UK Government Unveils Ambitious Tech Legislation in King's Speech

New UK Government unveils bills for AI, Cybersecurity and Resilience to boost tech outlook

New Labour government pledges to make strides in regulation AI and public service cybersecurity The King has unveiled the newly-elected Labour government's first drafted bills and legislation to the UK Parliament, including several pieces relating to technology. Among them, the King stated his government will "seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place Requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models." The government also seeks to introduce a Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill to strengthen the cyber resilience of public bodies such as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and NHS. Expert reaction to the announcement of both bills have been mixed, but one point has seen consistent support. Public services in the UK are relying on outdated and unsecure IT systems to function, putting them and the public at a greater risk of having their services disrupted and their data leaked. In January 2024, a report was released that revealed the MoD to have 11 'red-rated' IT systems that are exposed to cyber attacks and breaches, or are simply too inefficient or unsuitable to use. In May, the MoD was reportedly hit by a Chinese state-sponsored cyber attack that stole personal information of current and former personnel. The same month, a report found the British public has very little faith in the NHS' cybersecurity and data handling, with almost half (49%) believing the service could mishandle their data, and over four in five (82%) stating that they are concerned in some capacity about cyber attacks against NHS systems. In June, Synnovis, a pathology provider for the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust was hit by a cyber attack that stole patient blood test data. Later, publicly available information from board of directors' meeting revealed that concerns had been raised on third-party service providers, with directors stating that an IT modernization programme was needed to increase the NHS' cyber resilience. Dominic Trott, Director of Strategy and Alliances at Orange Cyberdefense responded to the unveiling of the Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill, stating, "Any steps to further strengthen our defences and ensure that more essential digital services than ever before are protected must be welcomed. Over the past year we have seen a series of attacks on organisations providing critical services to the UK. In the healthcare sector, for example, the pressures that hospitals have faced have been heightened by the growing threat of cyber criminals who have brazenly targeted the critical systems of the most vulnerable." "According to our own data there were 69 cyber extortion attacks on healthcare businesses during Q1 of this year, up more than 100% from Q1 in 2023. To combat this, organisations must optimise access to skills, adoption of appropriate processes and the right use of technology to achieve cyber resilience. It is pleasing to see that the Bill will make updates to the legacy regulatory framework by expanding the remit of the regulation to protect supply chains, which are an increasingly significant threat vector for attackers," Trott concluded. As for the AI Bill, experts are concerned that if enacted too quickly, the bill could implement heavy handed regulation on a technology that has already shown its ability to enhance productivity and efficiency, and that the legislation could unfairly stifle innovation. David Shepherd, Senior Vice President of EMEA at Ivanti, said, "The announcement of intentions to establish AI legislation is a positive step, but the details are what will matter. For regulations to truly succeed, and foster innovation while ensuring safety, clear, transparent, and globally consistent guardrails are crucial. Especially when it comes to protecting workers - one of the new Labour government's key focuses." "While regulation can't be rushed, timely action is essential," he added. "Delays could lead to a rise in AI bias and ethical issues like potential job losses, a concern the new government clearly wants to address." "As Labour's plans unfold, concrete regulatory details will be essential. To ensure no group is disproportionately impacted, the development process must embrace diverse viewpoints to ensure AI is set up for businesses and employees to thrive harmoniously. This commitment will be critical for the AI Bill's success, and, ultimately, the safety of employees and overall business success."

King's Speech Lays Out U.K.'s Plans For Tech Regulation

Today's King's Speech has set out the new Labour government's plans for AI and cyber security, which have been broadly welcomed by the tech industry. While falling short of promising an AI bill any time soon, the speech said that the government would "seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models". The Labour party previously pledged to introduce binding regulation on those AI firms building the most powerful models -- and it still remains to be seen what that legislation might entail. "We look forward to seeing more detail about what the government means when it comes to placing appropriate requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models. Most IT experts' concerns are not that AI is too powerful but that basic guardrails are not in place," comments Adam Leon Smith, of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. "There must be high professional standards to ensure AI is directed and developed by individuals who adhere to agreed measures of competence and ethics. We advise against focusing too narrowly on a handful of companies." Michal Szymczak, head of AI strategy at software consulting firm Zartis echoes these concerns, saying the government must avoid being too heavy-handed. "I worry that any such policies could smother AI innovation in the crib with red tape, especially when factoring in any imposed costs of compliance. For startups especially, this could become a demoralizing deterrent," he says. "The Labour manifesto clearly wants to strike a balance between nurturing innovation and regulating companies that are developing the most powerful AI models. It's a nice sentiment in theory, but you can't have your cake and eat it, too." While any AI bill remains up in the air, two bills were announced in the speech: the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill and the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. The Digital Information and Smart Data Bill is aimed at encouraging the innovative use of data to help boost the economy. This would include the creation of new digital verification services, along with systems allowing customer data to be shared with authorized third-party service providers. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, meanwhile, is aimed at securing critical national infrastructure -- particularly important given the recent attack on an NHS supplier, Synnovis, which resulted in the postponement of thousands of appointments and elective procedures. However, some industry observers -- as you might expect -- say they're concerned about over-regulation. "It will be vital that the government work with industry to ensure that security requirements in the legislation are fit for purpose and strike the right balance between building resilience and fostering innovation," says Carla Baker, senior director for government affairs, UK & Ireland, at Palo Alto Networks. "If we are to achieve sustained economic growth in the UK, organizations cannot be burdened with overly prescriptive requirements. The government must take a coordinated approach to developing policy interventions that protect critical sectors of society and drive economic growth, and refrain from producing guidance with overlapping or conflicting requirements." The bill marks the first change to U.K. cybersecurity legislation in six years. "Imagine how far behind we've fallen compared to the rapidly evolving capabilities of hostile actors in that time," says Al Lakhani, CEO of security firm IDEE. "We can and must go further, and additional legislation and resources will be needed to tackle the ongoing risks facing the UK's long-neglected digital infrastructure."

