Prof. Orla Lynskey, of the London School of Economics is speaking in Dublin today on ‘Recasting Private Power: Tech Giants as Digital Utilities’.

Society currently faces an unfolding era of technological revolution not unlike changes linked to the industrial age. Each day, citizens become more and more aware of threats to their digital privacy. Thanks to their strategic position at the interface between individuals and content and service providers, digital intermediaries have a monopoly, or quasi-monopoly, over information flows.

Prof. Lynskey discusses how digital intermediaries, seen as the new powerbrokers in the online sphere, could potentially be reclassified as public utilities, given their influence on most areas of human activity ranging from shopping to voting preferences.

She discusses the issue with Paul Williams on Newstalk Breakfast.

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