Data Policy Digest

Gavin Freeguard

Gavin Freeguard

Hello, and welcome to our 23rd Data Policy Digest, bringing you all the latest data and AI policy developments.

There have been a lot. But you knew that already. Because there always is. And will no doubt continue to be. Now, and forevermore. Amen.

I hope you manage to get some time off to rest and recharge! But if you’re around on 20 August, we’ll be holding an extended meeting of our Data and AI Civil Society Network to think about strategy for the months ahead - do join us if you can.

If there’s something we’ve missed, something you’re up to that you’d like us to include next time or you have any thoughts on how useful the Digest is or could be, please get in touch via gavin@connectedbydata.org. We’re on Twitter @ConnectedByData and @DataReform. You can also catch up on previous Digests.

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Data policy developments

Bills, bills, bills

Digital Information and Smart Data Bill (DISD) Rumours, from Politico Morning Tech UK and elsewhere, suggest this Bill (which the King’s Speech sold as the less controversial bits of DPDIB, but with some hostages to fortune about ‘targeted reforms to some data laws’) could arrive in parliament by October.

Insofar as there has been discussion, it’s been around health data and the government’s apparent desire not to learn from previous experience: Labour ‘won’t be squeamish about making money from NHS data’ (The Times) prompted responses including one from Jess Morley, while The Observer had Scientists urge GPs to share UK patient data for research into new treatments (The Observer).

Elsewhere… Light and Shadow of the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill (ORG)… Data sharing is key to boosting SME financing, says taskforce (UKTN)… the CMA welcomed the Bill as paving the way for new smart data schemes but wants an interim arrangement… and Labour inches closer to digital ID cards (UnHerd).

Will the new Bill have anything on algorithmic transparency in the public sector, something covered by previous DPDIB amendments (and the previous government’s original consultation)? The new government hasn’t managed to honour the previous government’s pledge to publish a first batch of transparency records by the end of July, but one new entry has appeared for NHS England’s NHS.UK Reviews Automoderation Tool.

Meanwhile, Public Law Project are updating their Tracking Automated Government register - a database of all government uses of automation to make or inform decisions that they’re aware of. They’d love any information you might have come across about automated decision making tools (including decision support tools) that could be included. Drop Ellie and Caroline an email if you have anything.

And now for the most controversial bit… Forget health data. Forget sweeping DWP powers. The big bone of contention is… how should we abbreviate the new data Bill?

Last time out I suggested DISD should be ‘dizzed’. Anna suggested ‘dissed’ instead. Tom offered DISDaB. Peter brought some musical enticement to his DISD-ee idea. Since we could all do with some light relief, I’ve set up a poll - vote now!

AI Bill A written ministerial statement from Secretary of State Peter Kyle on 26 July promised legislation to ‘place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models’ and ‘place the AI Safety Institute on a statutory footing, providing it with a permanent remit to enhance the safety of AI over the longer term’. Its proposals would be ‘highly targeted’ and ‘avoid creating new rules for those using AI’, ‘instead apply[ing] to the small number of developers of the most powerful AI models with a focus on the AI systems of tomorrow and not today.’ The statement also promised ‘a consultation on these legislative proposals, to harness the insights and expertise of the AI industry, academia and civil society.’ This was reiterated by AI minister, Maggie Jones, in the Lords in late July, and was later repeated by secretary of state Peter Kyle to tech companies over breakfast (more on that below).

Additionally… AI Regulation: Will Labour Promote Growth and Protect Rights? (ORG)… Paranoid politicians could destroy online satire (Centre for Policy Studies)… while Amnesty described the EU’s AI Act as a ’modest step’ as it came into effect.

Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill The urgency of this one - ‘When I became secretary of state, within a very short period of time, and I’m talking hours, not multiple days, I became very, very aware that there was a cybersecurity challenge that our country faced that I simply wasn’t aware of before becoming secretary of state’ - bumped the AI Bill from the King’s Speech, according to The Guardian.

While we’re on cyber… ICO reprimands Hackney for ‘clear and avoidable error’ – but council claims watchdog ‘has misunderstood the facts and misapplied the law’ (Public Technology)… Provisional decision to impose £6m fine on software provider following 2022 ransomware attack that disrupted NHS and social care services (ICO)… Cyber lessons, and priorities for the UK’s new government (Computer Weekly)… IT outage exposes fragility of tech infrastructure (BBC)… Starmer told to ‘wake up’ and protect UK from cyber attacks before it is too late (The Independent)… Understanding the UK cyber security sector and labour market (DSIT).

