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15 November 2024 / John Doherty
Issue: 8094 / Categories: Features , Regulatory , Artificial intelligence , Technology
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Product safety in the digital age

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Proposed changes to product safety laws will bring new risks for producers, writes John Doherty
  • Explains the importance of product safety and consumer protection to the new government, and sets out the aims of the proposed Product Regulation and Metrology Bill.
  • Analyses the implications of the new Bill in relation to the liability risks undertaken by AI businesses and their insurers.

In July 2024, the King’s Speech set out a raft of legislative proposals from the new Labour government. Of these, the proposed Product Regulation and Metrology Bill made the cut, reflecting the importance of product safety and consumer protection to the new government. Born of the government’s desire to be seen as taking a balanced approach to regulation in this area, it is styled as a Bill that will ‘preserve the UK’s status as a global leader in product regulation, supporting businesses and protecting consumers,’ as per Lord Leong on second reading, (8 October 2024, Lords Hansard, volume 839, col 1938).

In this dual goal

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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