We don’t need no digital authority

A group of regulators has said “thanks, but no thanks” to the suggestion of having a new regulator on the block.

Back in 2019, a parliamentary committee suggested setting up a new Digital Authority to assess regulation online and coordinate other regulators involved in the digital world.

Since then the FCA has teamed up with the CMA, ICO and Ofcom to create a new supergroup known as the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum. Unsurprisingly, in evidence to the committee published today, the DRCF reckons it can do this regulatory coordination job just fine, pointing out that adding a new overarching regulatory body would duplicate resource, reduce clarity and increase coordination challenges.

The DRCF’s statement also includes an outline of its workplan for next year. One point to note is that it has set up an “algorithmic processing workstream” aiming to draw together its members’ work on AI to produce a coherent AI audit and assessment framework. The DRCF plans to release some papers next year setting out its understanding on the harms and benefits of AI and the future of AI regulation. It will be interesting to see how this joins up with the Office for AI’s work on regulating AI...