Yours Lawfully Podcast

“Screens are the hardest part of modern parenting, but who’s really in control?” Whether it’s calming a tantrum, filling a childcare gap, or supporting learning, screens have become an essential and often unavoidable part of childhood. But as devices take on the role of a “third caregiver,” deeper questions begin to emerge about attention, behaviour, and what it means to grow up constantly connect...

The show must go on… but only if the contracts allow it.   Ever wondered what keeps a West End production running smoothly behind the scenes? In this episode of Yours Lawfully , we explore the fascinating intersection of creativity, law, and commerce with theatre lawyer Stephen Pidcock. From copyright and licensing to contracts, royalties, and union agreements, we uncover the legal frameworks that...

"Critics argue that the UK is ‘sleepwalking into a surveillance society’ where more information is collected than what the British society would normally feel comfortable with" In a world where we already carry our bank cards and travel tickets on our phones, carrying a national digital ID is touted as being the ‘boarding pass to getting on in life’. This is the promise of a national dig...

Does data protection really protect our data, or has it just given us endless cookie banners to click through? Did you know that the data protection rules protecting your phone today actually have their roots in a 1978 French law? Long before the modern web, legislators already believed that technology should serve citizens and never violate human identity. Fast forward to today, and that spirit l...

“If our devices are always listening, how much are they really hearing, and who else might be listening too?” In 2018, a smart speaker recorded a private conversation and sent it to a third party, no hacking, no warning. Incidents like this force us to confront whether our homes are purely private spaces. As voice-enabled devices become embedded into daily life, the line between convenience and pr...

There is growing uncertainty around what studying in the UK really offers international students today. With visa rules tightening, costs rising, and political rhetoric becoming increasingly hostile, many students are left questioning their future long-term after graduating from U.K. institutions. In this episode of Yours Lawfully, we explore why student visas have become such a charged issue in t...

‘There’s a historic perception that people who buy the lower price dupe were never going to buy the branded product anyway’    Whether you’re chronically online or a staunch high street shopper, you are bound to have encountered a dupe. They have become an unavoidable aspect of shopping, with many consumers being actively praised for finding them. Navigating them in the context of intellectual pro...

In this episode of Yours Lawfully , we explore the legal and social implications of 5G and edge computing - two technologies reshaping how we connect and communicate. From intellectual property battles over FRAND licensing to complex questions of data ownership in edge environments, our discussion highlights the challenges at the intersection of law, technology, and society. We also examine pressi...

In this episode of Yours Lawfully , we explore how the telecom industry is navigating the growing demand for sustainability in a fast-changing regulatory environment. With guest Jackie Esono, Regulatory Advisor at Wiggin, we discuss the policies and directives driving energy efficiency, renewable adoption, and Environmental, Social, Governance transparency. From compliance with frameworks like the...

In this episode of Yours Lawfully, we explore the rise of bots and AI-generated content, alongside our guests Meghan Higgins and Lucia Doran from Pinsent Masons. We discuss the impact of AI on creativity and misinformation, and the legal challenges of regulating this digital shift. From streaming fraud to chatbot liability, we unpack how the law is responding to an increasingly automated online wo...

"As with any disruptive technology, the rise of AI brings more than just excitement and also raised some big questions around ethics as well ethics, ownership and fairness." In the second part of this episode, we’re once again joined by Jackie Yiheng Lu, a doctoral researcher in Intellectual Property Law at Queen Mary University of London.  Together with the episode hosts, Jackie unpacks...

"It opens up the door to thinking about AI not just as a tool of efficiency, but a new kind of creative, collaborative or generator of experimental content." In this episode of Yours Lawfully , we’re joined by Jackie Yiheng Lu, a doctoral researcher at Queen Mary University of London, specialising in Intellectual Property Law with a focus on moral rights and AI-generated content (AIGC)....

‘We need less of pretty dresses and draping and getting any fabric & we need more of designers stepping out, going into laboratories, going into greenhouses, going into these real places and looking for ways that we can find our common problems and our common solutions together.’ Fashion is trendy, fashion is glamorous, fashion is expressive. But have you thought about how fashion can be more...

Welcome back to the second part of our episode with Professor Johanna Gibson from Queen Mary University of London. With a PhD from the University of Edinburgh and a Juris Doctor from the University of Queensland, Professor Gibson helped us tackle legal issues regarding the current state of animal rights, and discuss what the future may hold in this evolving landscape. 

“Sentience is in many respects a threshold concept so that means that you reach a certain level of sentience and you get protection. Where is that level and how do we decide it? … There are examples of sentience in invertebrates and in insects and yet why do we not address that in the welfare laws?” From the famous Monkey Selfie Case to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, we explore ho...

“ If used in the right way, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has an incredible potential to help detect, prevent, and deter greenwashing ”.   The practice of greenwashing has affected the ability of consumers and investors to determine whether the products and companies which they support are indeed environmentally sound. With the evolution and accessibility of AI, it is a question whether how can thi...

“You can’t just turn 18 and be expected to know how to navigate the digital world.” As social media and digital platforms become an integral part of everyday life, how can we protect children—especially the youngest, from toddlers to infants—from online exposure and data misuse? From privacy concerns to the lasting impact of digital footprints, the legal and ethical challenges continue to evolve....

As social media becomes increasingly intertwined with our daily lives, how can we protect the most vulnerable among us—toddlers and infants—from the risks of online exposure? From privacy concerns to the long-term impact of digital footprints, the challenges are growing, raising critical questions about responsibility and regulation.  In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Francis Rees, leader of t...

With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a number of incidents involving AI-generated content raise serious concerns. The use of AI is seen to be prone to abuse which can cause harm. Among the several concerns, AI has become a tool for spreading false information which can potentially tarnish reputation. Given that the use of AI is posed to continually evolve, the need for it to be regulated...

For the first episode of this season, we delve into the complex topics of journalism and covering politics in the digital age. With news shaping opinions and driving political decisions, can media outlets maintain trust and credibility in an era of bias, ethical dilemmas, and rapid change? This episode was recorded in December 2024 after the US election, and we dive into the power and responsibili...

In this episode, we dive into the heart of the encryption debate with Divij Joshi, a lawyer, researcher, and PhD candidate at the University College of London specialising in technology and society. We begin by breaking down the basics of encryption, delving into the intricacies of end-to-end encryption, and with Divij's expertise, we explore the delicate balance between privacy and security,...

The music industry is filled with different artists singing various genres with the use of many tools to create music. Nowadays, with the addition of AI in the world, the question comes up as to whether the music that is generated through AI is actually legal and can be copyrighted as owned by someone. On today’s episode of ‘Yours Lawfully’ we are excited to have with us an esteemed international...

On today’s episode of Your Lawfully, we welcomed Maria Pallante, who discusses issues of AI-generated publications and the copyright infringement of current works of human authors. Specifically, we focus on the allegations of fair use and fair dealing argued by tech companies. We also delve into the debate of whether these publications are or should be protected by copyright law. Maria Pallante is...

This episode of Yours Lawfully will explore the deeply controversial concept of the Spliternet. As the global internet and cyberspaces gain more prominence in our daily lives, deeper regulation by nation states and governments risk fracturing the internet from a global common 'world wide web' to national or regionalized siloed networks governed by a different set of laws across the world...

It is undeniable that the gaming industry has significantly grown over the years. But now? It’s an industry that makes more money than the music and movie industries combined . We know from a report by SuperData Research that the global gaming market was valued at $159.3 billion in 2020, and in 2022, it was worth approximately $347 billion. But, with the rise in its popularity, also came the rise...