Other Bills we highlighted last time included the Employment Rights Bill - PCS AI campaign to ensure workplace justice (PCS)… and Product Safety and Metrology Bill, which ‘opens the door to British alignment with EU standards’ and ‘could prove to be similar to the new EU Digital Services Act (DSA), a sprawling rulebook designed to address everything from illegal online content to dangerous goods sold in online marketplaces’ according to Politico… on which note, TikTok commits to permanently withdraw TikTok Lite Rewards programme from the EU to comply with the Digital Services Act (European Commission), see also TikTok Lite Leaves up to 1 Billion Users With Fewer Protections (Wired).

Online Safety Act In the UK, Ofcom’s protection of children consultation: our summary response (Online Safety Act Network)… while in the US, Senate passes the Kids Online Safety Act (The Verge)… and Meghan Markle Reveals New Online Safety Initiative Is Part of Her Healing Journey During Emotional Interview (Vanity Fair).

Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act The government announced a consultation on turnover and control regulations (closes 10 September)… CMA appoints new Chief Operating Officer (Daniel Lambauer, formerly of the NAO).

Private Members Bills The Lords have conducted their ballot for private members’ bills - those are ones that can be introduced by anyone, rather than the government, though normally rely on government support to get through. Lord Clement-Jones (Lib Dem) and his Public Authority Algorithmic and Automated Decision-Making Systems Bill were drawn 17th - it’ll get a first reading on Monday 9 September. The Commons ballot will happen on Thursday 5 September, and the winning bills will be ‘presented’ in parliament on Wednesday 16 October.

DSIT up and take notice

The machinery of government changes - moving the Government Digital Service, Central Digital and Data Office and Incubator for AI from Cabinet Office to DSIT - were made official with a written prime ministerial statement (summary from Civil Service World, while Politico looks through a Cabinet Office lens). Another written statement, from DSIT Sec of State Peter Kyle, announced that Matt Clifford - chair of ARIA and previously one of the PM’s representatives to the AI Safety Summit - will lead an Action Plan to ensure UK reaps the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (DSIT), with a Unit to support the work (DSIT has published the terms of reference for the action plan).

While we’re on appointments… it was announced that Emily Middleton, who advised Peter Kyle before the election (on secondment from Public Digital into Labour Together), would ‘lead the design of the new digital centre of UK government’ as a new director general. Shadow DSIT secretary. Andrew Griffith, wrote to the Cabinet Secretary about his concerns, ‘not about the merits of the individual concerned but rather the much more important issue of civil service independence’ (former Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart and former Cabinet Office spad Henry Newman also got involved, while Politico report a hire under ‘exceptions’ rules in the Treasury). Elsewhere, Varun Chandra stepped down from managing partner at strategic advisory firm (or ‘spooky consultancy’), Hakluyt, after being appointed as the prime minister’s special adviser on business and investment (which had been rumoured).

We’re also still getting details of ministerial briefs across government: Justin Madders MP at the Department for Business and Trade gets smart data, regulation, employment rights, competition and consumer protection among other subjects; Abena Oppong-Asare MP is the junior Cabinet Office minister responsible for transparency policy and freedom of information (not sure Labour has much in the way of FOI policy yet); and Public Technology has more on Heidi Alexander, responsible for AI and digital at the Ministry of Justice, and on DSIT’s minister for AI and digital government, Feryal Clark. Newly-elected Callum Anderson MP, meanwhile, becomes the parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the DSIT ministerial team - their main bridge with the parliamentary party. And the Spectator has a broader though incomplete list of special advisers across government.

As for departures… Simon Blagden resigned as chair of Building Digital UK (a DSIT agency tasked with reliable broadband and mobile coverage) - Private Eye says this was over ‘dishonesty over his role in the Post Office scandal’… while Ben Johnson, a DSIT adviser under Michelle Donelan, and Nitarshan Rajkumar, a cofounder of the AI Safety Institute, announced they were leaving government.

