The policy debate about the safety of children online has rolled on for many years, for much of that time focused on parental control, education and industry self-regulation. Finally, however, technology has enabled regulators to add to their policy arsenal the tool that was really needed – reliable age verification. It is this that underpins the social media ban for under 16s now coming into force in Australia. How this plays out is the subject of a great deal of interest around the world, especially in Europe. In their article. ‘The rise and rise of online age assurance’, Robert Macdougall, Nick Evans and Giulia De Bernardi assess the age assurance measures being introduced across Europe, including age verification requirements. Is this the first case of technology catching up with regulation?
Many of you will agree with the point Stephen Unger draws attention to in his piece, ‘European regulators can set our innovators free’. He compares the competition-promoting regulation of the past with the ‘intrusive’ interventions we have seen more recently, many of which ignore previous regulatory principles.
Every year we are proud to present the winners of our annual IIC Future Leaders Competition. This year’s subject was media plurality, a regularly debated issue at IIC events. In his excellent winning essay, ‘The algorithm’s grip: how digital gatekeepers are reshaping media pluralism’, Sarvjeet Pal makes the point that the concern now is less about the diversity of sources and more about the diversity of choices people make. Solutions, as always, are harder to identify, but Sarvjeet’s idea of ‘algorithmic pluralism’ is an interesting one.
We had an outstanding Communications Policy and Regulation Week in Bogotá in October. Holding the IIC’s flagship event for the first time in Colombia is more evidence of the IIC’s expanding reach. And the theme continues into next year, with a programme that includes Digital Communications and Media Forums in Bucharest and Sydney as well as an inaugural IIC Africa Chapter meeting. We’re delighted to be holding next year’s Communications Policy and Regulation Week in Bahrain. I hope you managed to participate in our events this year and we look forward to you joining us in 2026.
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