Lord David Puttnam and Dr. Kate Dommett guest to discuss the work on the British House of Lords select committee “Democracy and Digital Technologies.”

The committee seeks to investigate the pros and cons of digital technologies around six key areas: transparency in political campaigns; privacy and anonymity; misinformation; the effects of digital technology on public discourse; how technology can facilitate democracy; and the development of effective digital literacy. 

We discuss the motivations behind forming the committee, the status of the inquiry so far, as well as get into a broader discussion about policy recommendations for the potential regulation of digital and social media companies in the UK and elsewhere in the European Union. 

For links mentioned during the episode, check out: 

The website of the committee, and follow their latest updates on Twitter @HLDemoDigital. 

Dr. Dommett’s study “Data-driven Political Campaigns in Practice” in Internet Policy Review.