And as for people still in post… DSIT sec Peter Kyle gave an interview to the Times. Topics included his career to date and experience as a dyslexic minister, kindness, tech pessimism - which he says characterised the previous government - and optimism, online safety, the UK being taken ‘right to the cliff edge’ on cyber security, productivity and poor public sector tech, rewiring Whitehall, an insistence there will be no compulsory ID cards but wanting people to access government easily, and the power of big tech (‘We cannot sit in Whitehall or Brussels or Washington and legislate and regulate to get those companies to do what we want them to do’) and their lack of diversity (‘miles behind’, ‘they are from a different era’). He also gave his first speech (at Farnborough air show, with lots about space) and visited the UK Biobank (The industrial estate in Stockport at the heart of Labour’s plans to fix the NHS - Manchester Evening News, Nearly £50 million unlocked for world-leading UK Biobank following new industry backing - DSIT).

Kyle also co-hosted (with chancellor Rachel Reeves) a breakfast roundtable with big tech. They discussed ‘continuing to use the power of technology & AI to improve lives across the UK’ with representatives of techUK, the Startup Coalition, a16z, Wayve, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Index Ventures, Apple and Digital Bridge, according to reporting from Politico and others. Misinformation around the tragic murders in Southport was apparently not on the agenda. Computer Weekly argued that Government needs to meet with the IT users, implementors and managers to deliver its policy aims too, and we hope there are some of those pastries and untouched fruit salads for communities and civil society too.

Among the other big news from DSIT was Government shelves £1.3bn UK tech and AI plans (BBC, see the reaction from Neil Lawrence)… and also from DSIT… AI to reduce train delays, speed up NHS prescriptions and train construction workers gets £32 million boost… Call for views on A Code of Practice for Software Vendors and Cyber security of AI (both until 9 August)… Government scheme helps UK chip start-ups raise £10 million: from new fertility treatments to improving the efficiency of AI, British semiconductor innovators are reshaping global technology… the UK Science and Innovation Network - which ‘leads on developing science partnerships and using science in diplomacy around the world’ - published updates on its work in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia… UK joins groundbreaking global digital trade agreement… Minutes of January Geospatial Commissioner meeting… and DSIT published its latest monthly ‘Download’… and a page on its governance.

Away from DSIT… the government’s public spending audit, Fixing the Foundations, included a few paragraphs on tech (‘The government will create the conditions for successful digital adoption in the public sector by addressing legacy IT and utilising cloud services and data sharing’, which will allow the public sector to ‘realise the opportunities’ of AI)… Foreign Secretary meets Indian Prime Minister Modi and launches landmark Technology Security Initiative (FCDO, DSIT and others)…

On digital government… Changing Government One Datastream at a Time (Laura Gilbert for the Heywood Quarterly)… The i.AI Taxonomy (i.AI)… From Whitechapel to the White House (GDS)… GOV.UK One Login: A Disclosure and Barring Service Success Story (GDS)… Generative AI in government: DBT’s next steps (DBT)… Exploring the use of artificial intelligence to streamline the planning process (MHCLG)… DWP seeks suppliers to help tap into ‘unprecedented opportunity and challenge’ of generative AI (Public Technology)… DWP’s ‘automation’ of universal credit discriminates against single mums, researchers say (Big Issue)… Treasury seeks leader for Data Hub (Public Technology)… Crown Prosecution Service works on AI strategy and business case ahead of spending review (Public Technology)… DWP, MoD and Cabinet Office among departments trialling digital staff transfer service (Public Technology)… Reasons to be optimistic about DSIT and the new digital centre of government (Paul Maltby)… AI in healthcare: what are the risks for the NHS? (BBC)… and I pondered the last decade and what comes next for public sector data for techUK, as they prepare for their flagship Build the Smarter State conference…

In regulator-land… Essex school reprimanded after using facial recognition technology for canteen payments (ICO), which Defend Digital Me responded to (see further media coverage)… Social media and video sharing platforms put on notice over poor children’s privacy practices (ICO)… Ensuring Trustworthy AI: the Emerging AI Assurance Market (DRCF)… Banks share data with NCA to tackle organised crime (Civil Service World)… Ofcom published its annual report… Uncertainty in official statistics (OSR’s Ed Humpherson for the Journal of Risk Research)…

Not forgetting… Elections watchdog censured over breach of 40 million people’s data and admits ‘sufficient protections were not in place’ (Public Technology)… Beyond disinformation and deepfakes: Tracking the broader uses of AI during election campaigns (Ada)…