On AI, new UK gov't to work on 'appropriate' rules for 'most powerful' models and beef up product safety powers

There had been rumors the UK's shiny new-in-post Labour government would commit to introducing a dedicated artificial intelligence bill on Wednesday as it unveiled its full legislation program amid the pomp of the state opening of parliament. In the event, the King's Speech contained a much more tentative commitment -- to "seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models". Spokesmen for Number 10 Downing Street and the Department for Innovation, Science and Technology (DSIT) confirmed there is no plan for an AI bill yet. Nor were more details forthcoming when TechCrunch asked about the plan to work on formulating "appropriate" rules for the most powerful AI models. Labour's election manifesto also pledged it would "ensure the safe development and use of AI models by introducing binding regulation on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models and by banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes." The UK lags the European Union on this front. The bloc adopted a risk-based framework for regulating applications of AI late last year. The agreed text has since been affirmed and was published in the EU's Official Journal last week -- starting the clock ticking on various legal deadlines which will land on developers over the next few months and years, including some compliance requirements aimed at managing systemic risks of the most powerful general purpose AI models. Given the UK is still holding back on drafting legislation it may be keen to watch how the EU AI Act is implemented and takes effect. And what impact it has. Labour's election manifesto also talked about ensuring "our industrial strategy supports the development of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector, removes planning barriers to new datacentres. And we will create a National Data Library to bring together existing research programmes and help deliver data-driven public services, whilst maintaining strong safeguards and ensuring all of the public benefit." And the legislative plan unveiled today reiterates the government's desire to harness the power of data for economic growth -- which echoes the last (Conservative) administration's talk of using AI as a flywheel for wealth creation. The King's Speech also mentions AI in a line that talks about "harness[ing] the power of artificial intelligence as we look to strengthen safety frameworks". This is presumably a reference to a plan to introduce a Product Safety and Metrology bill, where the government says it wants long-standing UK product rules to respond to new risks and tech advances -- such as AI. The government says its aim with the product safety bill is to "support growth, provide regulatory stability and deliver more protection for consumers" -- including by "responding to new product risks and opportunities to enable the UK to keep pace with technological advances, such as Al." Again, the EU is a few steps ahead here as the bloc's lawmakers have been working on rebooting product liability rules to account for risks of harm from software and AI since fall 2022. Labour's manifesto also acknowledged that "regulators are currently ill-equipped to deal with the dramatic development of new technologies", and committed the party to creating "a new Regulatory Innovation Office" it said would bring together existing functions across government to help regulators better stay abreast of fast-paced tech developments. First up, the government has committed to what it's calling a Digital Information and Smart Data bill. This looks like a rehashing of some of the provisions in the post-Brexit data reform bill the prior government ending up dropping when former PM Rishi Sunak called a July 4 election, pulling the plug on parliamentary time to squeeze it through. Such as a plan to allow scientists and "legitimate researchers" to be able to ask for "broad consent" for use of people's data to fire up research. And reforms to the UK's data protection watchdog -- the Information Commissioner's Office -- which the government claims will modernize and strength the office. A push around establishing "digital verification services" has also been revived -- and potentially expanded -- with the government saying it wants to "support the creation and adoption of secure and trusted digital identity products and services from certified providers to help with things like moving house, pre-employment checks, and buying age restricted goods and services." Though any digital IDs are intended to be voluntary -- which, again, appears to be a similar approach to the EU's plans for its own digital ID scheme -- avoiding the controversy that would accompany any revived push for mandatory IDs. The bill will also focus on encouraging what the government is calling "smart data schemes." This is aimed at fostering more secure sharing of customer data through authorized third-party providers (ATPs), such as can happen via the existing Open Banking regime. Introducing a legislative framework is intended to grow and expand the role of ATPs in delivering innovative services, per the government. Additionally, the program features a Cyber Security and Resilience bill which will focus on bolstering protections for public services in the wake of increasing cyber attacks on critical services and infrastructure such as hospitals, universities and local authorities. "The Bill will strengthen our defences and ensure that more essential digital services than ever before are protected, for example by expanding the remit of the existing regulation, putting regulators on a stronger footing, and increasing reporting requirements to build a better picture in government of cyber threats," the government writes. It also says the forthcoming cyber security legislation will mandate "increased incident reporting" to ensure it has better data on cyber attacks.

