A House of Lords Select Committee is
using evidence provided by Northumbria Law School and the University of Cumbria to help shape policies to
regulate the Internet.
In a newly published Parliamentary
report entitled: Regulating the Digital
World the House of Lords Select
Committee on Communications cites evidence submitted by Northumbria and Cumbria 18 different times. Led by Dr Guido Noto La Diega from Northumbria and Ann Thanaraj from the University of Cumbria, academics made the submission
following a call by the Select Committee for evidence on how regulation of the
Internet should be improved, and whether online platforms have sufficient
accountability and transparency. It also sought to explore if adequate
processes are in place to moderate content effectively.
A collaborative
response was prepared as part of The
Northumbria Internet and Society Research Interest Group (NINSO) – a
multi-disciplinary team of researchers at the University analysing the impact
of the Internet and related technologies on society. Key themes highlighted by
NINSO to be addressed by any reform included effective user education, the
power imbalance between the platform and the user, as well as the insufficiency
of an approach to compliance centred on long and opaque Terms & Conditions
that nobody reads, let alone understands.
Dr Guido Noto La
Diega, senior lecturer at Northumbria Law School and co-convenor of NINSO,
said: “Regulating a technology like the Internet, which has such a
multi-layered and prevalent influence on society, is a significant challenge.
Our NINSO research group includes lawyers, economists, business
scholars, social scientists, architects, computer scientists, engineers and
students – so we can provide a genuine holistic approach to these difficulties
and come up with clear recommendations. In this case, using our research, we
were able to take an evidence-based approach and
advise a response tailored appropriately to the size and resources of any
online platform as well as the context of the situation. The House of Lords
Select Committee, in recommending the ‘development of a comprehensive and
holistic strategy for regulation’ has clearly taken these into consideration, which is extremely
encouraging. We trust that this evidence-based and holistic approach will
inform the Digital Authority, a new body whose creation has commendably
recommended by the House of Lords.”
Professor John
Wilson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Business and Law, added: “To be
cited no fewer than 18 times in this House of Lords report reflects the
strength and depth of our research and the impact it can have on an issue that
affect and resonate with the whole of society. It is a tremendous achievement
that positions Northumbria as leading institution for research.”
