Sent on behalf of Prof. Philip Schlesinger (University of Glasgow)
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The changing shape of platform regulation: new research
The UK Government’s response to the Online Harms consultation has indicated that Ofcom will add to its already extensive footprint to become the new regulator for this area of media content.
While this assignment is not a great surprise to watchers of the regulatory scene, it does highlight the growing complexity of UK platform regulation, which now has at least nine regulators engaged in addressing over 100 distinctly described online harms. To do the tally so far all you need to do is read and analyse the eight major official reports that have appeared since 2018, which taken together tell a complex tale, one in which economic harms are not centre-stage and in which there is a decided lack of transparency about web-blocking.
In new research based at CREATe and CCPR at the University of Glasgow, which will be of major interest to social scientists working on media and communications, Martin Kretschmer, Ula Furgal and I have begun to map the platform regulation scene with a view to understanding its dynamics and future prospects as the UK embarks on Brexit and the role of global platforms becomes ever-more salient to the policy agenda. https://www.create.ac.uk/blog/2020/02/06/book-now-conference-showcasing-new-empirical-research-on-intellectual-property-litigation-platform-regulation/
Our research is part of the programme of work funded by the AHRC Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC). https://pec.ac.uk
We are presenting our new work at the British Institute International and Comparative Law in Russell Square, London, on 26 February. We will kick off at 5.30pm and finish by 7.00pm with a unique line-up of regulators from Ofcom, the Competition and Market Authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. They will be explaining their organisations’ positions and reacting to the research findings.
You can register directly by contacting Diane McGrattan at CREATe, [log in to unmask]
Philip Schlesinger is Professor in Cultural Theory at the University of Glasgow and a Visiting Professor in Media and Communications at the LSE.