Bank of England handed powers to regulate key tech firms including Amazon and Google
The Bank of England has been granted authority to regulate major technology firms, including Amazon and Google, starting next week, driven by concerns that system failures at these providers could threaten financial stability and harm consumers. Beginning Monday, the Bank and the Financial Conduct Authority will jointly oversee four large-scale cloud and technology providers to banks, ensuring their resilience and requiring them to actively reduce cyber-attack and outage risks that could disrupt services for millions of people and businesses across the UK.
This oversight extends directly to the UK operations of Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Oracle, and Microsoft, all designated as critical third parties by the UK government, according to a Friday announcement. The firms will be required to demonstrate adequate stress testing, showing how they would respond to severe emergency scenarios. They will be obligated to report major incidents to the Bank of England and the FCA, including cyber-attacks, power outages, and the effects of natural disasters.
Apple sues OpenAI, alleging artificial intelligence company stole trade secrets
Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday, alleging the artificial intelligence company stole trade secrets as part of an effort to build its own hardware device. The suit claims OpenAI poached Apple employees and induced them to hand over confidential material, product designs, and other closely held information.
The lawsuit marks a sharp reversal in the relationship between the two companies, which had announced a major partnership in 2024 to integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT into the operating systems of iPhones, iPads, and Macs. When Apple unveiled its revamped Siri voice assistant last month, however, its AI component was built on Google's Gemini model rather than ChatGPT.
UK to crack down on unlicensed casinos sponsoring football teams
Ministers are preparing to crack down on unlicensed casinos sponsoring British sports teams, following criticism that a delay in finalizing the proposals allowed offshore gambling firms to secure lucrative sponsorship deals with Premier League clubs. Progress on removing unlicensed gambling operators from football has stalled since February, when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it would begin a review in the spring.
Well-placed sources told the Guardian that the consultation will launch this week. A sponsorship deal signed during the delay period reportedly confirmed concerns already raised by one of the UK's largest licensed gambling firms.
