The UK wants to do its ‘own thing’ on AI regulation, suggesting a divergence from U.S. and EU
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LONDON — The U.K. says it wants to do its “own thing” when it comes to regulating artificial intelligence, hinting at a possible divergence from approaches taken by its main Western peers.
“It’s really important that we as the U.K. do our own thing when it comes to regulation,” Feryal Clark, Britain’s minister for AI and digital government, told CNBC in an interview that aired Tuesday.
She added the government already has a “good relationship” with AI companies like OpenAI and Google DeepMind, which have voluntarily opened their models up to the government for safety testing purposes.
“It’s really important that we bake in that safety right at the beginning when models are being developed … and that’s why we’ll be working with the sector on any safety measures that come forward,” Clark added.
Her comments echoed remarks from Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday that Britain has “freedom now in relation to the regulation to do it in a way that we think is best for the U.K.” after Brexit.
“You’ve got different models around the world, you’ve got the EU approach and the U.S. approach – but we have the ability to choose the one that we think is in our best interest and we intend to do so,” Starmer said in response to a reporter’s question after announcing a 50-point plan to make the U.K. a global leader in AI.
Divergence from the U.S., EU
So far, Britain has refrained from introducing formal laws to regulate AI, instead deferring to individual regulatory bodies to enforce existing rules on businesses when it comes to the development and use of AI.
This is different from the EU, which has introduced comprehensive, pan-European legislation aimed at harmonizing rules for the technology across the bloc taking a risk-based approach to regulation.
The U.S., meanwhile, lacks any AI regulation whatsoever at a federal level and has instead adopted a patchwork of regulatory frameworks at the state and local level.
During Starmer’s election campaign last year, the Labour Party committed in its manifesto to introducing regulation focusing on so-called “frontier” AI models — referring to large language models like OpenAI’s GPT.
However, so far, the U.K. is yet to confirm details on proposed AI safety legislation, instead saying it will consult with the industry before proposing formal rules.
“We will be working with the sector to develop that and bring that forward in line with what we said in our manifesto,” Clark told CNBC.
Chris Mooney, partner and head of commercial at London-based law firm Marriott Harrison, told CNBC that the U.K. is taking a “wait and see” approach to AI regulation even as the EU is forging ahead with its AI Act.
“While the U.K. government says it has taken a ‘pro-innovation’ approach to AI regulation, our experience of working with clients is that they find the current position uncertain and, therefore, unsatisfactory,” Mooney told CNBC via email.
One area Starmer’s government has spoken up on reforming rules for AI has been around copyright.
Late last year, the U.K. opened a consultation reviewing the country’s copyright framework to assess possible exceptions to existing rules for AI developers using artists and media publishers’ works to train their models.
Businesses left uncertain
Sachin Dev Duggal, CEO of London-headquartered AI startup Builder.ai, told CNBC that, although the government’s AI action plan “shows ambition,” proceeding without clear rules is “borderline reckless.”
“We’ve already missed crucial regulatory windows twice — first with cloud computing and then with social media,” Duggal said. “We cannot afford to make the same mistake with AI, where the stakes are exponentially higher.”
“The U.K.’s data is our crown jewel; it should be leveraged to build sovereign AI capabilities and create British success stories, not simply fuel overseas algorithms that we can’t effectively regulate or control,” he added.
Details of Labour’s plans for AI legislation were initially expected to appear in King Charles III’s speech opening U.K. Parliament last year.
However, the government only committed to establishing “appropriate legislation” on the most powerful AI models.
“The U.K. government needs to provide clarity here,” John Buyers, international head of AI at law firm Osborne Clarke, told CNBC, adding he’s learned from sources that a consultation for formal AI safety laws is “waiting to be released.”
“By issuing consultations and plans on a piecemeal basis, the U.K. has missed the opportunity to provide a holistic view of where its AI economy is heading,” he said, adding that failure to disclose details of new AI safety laws would lead to investor uncertainty.
Still, some figures in the U.K. tech scene think that a more relaxed, flexible approach to regulating AI may be the right one.
“From recent discussions with the government, it is clear that considerable efforts are underway on AI safeguards,” Russ Shaw, founder of advocacy group Tech London Advocates, told CNBC.
He added that the U.K is well positioned to adopt a “third way” on AI safety and regulation — “sector-specific” regulations that rules to different industries like financial services and health care.
Beata Zawrzel | Nurphoto | Getty Images
TikTok said its services will go dark on Sunday without a guarantee from the Biden administration that it won’t punish Apple, Google and other service providers if they support the app.
