Data Bytes 67: Your EMEA Data Privacy Update for July 2026

According to Ashurst Perkins Coie, the UAE Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority was formally established on 14 June 2026[1]. The firm reports that the body brings together three entities, one of them the UAE Data Office, which was nominally responsible for enforcing the onshore data protection law ("PDPL")[1].The firm says that until now the UAE has had no active onshore data protection regulator, because the Data Office set up under the PDPL never became fully operational[1]. It adds that the Executive Regulations needed to put the PDPL into practice are still pending[1].On the UK, Ashurst Perkins Coie reports that the government announced on 15 June 2026 that social media platforms will be banned from offering services to under-16s[1]. According to the firm, the government does not plan to include messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal[1].The firm reports that on 15 July the government said protections for 16- and 17-year-olds would include overnight curfews from midnight to 6am on social media apps[1] and the default disabling of addictive design features. It also says under-18s are expected to be barred from AI "romantic companion" services[1].According to the update, the government plans to bring regulations to Parliament before the end of 2026, with the protections expected to take effect in spring 2027[1].The firm's later September update says that an EDPB consultation on a new data breach notification template, covered in Data Bytes 67, closed on 5 August and has since drawn public criticism[2].