Osborne Clarke | US Global Compass July Newsletter

As digital transformation accelerates globally, the legal and commercial risks – but also opportunities – for US companies operating or investing in Europe are evolving just as quickly. That’s why Osborne Clarke has launched the first edition of our new digital publication WAVE: Emerging Legal Trends in Digitalization.

For US companies expanding or doing business internationally, WAVE is a timely reminder that innovation doesn’t wait for legal certainty – especially in markets like the EU, where new regulations such as the AI Act are reshaping compliance, governance, and competitiveness.

Why does this matter for US companies? Whether you’re deploying AI, localizing data, engaging with European consumers, or negotiating cross-border deals, your exposure to new risks and evolving expectations is increasing.

Why Osborne Clarke? Our US-based team is in your time zone and understands your business priorities – and can connect you directly with legal experts across the EU and UK. We help clients translate emerging regulation into practical business strategy so they can move with confidence, not caution.

We’ve highlighted three of our key Insights on areas that are particularly relevant for US businesses: the governance challenges of agentic AI, the regulatory complexities of hyper-personalization, and the evolving trends shaping merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in today’s volatile market.

Agentic AI: Why US businesses can’t wait on governance

Our Insight on agentic AI and why governance can’t wait highlights why it is crucial for US businesses to have a clear line of sight on these rapid developments. Agentic AI systems – autonomous agents that can initiate tasks and adapt strategies – create new liability and accountability challenges that existing governance frameworks aren’t designed to handle. With 50% of enterprises already deploying AI agents and another 32% planning to within a year, shadow adoption through software updates creates compliance gaps. The EU AI Act’s requirements and existing regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation still apply, making proactive governance essential to avoid legal exposure and operational risks.

AI hyper-personalization: new regulatory risks for US businesses

We have another Insight on AI-driven hyper-personalization and future risks and opportunities, As AI-driven hyper-personalization creates new regulatory risks beyond traditional compliance, this area of focus is vital for US businesses. Real-time content adaptation can lead to algorithmic exploitation of vulnerability, misleading AI outputs, and potential violations of consumer protection laws. While offering competitive advantages through enhanced user experiences, businesses must navigate complex challenges around data protection and anti-discrimination laws, as well as ensuring compliance at a massive scale when AI generates unique content for each individual user. For retail and consumer brands, this is particularly important as hyper-personalized pricing, product recommendations, and marketing messages could trigger consumer protection violations if they exploit customer vulnerabilities or create discriminatory experiences.

TMC M&A in 2025: why resilience beats growth stories

We conclude with an Insight on technology, media and communications (TMC) M&A trends and how resilience, scalability, and discipline will define success. These traits and their strength are essential for US businesses particularly since the start of the year, which brought a sharp recalibration in TMC M&A markets with tariff announcements, stock market volatility, and geopolitical tensions disrupting deal processes. Investors are prioritizing businesses with operational rigor, digital scalability, and sector durability over speculative growth narratives. US companies planning M&A activity must understand that structural resilience and operational clarity are increasingly decisive factors in shaping buyer confidence, pricing outcomes and execution certainty.

Compliments of Osborne Clarke – a member of the EACCNY