Your commercial news round-up: EU AI regulations, Owen’s Law, Tesla, Ella Toone

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EU officials have come to an agreement regarding proposed laws to regulate the use of AI, there have been calls for a new food allergen law to be passed, more than two million Tesla cars have been recalled in the US, and an England Lioness star has trademarked her name. Find out more in the commercial news round-up below.

• After three days of talks, EU officials have reached a provisional agreement on the proposal of laws to regulate the use of AI. The agreement has been described as a “historical achievement”, which “effectively addresses a global challenge in a fast-evolving technological environment on a key area for the future of our societies and economies” and is the first of its kind in the world. According to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the provisional agreement focuses “regulation on identifiable risks” and “will support the development, deployment and take-up of trustworthy AI in the EU”. However, French President Emmanuel Macron has raised concerns that the new EU regulations could risk holding back EU tech companies.
  
  The European Parliament is due to vote on the AI Act proposals early next year with the legislation not expected to take effect until at least 2025.

• The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has backed calls for Owen’s Law, which would require restaurants to publish allergy information on menus. Owen’s Law was launched by the family of teenager Owen Carey who passed away after eating chicken that contained buttermilk, despite having explained to restaurant staff that he was allergic to dairy. Earlier this week, the FSA said that written allergy information should be compulsory in restaurants and coffee shops – Professor Susan Jebb, FSA chair, said that “written information should be a legal requirement, rather than just guidance" and that she’ll write to relevant ministers across the UK. The FSA has also said that it’ll work on guidance to support businesses to provide written allergen information.

• More than two million Tesla cars have been recalled in the US following a two-year investigation that’s found its drive assistance system, Autopilot, was partly defective. CEO Elon Musk said a software update is due to be sent “over the air” to fix the issue automatically – this solution means owners shouldn’t need to visit a dealership or garage, but the US regulator still refers to this issue as a ‘recall’. Following the two-year investigation of 956 crashes, the US National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it was found that the "the prominence and scope of the feature's controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse". The software had been designed to ensure drivers were paying attention and would only be in use in appropriate scenarios, such as driving on highways.

The NHTSA said: "Automated technology holds great promise for improving safety but only when it is deployed responsibly.” Once the software has been updated, the NHTSA will continue to monitor it. A spokesperson said: "Teslas sold in the UK market are not self-driving and are not approved to do so.” The UK Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has said it’ll continue to check the situation in the UK but it’s not yet been made aware of any safety issues.

• England Lioness and Manchester United star Ella Toone has become the first England women’s player to trademark her name after creating her own brand – ‘ET7’, which represents her initials and shirt number. With the support of her management team Fu11Ninety, Toone has created a website and revealed plans to launch a football academy as part of the ET7 brand. This move builds on Toone’s existing brand, including her YouTube channel that has nearly 60,000 subscribers.