Lords inquiry into online platforms hears about data and 'disrupted' industry
Should internet users be reimbursed for their data? Has consent on cookies been an effective move? Are small online businesses at the mercy of online giants? Can competition law ever redress this ‘imbalance of power'?
These are some of the questions which the House of Lords EU Internal Market Sub-Committee investigating online platforms will explore next week.
On Wednesday 2 December the Committee will look at areas including consent-based data protection, user control over data, and regulating standards of data use, as well as the impact of large online platforms on smaller businesses and the role of competition law.
At 4.15 pm the Committee will focus on so-called ‘disrupted industry' and hear from the following:
- Ms Ufi Ibrahim, British Hospitality Association
- Tim Godfray, Booksellers Association
- Carolyn Jameson, Skyscanner
- Kostas Rossoglou, Yelp!
Then at 5.15pm the session will turn to the issue of trust and transparency with data, and hear from:
- Michael Ross, chief scientist at Dynamic Action
- Josh Smith, software developer and researcher, Demos
- David Alexander, chief executive of personal data storage company, MyDex Cic
- Steve Wood, Information Commissioner's Office.
Then on Thursday 3 December, at 2.05pm, the inquiry will take evidence from Vice-President of the Commission, Andrus Ansip. He is also the European Commissioner for the Digital Single Market.
He will be asked about issues such as the Digital Single Market Strategy, competition, consumer data protection, and regulation of platforms.
The first evidence sessions will take place from 4.15pm on Wednesday 2 December and the second at 2.05pm on Thursday 3 December in Committee Room 4a of the House of Lords.
