The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced the launch of a pilot scheme in which social media bans, time limits and night-time curfews will be tested in the homes of 300 teenagers across the UK. The six-week trial will assess how different restrictions on app use affect young people’s daily lives, as part of a wider consultation on children’s online safety closing on 26 May 2026.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), working with bodies including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Environment Agency, Care Quality Commission, and others, has announced measures to reduce regulatory barriers that have delayed the deployment of innovative technologies. The reforms aim to create a more pro-innovation regulatory environment to support technologies such as drones delivering medicines and artificial intelligence (AI) tools for faster clinical approvals. An £8.9m funding package, delivered through the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO), is intended to support 16 projects that will help regulators and industry trial more agile approaches to innovation.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced that 16 artificial intelligence (AI) tech companies have agreed to commit to develop AI safely. This marks a world first, as companies spanning the globe, including from the US, China and the Middle East, make this agreement on the opening day of the AI Seoul Summit (21 May 2024), building on the inaugural AI Safety Summit hosted by the UK in November 2023. The AI tech companies are to each publish safety frameworks on how they will measure risks of their frontier AI models, such as examining the risk of misuse of technology by bad actors, outlining when severe risks, unless adequately mitigated, would be 'deemed intolerable' and what companies will do to ensure thresholds are not surpassed. In extreme circumstances, the companies have also committed to 'not develop or deploy a model or system at all' if mitigations cannot keep risks below the thresholds. To assist in defining these thresholds, companies will seek input from trusted actors including home governments, before being released ahead of the AI Action Summit in France in early 2025.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced a package of UK–Japan science and technology collaborations spanning life sciences, quantum technologies and connectivity technology. The development aims to develop treatments for rare genetic diseases and support seamless mobile coverage across the UK. The partnerships include around £11m investment by Orchard Therapeutics into UK life sciences manufacturing, joint UK–Japan funding for quantum technologies to support drug discovery, secure communications and navigation, and a new £6m UK–Japan research and innovation programme on advanced connectivity. The announcement also includes Oxford Nanopore Technologies entering a strategic partnership with Genesis Healthcare (A.D.A.M Innovations) alongside the launch of three new joint quantum technology research projects.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced that new therapies for cancer, through partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and universities, will be trialled in the UK. These trials will test new methods to spot cancer sooner and tackle it by deploying innovative and new technologies such as more flexible medical scanners and AI. In addition, UK Research and Innovation has announced a £118m fund to help develop new health technologies across five new hubs to be created within the UK.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced that new offences have been introduced criminalising cyberflashing, fake news which intends to cause non-trivial harm and other abuse online. From 31 January 2024, the offences from the Online Safety Act 2023 mean that criminals can face up to five years in prison for their actions. This follows a campaign to bring 'Zach's Law', which aims to prohibit online trolls from sending or showing flashing images electronically to cause harm to those suffering from epilepsy, and other rules into effect. The announcement also followed former Love Island contestant, Georgia Harrison's campaign to punish ex-partners and other abusers from sharing, or threatening to share, intimate images without consent.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced a new partnership with Google DeepMind to advance the development of AI technologies for use in public services, education and scientific research. Under the voluntary, non-binding memorandum, Google DeepMind will establish its first automated research lab in the UK, expected to open in 2026, which will focus on superconductor materials research using AI and robotics integrated with Gemini technology. The partnership may also enable the creation of a ‘Gemini for Government’ platform to automate routine civil service tasks, as well as an education-focused version of Gemini aligned with the national curriculum and tested for safe deployment. UK scientists will receive priority access to Google DeepMind’s AI models, including the AlphaGenome and AlphaFold tools. The agreement builds on DeepMind’s existing partnership with the UK’s AI Security Institute and supports the government’s £137m AI for Science Strategy.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced plans to ban social media platforms from offering services to under-16s. These measures are intended to give children their childhood back and improve online safety. The proposals would prohibit user-to-user social media platforms whose purpose is to enable social interaction and allow users to post material, including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, while excluding messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal. The government intends to adopt a model similar to Australia's, with the ban expected to be introduced to Parliament before Christmas and the protections expected to come into force in spring 2027.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced plans to require tech platforms to detect and remove non consensual intimate images within 48 hours of being flagged, aiming to protect women and girls from intimate image abuse through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill. Platforms that fail to take down flagged content could face fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue or have services blocked in the UK. The government intends that victims will report an image once and that it will then be removed across multiple platforms and automatically deleted on re upload.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)has published the Authorisation of Frequency Use for the Provision of EU Mobile Satellite Services (Revocation etc.) Regulations 2026. These Regulations revoke the Authorisation of Frequency Use for the EU Provision of Mobile Satellite Services Regulations 2010, SI 2010/672, which implemented EU decisions authorising two Mobile Satellite Service operators to use radio frequencies in the 2 GHz band until 13 May 2027 and were retained in UK law following EU exit. The revocation is intended to ensure the UK’s legal framework remains fit for purpose and to enable Ofcom to authorise future use of the 2 GHz band under domestic law. The instrument was sent to sift on 19 January 2026 and its sifting status is currently in progress. The Regulations come into force on 14 May 2027.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced that it has commissioned Ipsos UK to conduct research on how UK private-sector organisations manage cybersecurity risks in their supply chains. The study aims to understand the practices, challenges, and needs of professionals responsible for procurement, supplier management, and third-party risk management. It will also examine their engagement with current DSIT and National Cyber Security Centre policy tools, which include the Global Standard on AI Cyber Security, the Software Security Code of Practice, Cyber Essentials, the Cyber Governance Code of Practice, and the Enterprise Device Principles.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced that it will undergo a significant expansion, both in its scope and size. It will bring together experts in data, digital technologies, and artificial intelligence (AI) from various government bodies, including the Government Digital Service, the Central Digital and Data Office and the Incubator for AI. This consolidation aims to unite efforts towards the digital transformation of public services under a single department. This restructuring aims to drive the digital transformations necessary to overhaul the British public's experience when interacting with the government. DSIT will work closely with the Cabinet Office and the Treasury to maximize the potential of digital technologies, data, and innovation in delivering services to the British public.