Expert Analysis

• How Ransomware Payment Reforms Could Affect UK Cos.

  

  The Home Office’s recent proposals to ban ransomware payments by publicly owned bodies is a welcome first step in its aims to tackle the cybercrime industry, but the risk remains that hackers will now focus on private companies that are still permitted to pay a ransom, says Dominic Holden at Lawrence Stephens.

• Key Takeaways From The 2025 Spring Antitrust Meeting

  

  Leadership changes, shifting priorities and evolving enforcement tools dominated the conversation at the recent American Bar Association Spring Antitrust Meeting, as panelists explored competition policy under a second Trump administration, agency discretion under the 2023 merger guidelines and new frontiers in conduct enforcement, say attorneys at Freshfields.

• Rising To The Task Of Online Safety Act Compliance

  

  The arrival of the Online Safety Act’s deadlines for all in-scope services and children’s access in March and April, enabling the Office of Communications to begin enforcing safety duties regarding illegal content, presents formidable compliance challenges for affected businesses, says Louisa Chambers at Travers Smith.

• Google Win Illustrates Hurdles To Mass Data Privacy Claims

  

  The Court of Appeal's December decision in Prismall v. Google, holding each claimant in a mass data privacy suit must demonstrate an individualized and sufficiently serious injury, demonstrates the difficulty of using representative action to collect damages for misused private information, say lawyers at Seladore Legal.

• What To Know About FCA's UK Listing Rules Proposal

  

  A recent consultation paper from the Financial Conduct Authority aims to streamline the securities-listing process for U.K.-regulated markets, including by allowing issuers to submit a single application for all securities of the same class, and aligning the disclosure standards for low-denomination and wholesale bonds, say lawyers at Debevoise.

• Opinion

  UK Gov't Needs To Take Action To Support Whistleblowing Bill

  

  With a proposed Office of the Whistleblower Bill making its way through the U.K. Parliament, whistleblowing is starting to receive the attention it deserves, but the key to unlocking real change is for the government to take ownership of reform proposals and appoint an overarching whistleblowing champion, says Baroness Susan Kramer at the House of Lords.

• Issues To Watch At ABA's Antitrust Spring Meeting

  

  Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition enforcement amid agency leadership changes and other emerging developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

• New UK Short Selling Rules Diverge From EU Regs

  

  Although forthcoming changes to the U.K.’s short selling regulatory regime represent a welcome relaxation of restrictions and simplification of reporting processes, participants active in both the U.K. and EU markets will need to ensure compliance with two quite different sets of rules, says Ezra Zahabi at Akin.

• How New EU Product Liability Directive Will Affect Tech And AI

  

  While the European Union’s new defective product liability directive, effective from December 2026, primarily provides clarifications rather than significant changes, it reflects the EU's commitment to addressing consumer protection and accountability challenges presented by the digital economy and artificial intelligence, say lawyers at Latham.

• What Latest FCA Portfolio Letter Means For Payments Firms

  

  Charlotte Hill at Charles Russell discusses the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent portfolio letter to CEOs of payments firms, outlining the regulator’s expectations, and the steps that these companies may now need to take to ensure compliance and operational effectiveness.

• ECB Guide Targets Harmonized Cyber Testing Approach

  

  The European Central Bank’s recently updated guidance for testing organizational resilience against sophisticated cyberattacks is a significant step forward, highlighting the importance of a unified approach to financial sector cybersecurity and alignment with Digital Operational Resilience Act requirements, say Simon Onyons and Nebu Varghese at FTI Consulting.

• Court Backlog Could Alter Work Safety Enforcement Priorities

  

  While criminal prosecution remains the default course of action following the most serious workplace accidents, a record backlog of cases in the crown courts in England and Wales and safety regulators’ recognition of the need for change may allow for a more discerning approach, say lawyers at BCL Solicitors.

• New CMA Powers Will Change Consumer Protection Regime

  

  The Competition and Markets Authority’s imminent broadened powers to impose penalties on organizations for unethical or misleading practices are likely to transform the U.K.’s consumer protection regime, and may lead to a rise in private litigation and increased regulatory scrutiny, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.

• Opinion

  Prospects For New Fraud Prevention Prosecution Look Slim

  

  With the Labour Party's inherited patchwork of Conservative Party corporate crime legislation for preventing fraud and corruption, the forthcoming Economic Crime Act’s failure to prevent fraud offense is unlikely to be successful in assisting prosecutors bring companies to justice, says Matthew Cowie at Rahman Ravelli.

• What's Next After FCA Drops Troubled 'Name And Shame' Plan

  

  A closer look at the Financial Conduct Authority's recent decision to toss its widely unpopular proposal changing the test for announcing enforcement investigations may reveal how we got here, why the regulator changed course, and where it’s headed next, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.