Stephanie Peacock MP, Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society, and Youth, gave the opening address. Confirming the government’s commitment to this partnership, she described the new Civil Society Covenant initiative as “an ambitious reset to address challenges by using the unique strengths of civil society.”

In his recent article for Civil Service World, former Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell gives some tips for a successful reset - for example, by supporting policy asks with reliable, politically impartial evidence.

We will also need to identify and quantify civil society’s contribution to the economy. The Pro Bono Economics and the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence’’ report - commissioned by the DCMS - outlines proposals for a civil society satellite account in the UK. This would provide robust, timely data about the economic and employment contribution of civil society, with formal recognition of our contribution in parity with other industries.

Responding for the government, Lord Hunt acknowledged that whilst regulations made under the bill would mostly be in technical areas that are largely reserved, some would touch on devolved competences.

Asked about the interface with common frameworks and this legislation, he believed that products affected by regulations made under the Bill would not fall under existing common frameworks, because they are relatively tight in scope.

The government has agreed to have further discussions on these issues between Committee and Report stage - which is currently scheduled to run until 19 December 2024 (when Parliament rises for recess.)

Find out more about the bill on our website.

New provisions include a regulation-making power to create a framework that would allow researchers to access data relating to online safety held by tech companies. However, the definition of ‘scientific research’ in the bill is broad and could potentially open the door to data reuse and mass data scraping without the public being aware of their data being used in this way.

A range of concerns were raised during second reading debate:

• Overall weakening of data protection which threatens data adequacy.

• The provisions for automated decision-making (ADM), how it is defined, limited rights not to be subject to it, and the increased risk of biased and discriminatory outcomes in ADM systems.

• The proposed design around open banking - which for example, would give landlords access to monitoring the bank accounts of tenants for as long as an open banking approval lasts.

• Regarding the ECHR memorandum attached to the bill, following the enactment of the REUL Act in 2023, the Human Rights Act applies only to state entities and not to private companies.

Lord Clement Jones reminded Peers that on 13 December 2024 he will bring forward his Private Members bill with the aim of providing additional safeguards for ADM in the public sector.

As became apparent during the debate, the current bill maintains much of the approach taken in the DPDI in relation to sharing and use of data across the public and private sectors without the necessary safeguards.

At our webinar in May, we discussed our concerns around the DPDI bill - how it engages key rights and access to justice issues that impact on citizens, particularly those who are vulnerable. Please let us know if you would like a follow up session to consider amendments to the new bill we should be calling for.

However, 47% of UK adults encountering potentially false content online simply move on, even though 90% expressed concerns about its societal impacts.

In the first keynote speech to the conference, Marianna Spring, BBC’s Social Media Investigations Correspondent, shared her experiences covering elections and global events, and about her conversations with young men about the effects of algorithms: It stains your brain: how social media platforms show violence to boys.

The second keynote by Dr Melisa Basol, founder of the Pulse Innovation Lab, explored the potential for “prebunking” as a proactive solution to misinformation.

The final panel brought broadcasters and fact-checking organisations into focus, raising pressing questions about their role in combating misinformation, questioning whether their efforts truly achieve the intended impact.

The day concluded with insights from Ofcom on their media literacy plans for the coming years, emphasising the need for continuous innovation, nuanced strategies and collaboration to meet the evolving challenges of mis- and disinformation.

If you are interested in joining Ofcom’s Advisory Committee on Disinformation and Misinformation you can find out more here.

This is the first edition of the tracker since the new Labour government took office, and there are already signs of a markedly changed approach to managing divergence. The pursuit of active divergence (where the UK moves away from the EU rulebook) has all but dried up, with just one case of active divergence in this tracker having been first initiated by the Labour government. Instead, the new government’s focus has been on delaying existing divergence (five cases) and laying the groundwork for active alignment with EU rules (two cases). The tracker also finds twelve cases of ‘passive’ divergence (where the EU changes its rules and the UK does not follow), as the EU continues to regulate very actively on product and environmental standards, with new standards on vehicle emissions and safety; a new regulation on product safety; new restrictions on PFAS chemicals; and new requirements for airlines to monitor non-CO2 emissions. For a summary of the key points, see Joël Reland’s policy briefing here