The latest policy recommendations for regulating powerful Internet platforms comes from a U.K. House of Lord committee that\u2019s calling for an overarching digital regulator to be set up to plug gaps in domestic legislation and work through any overlaps of rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe digital world does not merely require more regulation but a different approach to regulation,\u201d the committee writes in a report<\/a> published on Saturday, saying the government has responded to \u201cgrowing public concern\u201d in a piecemeal fashion, whereas \u201ca new framework for regulatory action is needed\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n It suggests a new body \u2014 which it\u2019s dubbed the Digital Authority \u2014 be established to \u201cinstruct and coordinate regulators\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Digital Authority would have the remit to continually assess regulation in the digital world and make recommendations on where additional powers are necessary to fill gaps,\u201d the committee writes, saying that it would also \u201cbring together non-statutory organisations with duties in this area\u201d \u2014 so presumably bodies such as the recently created Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation<\/a> (which is intended to advise the UK government on how it can harness technologies like AI for the public good).<\/p>\n The committee report sets out ten principles that it says the Digital Authority should use to \u201cshape and frame\u201d all Internet regulation \u2014 and develop a \u201ccomprehensive and holistic strategy\u201d for regulating digital services.<\/p>\n These principles (listed below) read, rather unfortunately, like a list of big tech failures. Perhaps especially given Facebook <\/a> founder Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s repeat refusal to testify<\/a> before another UK parliamentary committee last year. (Leading to another highly critical report<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \u201cPrinciples should guide the development of online services at every stage,\u201d the committee urges, calling for greater transparency at the point data is collected; greater user choice over which data are taken; and<\/span> greater transparency around data use \u2014 \u201cincluding the use of algorithms\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n So, in other words, a reversal of the \u2018opt-out if you want any privacy\u2019 approach to settings that\u2019s generally favored by tech giants \u2014 even as it\u2019s being challenged by complaints<\/a> filed under Europe\u2019s GDPR.<\/p>\n The UK government is due to put out a policy White Paper on regulating online harms this winter. But the Lords Communications Committee suggests the government\u2019s focus is too narrow, calling also for regulation that can intervene to address how \u201cthe digital world has become dominated by a small number of very large companies\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThese companies enjoy a substantial advantage, operating with an unprecedented knowledge of users and other businesses,\u201d it warns. \u201cWithout intervention the largest tech companies are likely to gain more control of technologies which disseminate media content, extract data from the home and individuals or make decisions affecting people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n The committee recommends public interest tests should therefore be applied to potential acquisitions when tech giants move in to snap up startups, warning that current competition law is struggling to keep pace with the \u2018winner takes all\u2019 dynamic of digital markets and their network effects.<\/p>\n \u201cThe largest tech companies can buy start-up companies before they can become competitive,\u201d it writes. \u201cResponses based on competition law struggle to keep pace with digital markets and often take place only once irreversible damage is done. We recommend that the consumer welfare test needs to be broadened and a public interest test should be applied to data-driven mergers.\u201d<\/p>\n Market concentration also means a small number of companies have \u201cgreat power in society and act as gatekeepers to the internet\u201d, it also warns, suggesting that while greater use of data portability can help, \u201cmore interoperability\u201d is required for the measure to make an effective remedy.<\/p>\n The committee also examined online platforms\u2019 current legal liabilities around content, and recommends beefing these up too \u2014 saying self-regulation is failing and calling\u00a0out social media sites\u2019 moderation processes specifically as \u201cunacceptably opaque and slow\u201d.<\/p>\n High level political pressure in the UK recently led to a major Instagram policy change around censoring content that promotes suicide<\/a> \u2014 though the shift was triggered after a public outcry related to the suicide of a young schoolgirl who had been exposed to pro-suicide content on Instagram years before.<\/p>\n Like other UK committees and government advisors<\/a>, the Lords committee wants online services which host user-generated content to be subject to a statutory duty of care \u2014 with a special focus on children and \u201cthe vulnerable in society\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe duty of care should ensure that providers take account of safety in designing their services to prevent harm. This should include providing appropriate moderation processes to handle complaints about content,\u201d it writes, recommending telecoms regulator Ofcom <\/a> is given responsibility for enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cPublic opinion is growing increasingly intolerant of the abuses which big tech companies have failed to eliminate,\u201d it adds. \u201cWe hope that the industry will welcome our 10 principles and their potential to help restore trust in the services they provide. It is in the industry\u2019s own long-term interest to work constructively with policy-makers. If they fail to do so, they run the risk of further action being taken.\u201d<\/p>\n Article source: http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/techcrunch\/social\/~3\/Iu4-10t1oQs\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The latest policy recommendations for regulating powerful Internet platforms comes from a U.K. House of Lord committee that\u2019s calling for an overarching digital regulator to be set up to plug <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[10,7,14,15,6,12,11],"class_list":["post-14416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-update","tag-computer-news","tag-downloads","tag-microsoft-download-news","tag-networking-updates","tag-technology-update","tag-wordpress-plugin-download","tag-wordpress-theme-download"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n