Big tech is reshaping how we interact with the digital world – and regulators are racing to keep up. From Apple’s sleek new interface to privacy issues in period-tracking apps and AI taking centre court at Wimbledon, the lines between law, design, and technology are getting blurrier by the day.

In this edition:

🍎 Apple’s ‘Liquid Glass’: A Stunning New Look for iOS 26 and Beyond

🩸 Bleeding Data: Period Apps Caught in Privacy Scandal

🎾 Smarter Tennis: How AI is Changing The Game at Wimbledon

Apple’s ‘Liquid Glass’: A Stunning New Look for iOS 26 and Beyond

At WWDC 2025, Apple unveiled Liquid Glass, a striking redesign coming to iOS 26, macOS Tahoe, and all their major platforms. This new look gives the whole interface a sleek, translucent, glass-like feel – turning toolbars, buttons, docks, and menus into smooth, glowing surfaces that respond naturally to your touch and the lighting around you.

Moving away from the flat design introduced back in iOS 7, Liquid Glass adds depth and subtle movement, making the experience more immersive and tactile. User interface (UI) elements gently shift as you move, adjust to light or dark modes, and feature glowing edges that bring everything to life. Key apps like Safari, FaceTime, Music, and Camera have all been refreshed to show off this elegant and fluid style.

Apple’s VP of Design, Alan Dye, calls it their “biggest design update ever,” aiming to bring a fresh yet familiar look across the entire Apple ecosystem. Developers now have new tools to help their apps adopt this glossy, responsive design too.

Liquid Glass pays homage to Apple’s design roots while pushing the user experience forward – offering not just a new look, but a whole new way to interact with your devices.

🟡 Increased Focus on Digital Accessibility Compliance

With evolving UI designs becoming more complex, regulators and advocacy groups will likely push for tighter digital accessibility standards. Legal firms, courts, and vendors providing software must ensure their platforms remain fully accessible to people with disabilities – whether visual, auditory, or motor-related. Failure to comply could expose institutions to legal risk under laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Equality Act. As a result, accessibility audits and compliance strategies will become integral to legal tech adoption.

🟡 Contractual and Intellectual Property Issues Around UI Design

Interface design is increasingly a key competitive advantage for software developers. As Liquid Glass sets new expectations, disputes over ownership, licensing, and patent rights of user interface (UI) elements may become more frequent. Legal frameworks will need to adapt to address claims involving proprietary design assets and innovations. This will influence how software contracts are drafted, negotiated, and enforced, particularly around UI customisation, licensing terms, and software updates.

🔴 Data Privacy & Security Concerns

More interactive and real-time user interfaces like Liquid Glass tend to collect richer behavioural and usage data to deliver adaptive experiences. This raises new challenges for privacy compliance and data security, especially in jurisdictions with stringent data protection laws like GDPR or CCPA. Legal professionals advising technology firms and clients will need to anticipate these emerging risks and help design policies that safeguard sensitive information, mitigate liability, and ensure transparency.

Bleeding Data: Period Apps Caught in Privacy Scandal

A University of Cambridge study has exposed serious privacy concerns surrounding popular menstrual-tracking apps in the UK, such as Flo and Clue. Researchers found that many of these apps collect and share highly sensitive health data (including sexual activity, hormonal treatments, and mood patterns) with third parties like advertisers and analytics firms, often without clear user consent.

Privacy policies were found to be excessively long and difficult to understand, with one exceeding 14,000 words. The UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has launched a review and reminded developers of their obligations under the UK GDPR.

Legal experts and women’s rights groups have criticised the lack of enforcement, citing manipulative app design tactics that mislead users into sharing data. While some apps have made cosmetic changes, critics say systemic problems remain.

The revelations come amid broader debates about the UK’s post-Brexit data laws and mirror global concerns, especially after similar controversies in the US and Europe. As grassroots movements push for ethical alternatives, the future of femtech may hinge on whether regulators take meaningful action to protect reproductive data.

🔴 Increased Legal Risk from Privacy Violations

The exposure of widespread data sharing by menstrual-tracking apps like Flo and Clue raises serious concerns under UK GDPR. These apps collect intimate health data – such as sexual activity and emotional states – and often share it with third parties without meaningful consent. Legal teams advising health or tech companies must now be extra vigilant, as failure to ensure lawful data practices could lead to enforcement action, litigation, and reputational harm.

🟡 Stronger Regulatory Scrutiny Post-Brexit

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a formal review, signaling a tougher approach to digital health privacy. Lawyers must help clients ensure that privacy policies are not just legally compliant, but also readable and transparent to users. With the UK’s data protection regime evolving post-Brexit, firms must stay current on shifting regulatory expectations and advise clients proactively.

🟢 Opportunity for Leadership in Ethical Tech

As trust in femtech platforms declines, there is growing demand for ethical, privacy-focused alternatives. This creates space for legal professionals to lead on privacy-by-design, user rights, and ethical data governance. Law firms that can support the development of transparent and responsible tech will be well-positioned to advise both emerging startups and larger digital health players in a changing regulatory landscape.

Smarter Tennis: How AI is Changing The Game at Wimbledon

Wimbledon 2025 is enhancing the fan experience with two innovative AI-powered tools developed by IBM: Match Chat and an upgraded win predictor. These new features aim to make the sport more interactive and accessible, offering deeper insights and real-time analysis as matches unfold.

Match Chat, now embedded within the official Wimbledon app and website, allows fans to ask natural language questions such as “Who’s winning more points on serve?” or “What’s the current momentum?” Powered by IBM’s watsonx platform and Granite large language models, the tool delivers instant, data-driven answers. It transforms passive viewing into an interactive experience, giving fans immediate access to detailed match statistics and context.

The updated win predictor provides dynamic, point-by-point probability updates based on live data, historical performance, and match conditions. This gives fans a clearer sense of how each moment influences the outcome, highlighting momentum shifts that might otherwise go unnoticed. These tools reflect Wimbledon’s continued push to blend tradition with cutting-edge technology. With in-match coaching now permitted and AI officiating replacing most human line judges, data and analytics are becoming integral to the sport. By making advanced insights available in real time, Wimbledon is redefining how fans engage with the game – offering a richer, more informed viewing experience.

🔴 Data Privacy and Consent Violations

Generative AI tools like Wimbledon’s Match Chat process real-time user data, such as typed questions, device identifiers, and potentially location data. Without explicit, informed consent and transparent data practices, there’s a risk of violating GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act. Lawyers should review whether a lawful basis for processing is established (typically consent or legitimate interest) and ensure users have meaningful control, like opt-in or opt-out options. Privacy policies must align with actual data practices, clearly explain what’s collected, and define storage duration. Legal teams should also examine data-sharing agreements, such as with IBM, and assess re-identification risks in supposedly anonymised datasets.

🔴Liability for Inaccurate or Misleading Outputs

AI-generated match insights (like win probabilities or performance summaries) may seem authoritative but can be incorrect or biased. If fans, media, or gambling platforms act on this information and incur losses or reputational harm, legal liability may arise. Lawyers should ensure strong disclaimers in the terms of use, stating that outputs are informational, not predictive guarantees.

🟡 Intellectual Property Infringement

Generative AI tools may reuse content (like player likenesses and broadcast commentary) protected by copyright or publicity rights. While manageable with proper licensing, vigilance is needed. Lawyers should conduct an IP audit of all content inputs and outputs, ensuring rights are secured for materials used in AI models or displayed to users. Additionally, assess if any AI-generated content could infringe existing IP. For player images or names, compliance with right-of-publicity laws is essential, especially if the tool commercialises athlete identities.