European commissioner for competition, Denmark/Brussels
"When it comes to our general approach to online platforms, we concluded that 'one-size-fits-all' was not appropriate, if consumers were going to benefit from the opportunities, and if the rules were going to meet the different challenges posed by the very diverse types of online platforms.
So before taking any decision we will look into each area where we can act, from telecoms to copyright rules, to address any specific problems in a future-proof way for all market players. Individual customers and the economy as a whole have a lot to gain from a single market in Europe. Also a digital single market."
Hacker and activist, UK
"This question tacitly assumes some benevolent state enacting legislation, and that 'we' are involved in this in some participatory and not meaningless manner. Leaving this aside, we might want to enable the exercise of more transparent and fair negotiating when making use of connectivity, processing and data. We might want to empower users to take a more active and participatory role in deciding how media platforms evolve and how algorithms make decisions that affect our ability to be informed. Perhaps there should be no giants in the first place..."
Director, Digital Futures Project, The Wilson Centre, US
"The danger with regulations is that governments tend to be reactive and slow to regulate. A smart regulatory process should target areas of concern without being protectionist or interventionist. And it should involve a transparent, collaborative and multi-stakeholder, multi-nation approach. A positive example - though yet to be proven - is the European Parliament's response to Bitcoin. But the globalisation dynamic begs an important question: can individual governments effectively regulate alone?"
Executive director, Adam Smith Institute, UK
"Most regulation that digital policy activists want ends up hurting internet users. So, on behalf of the 99 per cent: please don't try to protect us. Net neutrality takes away the option for users to opt for lower-priority traffic use and antitrust laws are usually badly applied. The US government's crusade against Microsoft was a grandstanding waste of money. The EU's anti-Android lawsuit, which could stop Google from pre-installing its apps, will make Android worse. How should we regulate the tech giants? Not at all."
Lawyer and legal technology evangelist, Mycase, US
"Governments often seek access to information collected by tech companies. And what's more, the number of requests has increased year after year. Many laws on this were drafted in the 80s and fail to reflect the realities of 21st-century data collection. Private citizens share data with companies without comprehending the implications - especially given the legal loopholes that allow governmental actors nearly unrestricted access. Laws should be amended to protect citizens and set limits on governmental access."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
