Government, Google and Microsoft face Lords committee
Monday 10 May
Culture and Digital minister Caroline Dinenage will face questions tomorrow (Tuesday 11 May from 3.00 p.m.) when the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee continues its inquiry into freedom of expression online.
The committee will quiz Google and Microsoft too about search engines.
Likely questions for Caroline Dinenage include:
- When will the Digital Markets Unit be given statutory powers?
- What plans does the Government have to promote digital citizenship through education and awareness-raising, both among children and adults?
- The Government has said that the Online Safety Bill will contain “robust protections for journalistic content”. From what does the Government think journalists need to be protected?
- Is the Government concerned that the proposed global reach of the Online Safety Bill will lead to some smaller companies blocking access to their platforms from the UK?
Likely questions (from 4.00 p.m.) for Katie O’Donovan, Google’s UK Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy, and Becky Foreman, Microsoft’s UK Corporate Affairs Director, include:
- How does your business model shape the design of your search algorithms?
- Should there be mandatory bargaining between publishers and platforms?
- What are the best means of promoting digital citizenship among adults?
The session will be live on Parliament TV.
