About: UK

Cookies, transfers and risk assessments subject of UK data reform
The UK has published details of its planned Data Reform Bill, which is set to make changes to the privacy framework contained in the UK’s post-Brexit version of the GDPR.
Sinn Fein’s McDonald says ‘bad faith’ UK government boosts united Ireland case
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald on Wednesday (18 May) said Britain’s proposals to override some post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland were “astonishing” and yet another move by London that only serves to boost the Irish nationalist party’s quest...
UK worried monkeypox might be spreading among men who have sex with men
Four additional cases of monkeypox were detected in the UK among men who have sex with men leading to concerns about the virus spreading in the community.
UK to reform data protection, throwing EU adequacy ruling into doubt
The UK’s legislative agenda for the next year includes a data reform bill that could cast doubts on the future of the EU’s data adequacy ruling, the decision that continued to facilitate data transfers across the Channel after the UK left the bloc in January 2020.
UK jettisons legislation to empower digital regulator
A bill that would have legally empowered the UK’s new tech regulator was notably absent from today’s presentation of the government’s annual legislative agenda.
Denmark to seek Rwanda cash-for-migrants pact following UK lead
Denmark is seeking its own cash-for-migrants agreement with Rwanda a week after the UK signed its own asylum pact with the East African country.
Cases of unknown hepatitis strain reported among children in EU
Cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin were reported among children in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, the European Centre for Disease Control said on Tuesday (19 April).
UK’s expanded Online Safety Bill moves forward
The UK today introduced its Online Safety Bill in Parliament after a lengthy preparation process that has ignited debate on many aspects of the balance between protecting people from online harms and preserving their online freedoms.
UK brings oligarch sanctions list in line with EU
The UK government on Tuesday added more than 360 Russian oligarchs, politicians and companies to its sanctions regime, making them subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.
Meta fined £1.5 million for breaching Giphy acquisition enforcement order
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined Meta £1.5 million for failing to give the watchdog advance warning of the departure of high-level staff, something it had agreed to do under the terms of an earlier order related to its acquisition of Giphy.
Cyprus high court quashes UK woman’s ‘fake rape’ conviction
Cyprus's highest court on Monday (31 January) quashed the conviction of a British woman found guilty by a lower court of faking a claim that she was gang-raped on the island in 2019, lawyers said.
Facebook faces £2.3bn class-action in the UK for data ‘exploitation’
Meta is facing a major class-action lawsuit in the UK over claims that it abused its dominant market position to exploit the personal data of British users.
France blocking Britons from transiting to EU homes
Britons who live in the European Union can no longer drive through France to their homes elsewhere in the bloc under new regulations that have created confusion for many holiday travellers.
UK lawmakers call for strengthened Online Safety Bill
Binding codes of practice, measures to keep children from accessing pornography, and new criminal offences related to the online world are needed to strengthen the UK’s proposed Online Safety Bill, according to a parliamentary committee.
The curious case of the English plasma supply
It’s not all about Brexit on the other side of the Channel as England is bracing to face up to another harsh challenge in the coming months: building an entire plasma supply chain from the scratch.
UK watchdog orders Facebook owner Meta to sell Giphy
Facebook owner Meta has been told by the UK competition watchdog to sell popular animated images platform Giphy in Britain’s first such move against so-called Big Tech in its efforts to bolster regulation of the sector. The Competition and Markets...
COP 26 summit and the French/ UK dispute over fishing rights
This week our Beyond the Byline podcast travels to Glasgow, where the United Nations climate change conference is being held. We focused on its importance for the future of climate and teething issues the leaders have to discuss.
EU’s Breton: AUKUS sub snub fuels ‘growing feeling of broken relationship’
As EU diplomats discuss whether to cancel or postpone an upcoming EU-US summit meant to focus on technology and trade over the AUKUS deal, French officials insist this is not about a lost bilateral arms contract, but about a 'broken' relationship between allies.
UK calls on G7 countries, tech firms to ‘step up’ child safety measures online
The UK's home secretary urged her peers from the G7 governments on Wednesday (8 September) to support London's push to hold tech companies accountable for harmful content, while also launching a new fund to counter child sexual abuse online.
Digital Brief powered by Facebook: US national (cyber)security, UK tech superpower bid
Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. “I’ve invited you all here today because you have the power, the capacity, and the responsibility, I believe, to...
Taliban near gates of Kabul as embassies prepare for evacuations
The Taliban seized more major cities on Friday as they raced to take full control of Afghanistan and inched closer to Kabul, with the United States and Britain deploying thousands of troops to evacuate their citizens from the capital.
UK-Spain flights soar 400% after quarantine rules changed
Flights between the UK and Spain have increased by 400% as British holidaymakers take advantage of news rules that mean residents returning to England from destinations on the government's amber list no longer have to quarantine if they are fully vaccinated, EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported.
NGOs slam UK plans to copy Danish offshore asylum centres
UK plans to follow the lead of Denmark in seeking to establish offshore asylum processing centres have been met with swift condemnation from civil society groups and lawyers who argue that it would breach the country’s international obligations on refugees.