Filed under: regulation
20 storiesThe archive, indexed. Every story carries its tags at the foot of the page.
Waste operators face 1 October digital tracking deadline
Digital waste tracking becomes mandatory for permitted waste receivers in England and Wales on 1 October, with Scotland following in January 2027. A Strathaven software founder says the hard part is the sites with no mobile signal.
FCA finds no evidence its rules block small business lending
The regulator says the problem lies elsewhere: confused borrowers, commission-driven brokers and a large slice of the lending market it cannot touch. Founders refused credit get a paper early next year.
SBA proposes rewriting who counts as a small business
The agency wants to redefine its size standards. Some firms say the new definition would mean nothing at all.
California bans infinite scroll for under-16s in 13-bill package
Gavin Newsom has signed laws stopping social platforms serving autoplay and infinite scroll to under-16s, and forcing AI firms to tell young users they are talking to a chatbot. Tech companies are expected to sue.
Two-month-old nuclear startup raises $50m after $10m pre-seed
Bluecore Energy closed an oversubscribed seed round in eight weeks. What investors are buying is two barges, a reactor and a regulatory review that has barely started.
Draft tipping code adds worker consultation and three-year records
Hospitality employers face a mandatory staff consultation, scheduled policy reviews and three years of tipping records. The consultation on the draft Code closes on 29 September 2026.
EU packaging rules cost UK sellers €300–€1,100 per country, per year
Most of the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation took effect on 12 August. The recycling rules are years away; the registration bills are not.
EU packaging regulation now in force for anyone selling into the bloc
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies to packaging placed on the EU market, wherever the seller is based. UK and US exporters are inside its scope.
CMA opens drip-pricing cases over fees as small as £1.50
Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School are under investigation for leaving mandatory fees out of headline prices. The regulator no longer needs a court to decide they broke the law.
Ohio startup raises $15m to put out fires with 20 Hz sound
Sonic Fire Tech says its ceiling-mounted sound generator smothers flames in seconds and leaves nothing to mop up. It now has to convince the body that writes America's fire codes.
US voucher worth up to $200m pulls rare-disease money west
The FDA's Priority Review Voucher scheme was signed back into law in February. UK rare-disease founders have no equivalent, and one of them says investors notice.
White House programme would let private firms run cyber attacks on a $1m bond
A new federal programme will enlist private companies for offensive cybersecurity work, with a $1 million bond as the entry price. The terms founders would sign up to have not been published.
Subscription trap ban moves to January 2027, three months early
Founders billing customers on repeat now have months, not a year, to fix sign-up and cancellation flows. Mandatory phone calls and web-only cancellations are the obvious casualties.
New York City gives four prediction market firms 14 days
City consumer-protection officials have demanded answers from Polymarket, Kalshi, Coinbase and Gemini over marketing that may be deceptive. Any founder advertising financial upside should read the deadline as a warning.
SEC reopens the accredited-investor question again
The rule decides who a US startup may legally take money from without registering the raise. The threshold that has defined it for decades is back under review.
Subscription-trap rules moved forward to January 2027
Anyone selling on auto-renew in the UK has lost three months of preparation time. Clearer up-front terms, regular reminders and an easy exit are the requirements; the detail is still out for consultation this autumn.
Bristol agency splits in two and ships compliance software
vvast has separated its software from its services business and launched a Shopify tool aimed at the April 2026 packaging fee deadline. The agency half is now called Weekday Assembly.
TikTok loses appeal over £12.7m ICO fine on children's data
The Upper Tribunal rejected TikTok's argument that it was processing data for "special purposes". The ICO says the reasoning will apply to other online platforms.
OpenAI pays $3.2m and accepts three years of DOJ hiring oversight
The Justice Department says OpenAI and Statsig did not genuinely look for American applicants before sponsoring foreign staff for green cards. Fewer than 10 roles were at issue. The reporting requirements will last three years.
Tribunal certifies £5bn Google ad claim for 900,000 UK firms
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has let a £5bn opt-out class action against Google proceed to trial. Nearly 900,000 UK businesses that bought search ads are in the class by default.