Of all the issues that have driven the “techlash” over the past decade, online safety and content moderation have proven the most emotive and durable, but also contested. This is not surprising given that they raise fundamental questions for modern democracies – how news and opinion should be distributed, shared and consumed; how governments, political parties and candidates communicate with their electorates; what, if any, qualifications should be applied to freedom of expression online; and how to protect children and young adults when content, experiences and activities are easily accessible and seemingly limitless.
The second Trump administration has transformed the online safety policy agenda. The strident views of the President and the Vice-President have elevated online safety and content moderation policy to the top of transatlantic relations. Online safety is no longer a domestic policy agenda - any decision in Europe for further legislation or enforcement will now be taken in the knowledge that it could prompt the ire and potential retaliation of the Trump administration.
Our global team has a strong track record helping clients across different sectors to analyse, assess and engage with how tensions could play out and where we can anticipate further legislative reform and enforcement action in the coming years.
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Understand and track
Understand the drivers of emerging technology regulatory initiatives and what policymakers are trying to achieve.
Track the political and policy debates in the US, EU, UK and other major policy centres which shape the form and likely impact of regulatory frameworks.
Understand the interplay between competing national and regional legal frameworks, as well as initiatives at an international level to collaborate and coordinate.
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Assess and prioritise
Prioritise the key markets for compliance and regulatory development for your business.
Assess opportunities and risks around evolving policy frameworks and develop strategies to respond to them in those key markets.
Assess opportunities for engaging with multilateral or plurilateral policymaking bodies to influence the establishment of global online safety regulation before they are adopted at national or regional level.
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Contribute and engage
Engage constructively with policymakers on policy design questions for emerging national, regional and international online safety developments.
Contribute and deploy data points and illustrative use cases to inform government policy development with regards to private sector deployment of online safety standards.
Contribute expertise and technical insights to shape the establishment of policies such as content moderation, age assurance and data protection.
Global Expertise
Our people
The global tech policy team are specialists with regulatory and policy expertise across sectors and markets. They translate their experience from government, trade departments, politics, think tanks, international organizations, and business to advise clients at all levels, including C-Suites, boards, and government/public affairs and operational teams.
First name
Conan
D'Arcy
Conan advises clients on a range of policy challenges including global AI regulation, competition, investment frameworks in telecoms markets, employment policy and the ‘gig economy’, data protection, and cybersecurity legislation.
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Chris
Levy
Chris leads our research and insight function, playing a vital role in further developing our data-driven approach and supplementing the strategic advice we provide across practices and geographies.
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Megan
Stagman
Megan works with tech clients to help shape their policy and market strategy across a range of issues in the UK and EU including AI, digital competition, public sector digitisation and future mobility.
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Adriana
Capparelli
Adriana has a wealth of experience in EU digital policy, and leads on tech clients with an interest in EU policy and regulation.
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Ana
Gradinaru
Ana advises global technology companies on emerging EU policies on platform regulation, AI, online safety, and on augmented and virtual reality.
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Josh
Bates
Josh advises clients on a range of UK and EU policy areas, including online safety, data efficiency, video games, and telecoms, generating detailed briefs, preparing select committee appearances, and creating effective engagement strategies.
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Fergus
Cameron Watt
Fergus advises clients on public sector technology adoption, health policy, AI regulation and legislative matters.
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Natasha
Dixon
Natasha monitors and analyses key political and regulatory changes in UK politics to support clients' understanding of how these factors impact their businesses.