A presentation by Victoria Nash (Oxford Internet Institute). This event is part of the Digital Governance Research Colloquium hosted by the Centre for Digital Governance.
Governments around the world are wrestling with the challenge of how to protect citizens from the most egregious harms of social media without disrupting their many social, political and economic benefits. The UK government has spent the past five years developing and consulting on wide-ranging and ambitious legislation, culminating on the Online Safety Bill, presented to Parliament in autumn 2021. Although the scrutiny and passage of this legislation may yet halt given the change of Prime Minister, critical analysis of the proposed legislation is still valuable insofar as it provides a blue-print for other governments.
In this presentation of work in progress, Victoria Nash will present an initial analysis of the normative goals and practical feasibility of the proposed legislation in relation to the protection of children. This research builds on analysis of previous iterations of the Bill undertaken for an earlier publication (Revise and resubmit: reviewing the 2019 Online Harms White Paper. Journal of Media Law. 11 (1) 18-27). Colloquium attendees will be encouraged to use their experience of German and EU policies to reflect on and discuss the broader underlying rationales for regulation of social media, and the challenge of developing policy tools that offer proportionate and effective interventions.
Victoria Nash is the Director of the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at the University of Oxford, where she is also an Associate Professor and Senior Policy Fellow. Her research draws on her background as a political theorist, focusing on normative questions of Internet governance and regulation, with a particular focus on policies relating to children and young people. Recent research has included an analysis of age verification policies as a tool for balancing the interests of children and adults online, and an examination of the data risks posed to children by connected toys and the Internet of Things. She holds several digital policy advisory roles, including membership of the UK Government’s multi-stakeholder UK Council on Internet Safety (UKCIS) Evidence Group, and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety. She is frequently called on to give expert evidence in UK and EU policy consultations on broader issues such as platform governance and Internet regulation.
Registration is required for this event. Registered participants will receive the link to this online event on the day of the event.