“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” TikTok said in a statement on Friday.
The statement indicates that TikTok’s American users base, which the company claims is over 170 million, will not be able to use the service when they open the app or website on Sunday.
TikTok issued the statement after the Supreme Court on Friday ruled unanimously to uphold a law requiring that service providers no longer support its app within the U.S. if parent company ByteDance fails to carry out a “qualified divestiture” of the app by Sunday. As a result, Apple, Google and Oracle could face tough penalties if they fail to adhere to the law.
“The statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans,” TikTok said in its statement.
However, Biden’s term ends on Monday, when President-elect Donald Trump begins his second term in the White House. Trump, who previously supported a TikTok ban, later flip-flopped on the matter. In December, Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the law’s implementation and allow his administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”
In a Friday post on his social media app Truth Social, Trump wrote, “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”
Earlier Friday, the Biden administration issued a statement saying TikTok “should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership.”
“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday,” the statement said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Lisa Monaco, his deputy, said in a release that the decision “enables the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine America’s national security.”
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The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok by Sunday or face an effective ban of the popular social video app in the U.S.
ByteDance has so far refused to sell TikTok, meaning many U.S. users could lose access to the app this weekend. The app may still work for those who already have TikTok on their phones, although ByteDance has also threatened to shut the app down.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration, upholding the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which President Joe Biden signed in April.
“There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the Supreme Court’s opinion said. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”
Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch wrote concurrences.
TikTok’s fate in the U.S. now lies in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump, who originally favored a TikTok ban during his first administration, but has since flip-flopped on the matter. In December, Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the law’s implementation and allow his administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”
In a post on his social media app Truth Social, Trump wrote that the decision was expected “and everyone must respect it.”
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” Trump wrote.
Trump began to speak more favorably of TikTok after he met in February with billionaire Republican megadonor Jeff Yass. Yass is a major ByteDance investor who also owns a stake in the owner of Truth Social.
Trump will be inaugurated Monday, one day after the TikTok deadline for a sale. TikTok CEO Shou Chew is one of several tech leaders expected to be in attendance, seated on the dais.
In a video posted on TikTok, Chew thanked Trump “for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available” in the U.S. He said use of TikTok is a First Amendment right, adding that over 7 million American businesses use it to make money and find customers.
“Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure our platform thrives as your online home for limitless creativity and discovery as well as a source of inspiration and joy for years to come,” he said.
The nation’s highest court said in the opinion that while “data collection and analysis is a common practice in this digital age,” the sheer size of TikTok and its “susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects” poses a national security concern.
Under the terms of the law, third-party internet service providers such as Apple and Google will be penalized for supporting a ByteDance-owned TikTok after the Jan. 19 deadline.
If service providers and app store owners comply, consumers will be unable to install the necessary updates that make the app functional.
Representatives of TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Users look for alternatives
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated Biden’s support for the law in a statement, saying “TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.”
“Given the sheer fact of timing, this Administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next Administration, which takes office on Monday,” Pierre said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Lisa Monaco, his deputy, said in a release that the decision “enables the Justice Department to prevent the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to undermine America’s national security.”
Kate Ruane, the director of the Center for Democracy and Technology nonprofit, criticized the ruling, saying in a statement that it “harms the free expression of hundreds of millions of TikTok users in this country and around the world.”
In December, members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, urging the executives to begin preparing to comply with the law.
Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, speaks to reporters outside the office of Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) at the Russell Senate Office Building on March 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images
On Jan. 10, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from lawyers representing TikTok, content creators and the U.S. government. TikTok’s lead lawyer, Noel Francisco, argued that the law violates the First Amendment rights of the app’s 170 million American users. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the app’s alleged ties to the Chinese government pose a national security threat.
Many TikTok creators have been telling their fans to find them on competing social platforms such as Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, CNBC reported. Additionally, Instagram leaders scheduled meetings after the Jan. 10 Supreme Court hearing to direct workers to prepare for a wave of users if the court upholds the law.
Chinese social media app and TikTok look-alike RedNote rose to the top of Apple’s app store Monday, indicating that TikTok’s millions of users were seeking alternatives.
The Chinese government also weighed a contingency plan that would have X owner Elon Musk acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations as part of several options intended to keep the app from its effective ban in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported Monday.
Should ByteDance decide to sell TikTok to a U.S. company or group of investors, potential buyers may have to pay between $40 billion and $50 billion, according to an estimate by CFRA Research Senior Vice President Angelo Zino.
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