK (“SEUK”) have released a detailed manifesto outlining the solar industry's priorities. This article summarises the key points of SEUK’s manifesto and compares them with the solar initiatives proposed by the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.SEUK’s ManifestoThe UK’s solar energy capacity is expected to reach approximately 20GW by the end of 2024, as well as 8GW of energy storage capacity. SEUK advocate for a significant increase by 2030, targeting 50GW of solar power and 30GW of zero-carbon...

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