The new Government must implement stronger provisions of the Online Safety Act

With the new government’s expansion of the scope and size of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, there is a real opportunity to accelerate the digital transformation of public services.

Bringing together officials from the Government Digital Service, the Incubator for AI, and the Central Digital Data Office under one Departmental roof ensures that it will be much better equipped to enable digital transformation in key areas, including justice, education and healthcare. The appointment of Lord Vallance as Science Minister is a real coup which testifies to the willingness of the new government to use external expertise.

With this refreshed structure, the Department should be boosted too in its efforts to deliver the government’s growth through innovation agenda, announced in the King’s Speech. A renewed approach to opening what can be a blocked pipeline all the way from R&D to commercialisation is welcome, and early commitments to modernising public sector procurement services will help start-ups and SMEs to drive public sector innovation and better public services.

At the same time, the Department should also focus on establishing transparent frameworks of standards which include ethical principles for the adoption of AI systems in the public sector. We must ensure that citizens have the ability to assert their rights as public sector adoption of tech ramps up, including on aspects such as live facial recognition.

As regards the development and adoption of AI more generally I hope that the reference to AI regulation in the King’s Speech, but failure to announce a bill, is only a timing issue and we will see at least a draft bill shortly. With AI technologies continuing to develop at an exponential rate, clarity on regulation is needed by developers and adopters. There is no doubt we need to seize the opportunities of AI, whilst making sure we mitigate its risks. We also need to establish very clearly that Generative AI systems need a licence to ingest copyright material for training purposes and that there is an obligation of transparency in the use of data sets and original content.

As well as adopting a new approach to a variety of policy areas, this new government has the opportunity to redefine relations with the key institutions driving R&D and tech commercialisation. In particular universities which, despite their position as an invaluable engine of research and growth, have been under constant criticism from the previous regime.

The education system as a whole is crucial to wider tech objectives, considering the massive upskilling agenda that is needed in the face of technology advances. Government objectives to boost vocational training and apprenticeships are highly welcome in laying the foundations for greater digital skills and literacy across the UK but we must also see a strong commitment to developing Lifelong Learning.

The inclusion of a new Digital Information and Smart Data Bill in the King’s Speech is potentially encouraging provided it no longer aims for significant divergence from the EU GDPR and the watering down of data subject rights. The retention and enhancement of public trust in data use is key in allowing the potential of data sharing to be unleashed.  It is important that we do more to educate the public about how and where our data is used and how it can be shared for public benefit.

The recognition of the importance of cybersecurity in the King’s Speech was also a positive given the increasing frequency and severity of cyber-attacks affecting critical sectors. The dominance of the UK tech sector by a handful of oversized companies, particularly in Cloud services, presents serious concern too for our nation’s security and resilience.

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is therefore potentially welcome, and I hope to see the inclusion of the long-awaited amendment of the Computer Misuse Act to include a statutory public interest defence. This has been called for by the Cyber Up Campaign and would allow white hat research into computer systems as the Vallance report recommended.

Whilst ambition has been shown by the new government on tech, there is certainly more work to be done.

The recent disturbances across the country highlight the dangers that can be whipped up by online misinformation and disinformation, and have put the provisions of the Online Safety Act under the spotlight.

Whilst we need to see how the current provisions play out when the Act comes fully into force stronger provisions should certainly be considered as part of the proposed review of its operation. The government should consider suggestions for Ofcom to develop a mandatory code of practice which obliges platforms to proportionately reduce misinformation and disinformation as well as the mandatory verification of identity on social media, so platforms know the identity of all their users without removing anonymity. Regulation of deepfakes is already overdue.

Current issues certainly remind us of the challenges of balancing regulation and innovation where the new government needs to ensure they achieve balance moving forward and indeed ensure they reinforce each other. The increased capacity and broader mission of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology is however a positive development, and the tech world will watch with interest as they attempt to balance new regulation with allowing the UK tech sector to continue thriving as one of the world’s best.