(West Bromwich East)
(Lab): I thank the Secretary of State for that
answer. I know he is new to his brief, but I was hoping that his
Front-Bench team could provide more reassurance on the protection
of voters and consumers, and show more interest in protecting the
music industry and local newspapers. The problem seems to be that
the Government as a whole are either unwilling or unable to deal
with the market dominance of the big tech giants. The Opposition
believe that these companies are running rings around
Governments, legislators and regulators. There is no better
example of that than Mark Zuckerberg’s cowardly refusal to appear
before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
Even Rupert Murdoch did that. Does the
Secretary of State agree that the time is now right for a new
single, powerful regulator to take on the big tech giants and
redress this huge imbalance of market power?
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media
and Sport (Jeremy Wright): Well, the other
aspect that the hon. Gentleman has not mentioned but about
which I know he shares my concern is the range of online
harms, on which we can realistically expect more assistance
from the tech companies than we currently get. We need to
think about a whole range of areas. The truth is that the
tech economy has changed dramatically, as has the online
companies’ power. The hon. Gentleman will understand that I
want to make sure that whatever the actions this Government
and this country take, they are properly thought through.
That is for two reasons: first, they will be substantially
attacked, and the hon. Gentleman knows that; and secondly,
I very much hope that they will be an example to the world,
and that will be so only if we have thought them through
properly and designed them carefully, so that they are
robust under scrutiny. He has my reassurance that that is
exactly the process with which I intend to engage.
