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Sunday, 16 August 2026

Compiled with AI from public news sources. Folio is editorial commentary for commercial-awareness practice, not legal advice. Verify any detail against the linked sources before relying on it professionally.

All M&A Energy & Tech Regulation Disputes International AI & Law

Top Story/Regulation

CMA Launches Consultation on Steering Conduct Requirement for Google's Mobile Platform Under UK Digital Markets Regime

In June 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a consultation on a proposed steering conduct requirement directed at Google in connection with its mobile platform. The consultation, opened on 30 June 2026, forms part of the CMA's ongoing programme of work under the UK's digital markets competition regime, following the CMA's final decision in October 2025 to designate Google as having strategic market status (SMS), a classification introduced by the UK's digital markets framework that applies to companies with substantial, entrenched market power in a designated digital activity. Google's SMS designation covers its mobile operating systems, native app distribution, and mobile browser and browser engine. The steering conduct requirement being consulted on would allow app developers to steer their own users to alternatives outside Google Play, including completing transactions elsewhere, and would require any fee Google charges for that steering to be justified against cost and value. A separate call for evidence on recent developments in Apple's and Google's app store rules was published on 1 April 2026, and on the same date the CMA published final commitments given by Google on app certainty grounds, covering app review, app ranking, and use of data. Apple received its own SMS designation and is subject to a parallel proposed steering conduct requirement consultation. The CMA's programme of work represents the first live application of the UK's digital markets conduct requirements to major platform operators, establishing how those requirements will be enforced in practice.

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Also Today

CMA Publishes Provisional Determinations in Five-Way Appeal Against Ofgem's RIIO-3 Gas Distribution Licence Modifications

White House Report Names Over 40 Countries as Facilitating Chinese Tariff Evasion Through Transshipment Networks Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

CMA Opens Phase 2 Inquiry into nexfibre's Anticipated Acquisition of Substantial as UK Full-Fibre Consolidation Accelerates

UK's ZEV Mandate Review Draws Industry Fire as Critics Warn EV Sales Target Weakening 'Heightens Investment Risk'

Connecticut Judge Sanctions Plaintiff for Hiding AI-Prompt Instructions in Invisible White Text Inside Court Filings

A Connecticut plaintiff concealed text in court filings by setting it in tiny-point type coloured white, making the words invisible to the human eye but fully legible to any sof…

“Courts weren't built to catch text only a machine can read.”

AI & Law

AI Tools That Pinpoint Holiday Photo Locations with Over 90% Accuracy Are Being Weaponised in a New Class of Geolocation Fraud

Research published by McAfee, the cybersecurity company, has demonstrated that freely available AI models can accurately identify the location where a travel photograph was take…

“AI geolocation fraud closes the gap between a public photo and a targeted bank attack, demanding stronger c…”

Disputes

Selena Gomez Sued for Alleged Fraud by Investors in Wondermind Global Mental Health Venture

Investors who backed Wondermind Global, the mental health company co-founded by pop star and actor Selena Gomez, have filed suit alleging fraud, claiming Gomez failed to fulfil…

“Celebrity-backed deals need contractual teeth, not just promotional promises.”

Bigger Picture

Sector Watch

UK Regulatory Accountability Cycle

Two high-profile CMA processes are approaching critical junctures simultaneously: provisional determinations in the RIIO-3 gas network price control appeals are due before a 30 September 2026 statutory deadline, while the CMA's steering conduct requirement consultation for Google's mobile platform marks the first real-time behavioural intervention under the UK digital markets regime. Both cases test whether the UK's regulatory frameworks, one sector-specific and one economy-wide, can withstand legal challenge from well-resourced incumbents. Law firms with energy regulatory and technology competition practices should expect these processes to generate significant advisory and appellate work through the autumn. The ZEV mandate review adds a third strand, with clean energy investors now reassessing the reliability of UK policy commitments as a basis for long-term capital deployment.

One to Follow

The CMA's final determination in the RIIO-3 energy licence modification appeals, due by 30 September 2026, which will set the allowed revenues for Cadent Gas, Northern Gas Networks, Southern Gas Networks, Scotland Gas Networks, and Wales and West Utilities for the next regulatory period.

A finding in the appellants' favour on the ongoing efficiency methodology would require Ofgem to revise the price control upward, with compounding effects on network investment capacity and consumer bills across the gas distribution sector. Energy regulatory, administrative law, and project finance practices all have active work tied to the outcome, and the decision will set the template for future RIIO appeals.

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