King Charles III has made his third King's Speech outlining the UK government's legislative plans for the forthcoming Parliamentary session. The King's Speech 2026 signals a coordinated programme of legislative reform that impacts the commercial and technology space with clear implications for the regulation of digital markets, infrastructure and innovation in the UK. The measures strengthen regulatory oversight in key areas such as consumer protection and cyber security. On AI, the UK is still resisting a centralised approach in favour of a more piecemeal, sector specific approach to regulation. We look at the key aspects of the speech below.
Cyber security and critical infrastructure
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill represents a substantive regulatory intervention from a technology law perspective, which was carried over from last year's speech. It would expand the scope of existing cyber security regulation to include a broader range of digital infrastructure, including managed service providers and data centres to strengthen the UK response to cyber attacks. We previously examined the key aspects of the Bill here; UK Cyber Security and Resilience Bill under scrutiny. Enhanced incident reporting obligations, including rapid notification requirements; expanded regulatory coverage for critical digital services; and strengthened enforcement powers, including turnover-based penalties are envisaged.
Further, there were proposed reforms to the Computer Misuse Act 1990. This signals a shift towards modernising the criminal law framework for cyber offences by introducing a new Cyber Crime Risk Order to place controls on cyber criminals, alongside new search powers, and will "unlock the power of cyber security professionals to better enable them to secure computer systems". Together, these reforms point to a significant intensification of regulatory expectations around cyber resilience, particularly for organisations operating critical or large-scale digital systems.
AI
The speech stated that “legislation will be introduced to…reduce the burden of unnecessary regulation through innovation”. The UK continues to maintain its fragmented approach to AI regulation in comparison with the centralised EU approach, most notably with the EU AI Act. In addition, a new “Regulating for Growth Bill” is planned which will create sandbox powers and reinforce the focus of regulators towards growth and enabling businesses to test new technologies in controlled environments with temporary relaxation of regulatory requirements. This signals a continued commitment to positioning the UK as a favourable environment for technology deployment and experimentation.
Ticket Tout
A prominent theme is the tightening of consumer protections in digital marketplaces. The proposed Ticket Tout Ban Bill would materially reshape the secondary ticketing market by prohibiting resale above face value and imposing additional constraints on resale platforms, including limits on service fees. It would also criminalise bulk resale practices beyond permitted primary purchases and importantly would allow the CMA to impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover.
Sports
The Sporting Events Bill adopts a more sector-specific regulatory approach, creating a framework for the hosting of major international events. The Bill would introduce a UK-wide offence relating to ticket resale for major events, protections against ambush marketing and unauthorised commercial association, and restrictions on advertising and trading in the vicinity of venues and provides for the co-ordination of transport planning for major sporting events.
Late payments
The Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill covering domestic UK transactions was introduced which would impose maximum payment terms of 60 days, require mandatory interest on late payments at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, introduce a time limit for raising invoice disputes, require boards or audit committees of persistently late-paying large companies to publish commentary on poor payment performance and the steps they intend to take, and give the Small Business Commissioner new enforcement powers.
Digital identity
A central pillar of the legislative programme is the Digital Access to Services Bill, which would establish a statutory framework for a national digital identity system. The proposal represents a significant step towards the formalisation of digital identity infrastructure in the UK. The Bill envisages: standardised digital credentials; regulated processes for issuance, storage and verification; and interoperability across public services and the wider economy. From a legal perspective, this raises issues around data governance, identity assurance, and public-private integration. The inclusion of specific use cases, such as digital right-to-work checks, indicates a gradual embedding of digital identity into everyday regulatory compliance processes.
A Representation of the People Bill will also be introduced which aims to improve the transparency of digital imprint rules (mandatory disclosures that indicate who is responsible for promoting online content, particularly in political advertising) and place enforcement on a clearer and more proportionate footing. More people will be required to include digital imprints on their digital campaigning material which would ensure that political material published online clearly identifies its promoter and funder, enabling voters to understand who is behind campaign messaging.
The EU
The proposed European Partnership Bill was introduced; aimed at improving the UK's trade and investment relationship with the EU by facilitating implementation of new agreements reached with the EU, both now and in the future. This legislation aims to facilitate closer co-operation deals with the EU, with agreements expected imminently on food, energy emissions, and youth mobility. Officials project significant economic benefits from these deals, estimating up to £9bn when combining food and emissions trading agreements, and anticipate lower household prices. The European Partnership Bill will be used to implement agreements with the EU “now and in the future.”
Looking ahead
Some of the proposals outlined in the King’s Speech demonstrate the government’s commitment to technology regulation with a clear emphasis on strengthening controls over digital markets and platforms;
enhancing resilience and accountability in critical infrastructure; and embedding digital systems into core public and commercial functions. Balancing regulation with innovation with the introduction of regulatory sandboxes underscores an ongoing effort to see economic growth from AI and maintain regulatory flexibility in a rapidly changing environment. Businesses might now consider the extent to which these proposals may impact their operations, including whether changes to compliance frameworks, contractual arrangements and internal processes will be required.
