March 18, 2019

The Communications Committee has called for a new, overarching regulatory framework so that the services in the digital world are held accountable to an enforceable set of shared principles.

Given that in the digital world there is no body that has complete oversight, regulation of the digital environment is “fragmented, with gaps and overlaps”, the Committee says.

It is therefore recommending a new Digital Authority, guided by ten principles, to inform regulation of the digital world. The new Authority would co-ordinate regulators, continually assess regulation and make recommendations on which additional powers are necessary to fill gaps. The Digital Authority should play a key role in providing the public, the Government and Parliament with the latest information. It should report to a new joint committee of both Houses of Parliament, whose remit would be to consider all matters related to the digital world.

The ten principles should guide all regulation of the internet, the Committee says. They include accountability, transparency, respect for privacy and freedom of expression. The Committee says that the principles will help the industry, regulators, the Government and users work towards a common goal of “making the internet a better, more respectful environment which is beneficial to all”. If rights are infringed, those responsible should be held accountable in a fair and transparent way.

Recommendations for specific action:

• online harms and a duty of care: a duty of care should be imposed on online services that host and curate content which can openly be uploaded and accessed by the public. Ofcom’s remit should be expanded to include responsibility for enforcing the duty of care. Online platforms should make community standards clearer through a new classification framework akin to that of the British Board of Film Classification. Major platforms should invest in more effective moderation systems to uphold their community standards;
• ethical technology: users should have greater control over the collection of personal data. Maximum privacy and safety settings should be the default. Data controllers and data processors should be required to publish an annual data transparency statement detailing which forms of behavioural data they generate or purchase from third parties, how they are stored, for how long, and how they are used and transferred. The Information Commissioner’s Office should have powers to conduct impact-based audits where risks associated with using algorithms are greatest. Businesses should be required to explain how they use personal data and what their algorithms do; and
• market concentration: market power on the internet is concentrated in a small number of online platforms. The Government should consider creating a public-interest test for data-driven mergers and acquisitions. Regulation should recognise the inherent power of intermediaries.

To read the Committee’s news summary in full and to access the report, click here.