Law Society of England and Wales. The latest Westminster update for the week commencing 15 December flags AI and digital regulation as a continuing focus of parliamentary scrutiny, situating debates on technology within broader concerns about the rule of law, justice policy and the impact of fast moving AI deployments across government.
Council of Europe. Senior Council of Europe representatives speaking today at a parliamentary conference in London on democracy and artificial intelligence emphasise that AI systems are already amplifying disinformation, polarisation and threats to electoral integrity, and urge member states to use the new AI and Human Rights instruments as a basis for coordinated safeguards.
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). A current call for input on a forthcoming position paper on the human rights impacts of using AI in counter terrorism activities highlights concerns about opaque surveillance tools, cross border data flows and potential chilling effects on civil society, signalling that UN level guidance on AI and security is being deepened.
Regulation
GOV.UK. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, together with DCMS and the Intellectual Property Office, has published the "Copyright and artificial intelligence statement of progress under Section 137 Data Use and Access Act," confirming that by 18 March 2026 it will deliver both an economic impact assessment and a detailed report on how copyright works are used in AI training, structured around options from strengthened licensing to text and data mining exceptions and new transparency duties.
GOV.UK. A companion publication sets out the terms of reference for a joint DSIT, DCMS and IPO technical working group on copyright and AI, establishing four expert workstreams on technical standards and control, information and transparency, licensing, and wider support for creatives, and formalising a multi stakeholder process that will shape future UK rules on AI training data and enforcement.
Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) – A blog published today on the new EU digital policy agenda explains the European Commission's Digital Omnibus proposal, which would delay key high risk AI Act obligations by up to 16 months to December 2027, streamline overlapping cybersecurity and reporting duties and even revisit the definition of personal data, raising concerns that simplification could dilute hard won digital rights protections.
National Law Review. A new analysis of President Trump's recent executive order on state AI legislation examines how the White House is asserting federal leadership over AI rules, encouraging alignment with national standards and potentially constraining state level experimentation in areas such as AI safety, consumer protection and biometric surveillance.
Academia
Oxford Business Law Blog. A new post on AI and the redefinition of law in code argues that large scale AI systems are reshaping the meaning of legal intention under Article 4 of the DSM Directive, by mediating how copyright works are accessed, remixed and exploited through technical architectures that increasingly embed contractual and regulatory choices into code.
Sentencing Academy. A substantive report on "Sentencing in the age of artificial intelligence" maps the emergence of algorithmic risk assessment and other AI tools in criminal justice, highlighting concerns about bias, explainability and due process and calling for robust validation, governance and transparency frameworks before AI is embedded into sentencing decisions.
Adoption of AI
Local Government Lawyer. A feature on "Judging the use of AI" discusses how the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary guidance is being interpreted in practice, with judges urged to limit AI tools to low risk, administrative tasks, disclose any AI use and ensure that human reasoning and independent evaluation remain central to judgments.
UNESCO. The WSIS plus 20 side events programme for 2025 includes a dedicated session on "AI and the Judiciary: Risks and Opportunities," reflecting growing practical experimentation with AI decision support in courts and emphasising the need for clear governance, impact assessment and professional training to protect judicial independence and human rights.
Events
UCL Faculty of Laws. On 22 January 2026, the Current Legal Problems public lecture "Artificial Intelligence and the Trouble for Authorship: Towards a Legal Theory of Effort" at UCL Laws in London will examine how generative AI challenges established notions of authorship and creativity in copyright law, with the event chaired by Lord Kitchin.
IAPP. The Global Privacy Summit 2026 in Washington DC from 30 to 31 March 2026 will bring together privacy, AI governance and cybersecurity practitioners to discuss regulatory trends, including sessions on training AI with real world data, children’s privacy and cross border enforcement.
Compliance and Risks. An online webinar "AI rules are changing: key regulatory updates for 2025 and 2026" scheduled for 14 January 2026 will brief compliance teams on developments such as the EU Digital Omnibus, delayed AI Act provisions and related digital regulations, offering practical guidance for updating AI compliance roadmaps.
Takeaway
The UK government has formally moved into the implementation phase of its copyright and AI agenda, with Section 137 DUA reporting and technical working groups now clearly structured around licensing, transparency and enforcement. In parallel, the EU is debating whether its Digital Omnibus will meaningfully ease AI obligations or instead erode digital rights, while international bodies and courts focus increasingly on how AI affects democracy, human rights and judicial integrity. For practitioners, the direction of travel is toward more structured governance around AI training data, stronger oversight of AI in justice systems and expanding opportunities to shape fast evolving regulatory frameworks through consultation and expert engagement.
Sources: GOV.UK, DSIT, Intellectual Property Office, Law Society of England and Wales, Council of Europe, OHCHR, IIEA, Oxford Business Law Blog, Sentencing Academy, Local Government Lawyer, UNESCO, UCL Faculty of Laws, IAPP, Compliance and Risks