This week has been a bad one if you think anonymity online is important (you should).
The Times published a piece on trolls online which argued for the verification of users online. It invoked Damian Collins (the Chair of the Joint Committee conducting pre-legislative scrutiny of the Draft Online Safety Bill) and, referencing the abuse that England players received after the Euro Finals, stated that "most online abuse comes via anonymous accounts".
That's not true. Twitter analysed the abusive tweets, and 99% of account owners were identifiable. That didn't stop Damian Collins pushing hard on the need to limit or remove anonymity in the Joint Committee's first evidence session, even after Stonewall (notorious big tech shills!) explained how important it was.
This is a near perfect example of what worries me so much about the Online Safety Bill. It's not about stopping bad things that happen by dealing with the reasons they happen and the way they happen. Instead, it's about playing up to at best unevidenced and at worst plain wrong ideas about the internet.
The Government is today launching a consultation on a new data regime for the UK (it's not live as I sent this email!). The Government really, really wants data to be a "Brexit dividend". Expect a bitter fight with privacy campaiangers.
FCA wants more power to regulate crypto (link - £)
In a speech this week Charles Randall, the Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority, said that the regulator needed more power to deal with cryptocurrencies. This follows similar calls from the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA.
Computacenter, the supplier and reseller of computers, software and more, has said that they expect chip shortages well into next year. Expect that to make it more difficult for Nvidia's purchase of Arm.
Consultations to note
Digital identity and attributes consultation: DCMS (link) - opened 19/07/21, closing 13/09/21.
Draft Online Safety Bill: Draft Online Safety Bill Joint Committee (link) - opened 29/07/21, closing 16/09/21.
UK Prospectus Regime: HM Treasury (link) - opened 01/07/21, closing 24/09/21.
A new pro-competition regime for digital markets: DCMS (link) - opened 20/07/21, closing 01/10/21.
Draft international data transfer agreement: Information Commissioner's Office (link) - opened 11/09/21, closing 07/10/21.
Reporting rules for digital platforms: HMRC (link) - opened 30/07/21, closing 22/10/21.
Audience protection standards on Video-on-Demand Services: DCMS (link) - opened 31/08/21, closing 26/10/21.
Enterprise Management Incentives: HM Treasury (link) - opened 03/03/21.
Next week in Parliament
On Monday the Joint Committee on the Draft Online Safety Bill will take oral evidence.
On Thursday we have oral questions for DCMS (woohoo!).
What I've been reading and listening to
Mike Isaac: Super Pumped
John Carreyrou: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
My recent work
Taso Advisory is hiring
We're hiring again at Taso Advisory. We're looking for someone to join the team in a senior role. They'll have a real expertise in and passion for tech policy. They'll have the chance to participate in and help to shape our rapid growth. Is that you? Or do you know someone? More details are here.
Future of tech policy
Taso Advisory hosted an event in Parliament on the future of tech policy. We got to hear from some great speakers and we enjoyed warm white wine and cold red wine, as is tradition. If you'd like to come to the next event we host, just let me know.
If you'd like a conversation about how either Taso Advisory or Greenstone Research can support you, please just get in touch.
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Ben is the managing director of Taso Advisory, a public policy consultancy, and the director of Greenstone Research, a subscription policy research service. Before this, Ben was an adviser to UK government ministers, including two ministers with responsibility for digital and the creative industries.
