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

Ashurst Perkins Coie says this edition introduces its new UAE privacy team, who contributed this month's spotlight on the changing regulatory landscape in the UAE[1].According to the firm, the new Authority consolidates three entities[1]. One of them is the UAE Data Office (nominally responsible for enforcing the on-shore data protection law ("PDPL"))[1]. The firm notes that the UAE Data Office established under the PDPL never became fully operational[1].The firm's update says that what the change means in practice "remains to be seen"[1]. It adds that the long-awaited Executive Regulations needed to operationalise the PDPL remain pending[1].On the UK, the firm reports that on 15 June 2026, the UK government announced 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 writes that on 15 July 2026 the government said protections for 16 and 17 year-olds would include overnight curfews from midnight to 6am on social media apps[1]. It reports that older teens would be able to change these default settings themselves[1].According to the update, the government intends to bring regulations to Parliament before the end of 2026, with protections expected to come into force in spring 2027[1].In its September edition, the firm says that after the EDPB's consultation on a new data breach notification template closed, there has since been public criticism of it[2].