In Wales, Eluned Morgan is the new first minister - her brief includes ‘Open Government and information management, including data protection’, while Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Cabinet Office in the (apparently interim) Cabinet has responsibility for official statistics… in Scotland, the government has launched its latest round of CivTech challenges (Scottish Government commits £8m to new round of public sector innovation challenges, writes Public Technology) and has published An introduction to the Digital Programme (Scottish Government)… in London, we have Towards a new Data for London Library (Theo Blackwell) and the London Office of Innovation and Technology’s Year 5 annual report…

And… Public First have launched a missions tracker (includes AI Opportunities work)… The UK has a new government — let the lobbying commence (Politico)… Revealed: Corporate lobbyists were at heart of Labour’s election campaign (openDemocracy)… Who Is The Labour Growth Group? (PoliticsHome)… What does the King’s Speech mean for the Internet? (Nominet)… and Covid Inquiry report calls for urgent ‘public debate’ on mass digital and data surveillance (Public Technology).

Tory story

Over on the opposition benches… the Conservative leadership contest has started in earnest, with Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel, Mel Stride, and Tom Tugendhat the contenders. ConservativeHome have the full timetable, with the new leader being announced on 2 November.

In addition to shadow DSIT secretary Andrew Griffith and shadow DCMS secretary Julia Lopez, Saqib Bhatti - previously a junior DSIT minister - will serve as a shadow DSIT minister (jointly with the shadow DHSC frontbench team). Lopez and Griffith are backing Badenoch in the leadership contest, Bhatti is backing Priti Patel.

As for other parties - I think the Lib Dem and Green frontbench spokespeople remain unchanged (so Layla Moran on DSIT for the Lib Dems, and Jack Lenox on digital for the Greens).

Parly-vous data?

Parliament returns on Monday 2 September. That day, we can look forward to a general debate in the Commons on ‘technology in public services’. MPs can also put forward their ideas for private members’ bills that week, with the ballot coming on Thursday 5 September. Lords PMBs have already started to be introduced - Lord Clement-Jones’ one on automated and algorithmic decision making in the public sector comes on Monday 9 September. That day also sees a debate on Improving the performance, independence and accountability of UK Regulators following a select committee report. Parliament is away for conference recess from 12 September to 7 October. There will be DSIT questions on Wednesday 16 October (with DCMS questions on Thursday 17 October and Cabinet Office on Thursday 24 October).

We also have the election of select committee chairs to look forward to. These are allocated to parties depending on the election result (so Labour will chair most of them) - we now know which parties will chair which committees, with Labour having Science, Innovation and Technology and the Conservatives having DCMS, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, and Public Accounts Committee. Chairs will be elected - by MPs from all parties - on Wednesday 11 September (nominations close on Monday 9 September). Chi Onwurah (previously a shadow DSIT minister) and Dawn Butler (previously a member of the SIT committee) are among the candidates for Science, Innovation and Technology. In the Lords, Baroness Stowell (Con) has been reappointed as chair of the Communications and Digital Committee.

Plenty was squeezed in between the election and summer recess. There were written ministerial statements from DSIT secretary, Peter Kyle, on the AI Opportunities Action Plan (more above) with some details of the forthcoming AI bill, and from the Prime MInister on machinery of government changes including the new ‘digital centre’ of government at DSIT.

There were debates on the King’s speech… COMMONS (Weds 17 July) included a bit on AI, the PM speaking of the need to ‘harness’ its power, leader of the opposition Rishi Sunak warning against the Government’s desire to impose new, potentially rigid legislation on technologies’ such as AI, and Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick noting ‘new technology, like artificial intelligence, is upending old industries’… LORDS (Thurs 18 July) Baroness Moyo (Con) acknowledged the energy demands of AI and that ‘the AI-energy transition dynamics could lead to greater social inequality’… COMMONS (Fri 19 July) data centres got a brief mention as part of the debate on ‘Planning, the Green Belt and Rural Affairs’ debate…

