FTI Consulting News Bytes – 8 August 2025

FTI Consulting News Bytes

This week’s edition of News Bytes explores the collision of online safety and digital freedom, as we look into the boom in VPN downloads following the passing of the Online Safety Act. Next, we discuss China’s global AI ambitions making its way to UK soil, as Baidu prepare to test their autonomous cars on our roads next year. Elsewhere on the AI front, avatars turn political, as a Labour MP becomes the first to employ the use of a digital avatar to communicate with his constituents. Lastly, we explore shifting powers in both corporate leadership and cryptocurrency regulation as Elon Musk is awarded more voting powers at Tesla and concerns are shared over the UK’s lag in the race to employ Stablecoins.

This week’s news

How VPNs knocked a hole in online safety efforts

Last week, the UK government passed the landmark Online Safety Act, requiring platforms containing harmful content to implement age verification systems. Shortly after the ruling, VPN downloads in the UK skyrocketed as thousands scrambled to circumvent the controls. So what does this mean, the Financial Times questions? Well, some believe the new rules may drive behaviours underground to the unregulated fringes of the internet. As a result, Peter Kyle, the Technology Secretary, has reasserted that the UK will not ban VPN’s to minimise this shift to the dark web. Those against the sweeping act, instead, offer potential solutions, including the introduction of digital IDs that require a one-time age check, thereby absolving the need to reveal personal data. Meanwhile, others suggest that the onus should be on app store companies, such as Apple and Google, to play a more significant role in age verification. Ultimately, it may be safe to say that we haven’t heard the last of the Online Safety Act, as pressure to keep both children safe and limit censorship continues to grow.

‘China’s Google’ to launch self-driving cars in UK

Baidu, China’s Google, has announced its plans to road test its Apollo Go autonomous cars in the UK and Germany in 2026, reports The Telegraph. Launched in partnership with Lyft, Uber’s biggest global rival, the scheme has already been trialed in the US; however, following local plans to ban Chinese connected car software from 2027 onwards, the tech giant has set its sights on Europe. Despite ongoing fears of Chinese cyber espionage, as demonstrated by the former government’s blocking of Huawei’s technology from Britain’s 5G networks over fears it could pose a security risk, it appears that Baidu’s driverless cars will [KA1] nonetheless, be cruising on UK soil soon.

Mark Sewards becomes first MP to create himself as an AI bot

For MPs, their priority concern is to connect with and serve their constituents, and one has found a novel way to get closer to all the people they represent than ever before. BBC News reports that Labour MP, Mark Seward, has become the first UK politician to create an AI avatar of himself, which uses his voice to respond to local and political constituent queries. While some are excited at the prospect of a pocket MP, others are more cautious, with one Professor citing concerns over the distress the chatbot may cause to older generations.

Tesla awards boos Elon Musk $29bn in shares

In a bid to “energise and focus” him on Tesla’s growth and ultimately keep Musk at its helm, the Company’s board has approved the award of $29bn (£21.7bn) worth of its shares to the CEO. BBC News report that the move will give Musk more voting power on the board. The move comes after a US court struck down Musk’s 2018 pay package, worth more than $50bn, ruling that what would have been the largest payout in corporate America’s history was “unfair to shareholders”. The controversial leader has since repeatedly threatened to leave Tesla and prioritise his other companies unless he is given more control over it – time will tell if this award is enough to keep him on side.

George Osborne says UK has been left behind in cryptocurrency boom

Former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Advisor at Coinbase, George Osborne, says that the UK risks being left behind in the second cryptocurrency boom: Stablecoins. Unlike other digital currencies Stablecoins are just that – stable – as they are tied to the value of real world currencies, The Guardian reports. Osborne has shared concern that the UK is being too cautious in its approach, citing that “if Britain was the only financial centre in the world we could take our time to evaluate how stablecoins will develop, but we are not,” as it is revealed that Singapore, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi have already established robust legislative frameworks for crypto asset platforms.  

Top Tweets of the Week

• Mark Kleinman, City Editor, Sky News: Klarna, the buy now, pay later lender which is repositioning itself as a digital bank, is preparing to formally revive its planned $15bn New York stock market flotation in the autumn, after postponing its IPO in April amid tariff-induced market turmoil.
• Greg Joswiak, SVP Marketing, Apple: 3 billion iPhones sold!   Thank you to everyone who’s made iPhone such an important part of their lives. I’m incredibly excited for what’s ahead!
• Philip Lewis, Deputy Editor, Huffington Post: “Google is indexing conversations with ChatGPT that users have sent to friends, families, or colleagues—turning private exchanges intended for small groups into search results visible to millions” 

Number of the week

$100m Apple’s investment into the US in a bid to avoid a wave of tariffs poised to hit its products