About this Lecture

Please join as at 6pm, Thursday 12^th of December in the King’s Building, Safra Theatre, Strand, at King’s College, London for our tenth lecture and discussion, focusing on big tech media regulation.

We will cover:

• the current regulatory vacuum around big tech media, particularly in relation to X, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, compared to standards on TV and radio;
• the governance of big-tech corporations, their evolution, and differences today, and innovative models in non-profit companies such as Wikipedia and Bluesky;
• collective action problems of platform-users, and the extent to which they can be overcome, such as in the shift of millions from X to BlueSky, etc, since Elon Musk’s takeover;
• big tech links to the rise in addiction, mental health crises, violence against women, riots, conspiracy theories, misinformation, political division and far-right support;
• options for reform of Ofcom, the Online Safety Act 2023, the EU Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, including interoperability, regulatory standards and governance.

Joining us to discuss will be Dr Bernard Keenan from University College, London, a leading expert on internet regulation. You can download the full programme with sources and background here. This is part of a series on Current Issues in Labour’s Economic Policy.

About this Event Series

How should Labour achieve its economic objectives, for growth, prosperity and equality in Britain? This series is based on Labour’s economic policy and legislative plans. There will be a one hour lecture with Prof Ewan McGaughey, followed by seminar discussion, joined by expert discussants including from the Institute for Employment Rights: see the Eventbrite pages. Attendees will participate in formulating a policy note for each topic, and draft amendments to Bills to fulfil the goals in each policy field.

Sources include Keir Starmer’s pledges, the Labour Manifesto, official policies, and Bills. We compare these to human right treaties that bind the UK, including the Universal Declaration (ratified by the two International Covenants of 1966), the European Convention and Social Charter. We compare existing UK legal sources to these goals, to international models, and to empirical data. Full background for each topic is in Ewan McGaughey,Principles of Enterprise Law: the Economic Constitution and Human Rights (2022) chapters 3-5, 8-17 and 20 (McG), available on the Cambridge Uni Press website.