LORDS (Fri 19 July) The debate on ‘Creating opportunities —education, early years and healthcare’ included Lord Knight (Lab) on health data and the forthcoming DISD Bill, the Lord Bishop of Oxford on AI and data, and Lord Evans (Con) saying AI transformation ‘will all be fuelled by our NHS data, which is unparalleled in the world and gives us the opportunity to be the Silicon Valley of AI tech here in the UK’… LORDS (Mon 22 July) Leading for the government, Lord Vallance’s maiden speech included lots on data, AI and how ‘The public sector must walk the walk as well as talk the talk’ on modern digital government, while Lord Clement-Jones (Lib Dem) hoped ‘we are not going to exhume some of the worst areas of the old DPDI Bill, and that we have ditched the idea of a Brexit-EU divergence dividend by the watering down of so many data subjects’ rights’, Lord Kakkar (crossbench) wondered how the government would ‘secure the social licence’ to ensure broad public support for life sciences research, and Baronesses Stowell (Con) and Kidron (crossbench) and Lord Holmes (Con) were among others speaking… and LORDS (Tues 23 July) Baroness Finn - a special adviser to Francis Maude during the early years of the Government Digital Service - talked about AI and government and learning from GDS.

Also in the Commons… there was a ministerial statement on the CrowdStrike outage on Monday 22 July… Cabinet Office questions on Thursday 25 July included the use of AI in tackling public sector fraud, and a strong digital centre of government to lead on digital government, ‘securing both value for money for the taxpayer and the best possible citizen experience for users of public services’… and Home Office questions on Monday 29 July included facial recognition technology.

Also in the Lords… Lord Harris (Lab) had a question on the ‘global IT outage’ on Thursday 25 July… and Lord Knight (Lab) had a question on AI regulation on Tuesday 30 July.

And… Joe Powell (Lab) was elected chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on anti-corruption… and POST published a new note on Digital disengagement and impacts on exclusion.

AI got ‘rithm {#ai-got-‘rithm}

Shares drop in US and Asia as AI stocks slide (BBC - 25 July)… AI Rally Halts Abruptly as Global Selloff Sinks Tech (Bloomberg - this week)… This is the beginning of the end of the generative AI boom (Brian Merchant)… Why the collapse of the Generative AI bubble may be imminent (Gary Marcus)… Burst Damage (Ed Zitron)… Why have the big seven tech companies been hit by AI boom doubts? (The Guardian)… Why AI’s Tom Cruise problem means it is ‘doomed to fail’ (The Guardian)…

Hiroshima process: Reporting Framework for the International Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing Advanced AI Systems: Pilot phase (OECD)… The Politico Tech podcast interviews French AI envoy, Anne Bouverot, on How France is preparing for its global AI moment… Joint Statement on competition in generative AI foundation models and AI products (CMA, European Commission, US Department of Justice, US Federal Trade Commission)… Von der Leyen gives nod to €100 billion ‘CERN for AI’ proposal (Euractiv)…

AI companies promised to self-regulate one year ago. What’s changed? (MIT Technology Review)… The AI Safety Debate Is All Wrong (Daron Acemoglu for Project Syndicate)… Managing Misuse Risk for Dual-Use Foundation Models (U.S. AI Safety Institute)… LESSONS FROM THE FDA FOR AI (AI Now Institute)…

Introducing Llama 3.1: Our most capable models to date (Meta)… Meta won’t release its multimodal Llama AI model in the EU (The Verge - see also Consumer authorities and EU Commission raise concerns about Meta’s ‘pay or OK’ model, Euractiv)… Open Source AI Is the Path Forward (Meta)… OpenAI announces SearchGPT, its AI-powered search engine (The Verge)… Elon Musk’s Grok AI faces EU scrutiny for ‘opting in’ every X user’s personal posts without asking (Irish Independent)… DPC takes court action against Twitter over AI data concerns (RTE)… Microsoft vs. Reddit vs. AI (404 Media)… Leaked: Nvidia’s AI Scraping Pipeline (404 Media)…

Landmark UK AI patent ruling (JUVE Patent has more)… Wiley and Oxford University Press confirm AI partnerships as Cambridge University Press offers ‘opt-in’ (The Bookseller)… Academic authors ‘shocked’ after Taylor & Francis sells access to their research to Microsoft AI (The Bookseller)… FT, Atlantic, Axel Springer and Fortune get behind AI start-up’s per-use compensation plan (Press Gazette)… How small Colombian investigative outlet Cuestión Pública is using AI to stay relevant on social media (Reuters Institute)…

