Understanding legal regulation and compliance
The Open University
Last updated August 30, 2026
Understanding legal regulation and compliance organizes the subject around three moments: what has to be considered before a generative tool is used, what to watch while it is in use, and what obligations follow afterward. It surveys the regulatory frameworks that apply to the providers of these tools and how those frameworks mitigate some of the risk, then spends its final stretch on internal policy — writing a generative AI use policy, deciding what it must cover, and keeping it maintained. It is part of AI Law and Legal Training, a free collection on OpenLearn Create for advice and legal contexts. A self-paced course of around three hours including a short quiz; enrolling is free.
Part 7 of 8 in AI Law and Legal Training
- Understanding Generative AI
- Skills and strategies for using Generative AI
- Key considerations for successful Generative AI adoption
- Use cases for Generative AI
- Ethical and responsible use of Generative AI
- Navigating risk management
- Understanding legal regulation and compliance (you are here)
- Preparing for tomorrow: horizon scanning and AI literacy
What you'll learn
- What to consider before deploying a generative AI tool, while it is in use, and afterward
- The regulatory frameworks that apply to generative AI providers
- How regulation mitigates part of the risk these tools carry
- Writing an internal generative AI use policy, and what it needs to cover
- Managing and updating that policy as the tools change
Frequently asked questions about Understanding legal regulation and compliance
Who is Understanding legal regulation and compliance for?
Managers and leaders who have to approve generative AI use inside an organization and answer for its compliance.
Is Understanding legal regulation and compliance free?
Yes — Understanding legal regulation and compliance is completely free to take.
What are the prerequisites for Understanding legal regulation and compliance?
Reads best after three earlier courses in AI Law and Legal Training: Understanding Generative AI, Navigating risk management, and Key considerations for successful Generative AI adoption.
Does Understanding legal regulation and compliance offer a certificate?
Yes. Digital badge and course certificate, awarded on completing all sections and passing the course quiz.
Why we suggest this course
The before, during and after structure is what makes this usable: compliance questions arrive at different moments and get missed precisely because nobody has separated them. It is written for the manager or leader who has to sign off on a deployment, and it ends with something you can produce — a clear view of what an internal use policy needs to contain and who keeps it current. AI Law and Legal Training is funded by UKRI Responsible AI and built by The Open University and the University of Lincoln with Citizens Advice, with support from lawyers at Fieldfisher, Mishcon de Reya and Browne Jacobson.