The emergence of platform regulation in the UK: an empirical-legal study by CREATe

CREATe presents new research: “The emergence of platform regulation in the UK: an empirical-legal study” by Martin Kretschmer, Ula Furgał and Philip Schlesinger. This paper draws on CREATe’s current work on platform regulation within the AHRC Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre (PEC) and provides an empirical mapping of the UK’s regulatory landscape with an assessment of risks and opportunities for the UK creative industries. The research is published simultaneously as a PEC Discussion Paper and Policy Report.

Professor Martin Kretschmer, Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Director of CREATe said: 

“Fake news, cyber attacks, predatory acquisitions. Dangerous things are happening on online platforms. But how do we, as a society, make decisions about undesirable activities and content? UK policy makers hope to delegate tough choices to the platforms themselves, focussing on codes of practice and codes of conduct supervised by regulatory agencies, such as Ofcom (for a new ‘online duty of care’) and competition regulator CMA (through a ‘digital markets unit’). Our new empirical study shows how this approach emerged, and how it compares in a global setting.” 

This high profile research conducted as part of the AHRC Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre (PEC) signals concern that the evolving regulatory structure appears to be blind to the effects of platforms on cultural production and diversity. The role of ranking and recommendation algorithms as cultural gatekeepers still needs to be integrated into the platform policy agenda. 

Professor Philip Schlesinger, Professor in Cultural Theory (Centre for Cultural Policy Research and CREATe), said: 

“Platform regulation is now at the heart of how democracies conduct themselves. It’s also increasingly at the heart of how we manage rules for our digital social connectedness. So understanding how regulation works and the forces that are shaping it have become crucial for everyone. It’s important that the present rush to regulate doesn’t ignore the huge contribution of creative industries to the cultural economy. And since the UK’s multinational diversity has been thrown increasingly into relief by Brexit and the pandemic, how regulatory policy plays out will be of special interest to the devolved administrations.” 

Read the key findings and conclusions of the report on the CREATe blog.