America Isn’t Ready for the Wars of the Future - And They’re Already Here (Foreign Affairs)… AI Boom to Slow Pace of US Emissions Reduction, Report Says (Bloomberg)… Ireland’s datacentres overtake electricity use of all urban homes combined (The Guardian)… The problem of ‘model collapse’: how a lack of human data limits AI progress (FT)… ‘AI can turbocharge deceptive and unfair practices that harm consumers’, regulators warn (Public Technology)… AI advances could lead to more child sexual abuse videos, watchdog warns (The Guardian)…

Ferrari exec foils deepfake attempt by asking the scammer a question only CEO Benedetto Vigna could answer (Fortune)… A deep dive into deepfakes that demean, defraud and disinform (Ofcom)… What Does The UK Public Think About AI? (Center for Data Innovation and Public First)… AI Procurement Checklists: Revisiting Implementation in the Age of AI Governance (Computers and Society)… Robots sacked, screenings shut down: a new movement of luddites is rising up against AI (The Guardian)…

And… Where Facebook’s AI Slop Comes From (404 Media)… Inbetweeners voice AI friend! thumbs up

In brief

Far right riots Here are the data/tech angles because this is a data/tech newsletter - but we shouldn’t allow these stories to distract us from the hateful political and mainstream media rhetoric which has brought us here… Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s statement in Downing Street: 1 August (GOV.UK, includes use of facial recognition technology)… statement from DSIT…

Elon Musk’s misinformation machine made the horrors of Southport much worse (Prospect)… Fixing social media in antisocial times (New European, and thread)… Race riots put Britain on collision course with Elon Musk (Politico)… No 10 criticises Elon Musk for ‘civil war is inevitable’ post on England riots (The Guardian)… Musk hits back after PM criticises UK ‘civil war’ post (BBC)… Elon Musk has gone too far – the UK has laws which can stop him (the I)… British MPs want to haul Elon Musk before parliament over riots (Politico)… X Is Boosting the Far Right’s UK Riots as Telegram Scrambles for Control (Wired)…

Open letter to UK online service providers (Ofcom)… Tech companies ‘fuelling violence against women and girls’ (The Times - the Online Safety Act Network have a few quotes)… How TikTok bots and AI have powered a resurgence in UK far-right violence (The Guardian)… Did social media fan the flames of riot in Southport? (BBC)… UK police monitoring TikTok for evidence of criminality at far-right riots (Guardian)… Big tech firms profit from disorder. Don’t let them use these riots to push for more surveillance (Guardian)…

Suspected Foreign Agitators Boost UK Extremists to Inflame Riots (Bloomberg, and thread)… UK probes whether ‘state actors’ stoked far-right riots (Politico)…

How rioters will be unmasked by police and brought to justice (the I)… UK Government faces ‘whack-a-mole’ battle to stop spread of far-right hate online (the I)… The real story of the news website accused of fuelling riots (BBC)…

Gig platforms must protect workers from far-right violence at work (Worker Info Exchange)… BCS statement calls for the Online Safety Act to be enforced… False claims spread like wildfire — our response must be as swift (Josh SImons MP in The Times)… Full Fact’s response to the riots.

States of play Tech broligarchs are lining up to court Trump. And Vance is one more link in the chain (The Observer)… The AI Dangers of a Second Trump Presidency (Tech Policy Press)… Harris and Biden on AI (Politico)… Elon Musk accused of spreading lies over doctored Kamala Harris video (Guardian)… Tech policy under Harris or Trump looks pretty similar (Politico)… In Silicon Valley, Where Trump Made Inroads, Democrats Are Now Invigorated (New York Times)… The time Kamala Harris upset the Brits (Politico)…

Cookies, monstered A new path for Privacy Sandbox on the web (Google)… Google U-turn over long-running plan to ditch cookies (BBC)… Google Breaks Promise to Block Third-Party Cookies (EFF)…

Big tech Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers (FT)… X takes action against advertisers… Google’s online search monopoly is illegal, US judge rules (BBC)…

Everything else BT fined millions for failing to connect 999 calls (BBC)… media and tech editors among those leaving The Guardian (Press Gazette)… Open letter on technology-enabled political violence in Venezuela (Access Now).

What we’ve been up to {#what-we’ve-been-up-to}

What everyone else has been up to

Events

Good reads

And finally:

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