Information barriers meaning

In this issue: Media Internet Databases Data protection Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Telecommunications LexTalk®TMT: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Media Getty gets pyrrhic victory in UK stability AI case Law360, London: On 4 November 2025, Getty Images persuaded a London court that artificial intelligence (AI) developer Stability AI had produced a small number of images infringing the stock image company’s trade marks. However, the court was not convinced that the model itself breached the photo giant’s intellectual property in this landmark dispute. See: Getty gets pyrrhic victory in UK stability AI case. Internet Ofcom launches call for evidence on age assurance effectiveness and app store safety under OSA 2023 Ofcom has opened a call for evidence to inform two statutory reports required by the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023). The reports will review...

Risk & Compliance weekly highlights—30 January 2025 In this issue: Data protection Financial sanctions AML, CTF & counter-proliferation financing Fraud Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New and updated content Data protection ICO launches strategy to tackle online tracking compliance in UK The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has unveiled a wide‑ranging plan to improve adherence to online tracking rules across the UK’s digital environment. Its remit now extends from the leading 200 to the top 1,000 UK websites, with the goal of giving users genuine control over how their personal data is tracked. The programme features fresh guidance on ‘consent or pay’ approaches, intended action on compliance within apps and connected TVs, and probes into data management platforms across the adtech ecosystem. This guidance explains how to meet data protection law, concentrating on power imbalance, suitable fees, equivalence, and privacy by design. It sets out ways to gauge power imbalance—such as market position and switching...

In this issue: Pension Schemes Bill The Pensions Regulator Transfers Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Pension Schemes Bill Pensions surplus release plans to be included in Pension Schemes Bill In a statement, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed proposals that would permit defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to distribute a share of their surpluses through the forthcoming Pension Schemes Bill. The purpose is to help sponsoring employers reinvest in their businesses while unlocking extra value for scheme members. With around three-quarters of DB schemes now in surplus and deficit contributions markedly lower (from £16bn in 2010 to under £5bn in 2024), the DWP and pensions minister Torsten Bell emphasised that the reforms will ensure any surplus use is secure, member-centric, and aligned with wider economic ambitions. The precise design of the surplus policy will be detailed in the government’s reply to the Options for Defined Benefit Schemes consultation, which the...

Directive (EU) 2019/882, also known as the European Accessibility Act (the EAA) Adopted across the EU in April 2019, this is a significant piece of legislation shaped by a marketplace increasingly seeking accessible products and services, and by a rising number of citizens with disabilities—a consequence of longer life spans. The EAA is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the first international, legally binding instrument to set minimum standards for the rights of disabled people. It sits within the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021–2030, which seeks to enhance the lives of persons with disabilities in Europe and worldwide, building on the European Disability Strategy 2010–2020. The EAA was initially proposed to complement Directive (EU) 2016/2102, the EU Web Accessibility (adopted in 2016 to make public-sector websites and mobile applications more accessible), and to harmonise EU standards to reduce barriers for developers of accessibility-related products and services. For more information, see Practice Note: Website accessibility in the EU. However,...

Who are bondholders? Bondholders, sometimes referred to as noteholders, have typically put capital into a company’s most junior—and therefore risky—debt. In a distressed scenario, they will often form a pressure group, coming together to seek recovery from a restructuring by presenting a unified position to the debtor’s advisers and other stakeholders, including senior lenders, as a collective. For further reading, see Practice Note: Bonds and notes. Bondholders will frequently sit within a complex capital structure. The bondholders’ committee The bondholders’ committee is usually organised by the indenture trustee for the bonds or by a lawyer specialising in representing the interests of junior creditors. The committee can also be known as the: steering committee co-ordinating committee A committee is formed as part of a restructuring process rather than as a formal insolvency process. The formation of the committee...

This Practice Note offers practical direction on customs procedures and trade facilitation commitments applied by Australia and the United Kingdom under the Australia and the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (Aus-UK FTA). Introduction As a free trade agreement, the Aus-UK FTA does more than govern tariffs on goods traded between the two parties; it also deals with other matters required for trading in goods or considered non-tariff barriers to trade. This includes: rules of origin. For detail on rules of origin under the Aus-UK FTA, see Practice Note: Rules of origin of the Aus-UK FTA. For guidance on making an origin claim under the Aus-UK FTA, see Practice Note: How to claim preference under the Aus-UK FTA technical barriers to trade. For commentary on technical barriers to trade under the Aus-UK FTA, see Practice Note: Technical barriers to trade under the Aus-UK FTA sanitary and phytosanitary measure. For information on sanitary and phytosanitary measures under the Aus-UK FTA, see Practice Note: Sanitary and...

A: Introduction In rare situations, we may represent a client despite our possession of significant confidential information concerning another client (whether current, past, or potential). If this occurs, we must still ensure sensitive information is protected between the relevant clients and we secure the informed consent of some or all parties impacted. We may, on an exceptional basis, also act for a client while holding confidential information relating to a non-client, where that information is bound by contractual or other duties of confidence...

Analytical thinking Behaviour Spots issues and underlying causes, drawing connections across information sourced from multiple places and threads of evidence to build a clear picture. Sample questions Recall a situation you faced that demanded analytical thinking from you, and explain your approach? What has been one of the toughest problems you’ve had to analyse? Have you spotted a possible issue or opportunity your manager or others missed? Describe when this occurred. Have you encountered a repeating problem at work? Tell me about it. What actions did you take in that scenario? Achievement Behaviour Shows drive to deliver outcomes; persists with agreed plans, even when progress is slow. Sample questions What has been a target you needed to achieve? In your current role, what have you accomplished that makes you especially proud? Pick one they mention. That’s interesting—please tell me more. Which goal or task presented the greatest barriers for you...

1 Introduction 1.1 This document explains our policy for spotting and managing conflicts of interest, alongside confidentiality and disclosure matters within our practice. 1.2 Our duty to address conflict, confidentiality and disclosure may variously arise from: 1.2.1 regulatory obligations, eg within the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Codes of Conduct; 1.2.2 legal obligations, eg the general law concerning our responsibilities to clients (often called fiduciary duties); 1.2.3 contractual obligations, eg particular conflicts and confidentiality clauses in agreements we have made. 1.3 In summary, the aims of this policy are to: 1.3.1 outline clearly our duties, and those of people working on our behalf, regarding conflicts of interest, confidentiality and disclosure; 1.3.2 give information and practical guidance on identifying and effectively managing issues of conflict, confidentiality and disclosure...