King's Speech: AI overlooked in new UK government's plans

Artificial intelligence was barely mentioned in King Charles III's speech as he outlined the legislative programme for the UK's new Labour government. The new UK government set out its legislative plans for the country for this year, but it stopped short of detailing an ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) bill announced previously under the Conservative government. It was widely predicted that before the speech delivered by King Charles III on Wednesday, a piece of legislation to improve the legal safeguards of AI systems, that would be similar to the EU AI Act, would be announced. The King, however, told the House of Lords that, "[The government] will seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models". This echoes statements already made by the Labour party which won the July 4 parliamentary election. The UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is expected to launch a consultation process on AI legislation but no timetable has been set, according to the Financial Times. After the speech, Sir Keir Starmer, the UK's new prime minister, told ministers that the government would "harness the power of artificial intelligence" but didn't go into further detail. The previous Conservative government pushed to embrace AI to become a global leader with former prime minister Rishi Sunak holding an AI Safety Summit in 2023 where he spoke on stage with tech mogul Elon Musk. Sunak's government invested in an AI Safety Institute and public sector supercomputers. The Labour government could become stricter when it comes to AI. In its manifesto for the general election earlier this month, it said it intended to introduce "binding regulation on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models". "Regulators are currently ill-equipped to deal with the dramatic development of new technologies, which often cut across traditional industries and sectors," the manifesto read. The manifesto said it would also ban the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes. Peter Kyle, the new Secretary for Science, Innovation, and Technology, also announced the expansion of DSIT and an AI incubator on July 8. "What will be crucial for this new government is balancing safeguards with nurturing innovation. The UK is a services-driven economy, yet our low levels of investment in R&D programmes mean productivity rates have historically lagged behind our counterparts such as the US, France and Germany," Kriti Sharma, Chief Product Officer, Legal Tech at Thomson Reuters and founder of AI for Good UK, told Euronews Next. "AI can be a boon to help make up this deficit, and wide-scale integration of trusted AI tools across industries should be seen as a matter of national importance for the economy," she added. But for the UK to continue to be an AI leader, it would need to be more focused on reskilling and upskilling current and future generations, such as the promotion of STEM education, and inclusivity, according to Sharma. "The UK would benefit from more sector-specific initiatives such as investments in applications of the technology in the legal sector which can help drive access to justice and deliver broader societal benefits to underserved communities," she said.

AI bill and votes at 16 among measures missing from King's Speech

Sir Keir Starmer said his government would "harness the power of AI" -- but a bill to regulate the new technology has been put on hold in a move that surprised many figures in the tech industry. The King's Speech on Wednesday said the Labour government would "seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models". But there was no dedicated AI bill among the 40 announced at the state opening of parliament. Other missing measures included votes for 16-year-olds and an overhaul of social care. Science secretary Peter Kyle, whose department oversees the work on AI, is hopeful a measure could yet be finalised and included later in the first session of parliament. Allies of Kyle said the AI bill was squeezed out because his department was already sponsoring a bill on digital information and smart data, and a separate bill on cyber security. They said the second measure was urgently needed to update Britain's cyber security framework after it was left in "a dreadful state" by the previous Conservative government. "We hadn't planned to do this," said one aide to Kyle. "It wasn't even mentioned in our manifesto." Kyle's allies said the AI draft bill was largely complete and, in its current form, mandated government access to the most powerful generation of new AI models for testing and evaluation. But Number 10 said caution was needed: "It's critical we get this right," said a spokesman for Starmer. One senior figure in the tech sector said: "My suspicion is that they opted not to present this [AI regulation] now as they didn't want to upset their growth narrative." They noted that introducing binding regulation at this early stage in the government could be seen as hampering the growth of a crucial sector. About half of the bills selected for inclusion in the King's Speech were touted as changes that would boost the UK's economic performance -- which the new government has named as its defining mission. Former Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak warned against excessive or clumsy regulation in the House of Commons on Wednesday. "We should all be careful not to endanger this country's leading position in this field," he said. There were a number of other bills that did not make the final cut in Starmer's first set-piece event. These included proposals for the mandatory retirement of peers from the House of Lords at the end of any parliament during which they turned 80, and a commitment to introduce votes for 16 and 17-year-olds -- both of which were manifesto pledges. There was no legislation to create another wave of "new towns", a long-standing promise from the Labour party, though a process to select appropriate locations for the new conurbations is expected to begin in the coming weeks. There was no bill put forward that would pave the way for Starmer's pledge to set up an Integrity and Ethics Commission to "ensure probity" in public office. There were also no dedicated measures on Britain's spiralling welfare bill, or to reform social care, a subject that has now been kicked into the long grass with a new Royal Commission.