It’s been a busy year in tech policy in the UK and EU, with rapid technological developments and the ticking of the electoral clock in both territories accelerating an already fast moving political and regulatory environment.

So with the summer recess upon us, we thought it was the perfect time to take stock of what’s happened in both territories to help you get on top of the tech policy agenda.

George Osborn, Director of Policy Communications at Taso Advisory, caught up with Mia Bartoloni and Simone Casadei Pastorino to discuss the headline developments in both the UK and EU this year (1:27), how each territory has tackled AI, competition and online safety (07:00) and what to keep an eye out for when recess is over (21:14).

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Need help shaping the tech policy environment in the UK or the EU? Email [email protected] for more information.

Tech policy has become front page news, with topics such as AI, online safety and even encryption rising up the media agenda.

But why has it become central to the news debate? And what does that mean for businesses trying to influence the political agenda through the press?In this month’s Taso Tech Talks, George Osborn, Director of Policy Communications at Taso Advisory, chats to Matt Honeycombe-Foster, UK News Editor at Politico, and Shona Ghosh, Deputy Executive Editor at Insider’s UK Bureau to get their thoughts on tech policy’s ascendancy in the media.

Listen to the show to discover how Matt and Shona’s publications are handling tech policy news (01:28), their thoughts on why it is increasingly dominating the news debate (06:00), how its increasing prominence is changing the way it is covered (09:28) and their top tips (and pet peeves) for successfully pitching tech policy stories to press (18:01).

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Enjoying Taso Tech Talks? Subscribe to the show to get new episodes every month. Or, if you’re already subscribed, leave us a positive review to help more people discover the show.

You can also keep up with Taso Advisory by subscribing to our newsletter or by following us on social media through the links below.

Twitter - www.twitter.com/tasoadvisory

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Need help shaping the tech policy environment in the UK, the EU or Ireland? Email [email protected] for more information.

Artificial intelligence has leapt up the news and business agenda, with regulators increasingly interested in getting to grips with its revolutionary technologies. But what approach is the UK planning to take with its AI White Paper and what will this mean for business?Mia Bartoloni, Policy Manager at Taso Advisory, was joined by Camilla De Coverly Veale, Policy Director at Coadec, and Guillaume Bouchard, Founder and Director of Checkstep, to discuss the topic in detail.They chatted about the state of the AI ecosystem in the UK today (02:33), the details of the UK Government’s AI White Paper in (04:50), the extent to which concerns over safety could drive regulation of AI (08:20) and what businesses are hoping to see from regulators in regards to artificial intelligence in the years ahead. (14:22)

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Enjoying Taso Tech Talks? Subscribe to the show to get new episodes every month or, if you’re already subscribed, leave us a positive review to help more people discover us.

You can also keep up with Taso Advisory using the links below.

Twitter - www.twitter.com/tasoadvisory

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Newsletter - http://eepurl.com/ilFC09

Need help shaping the tech policy environment in the UK, the EU or Ireland? Email [email protected] for more information.

The European Union is cementing its position as the global centre of digital and tech policy, shaping the regulatory environment for business across the world. But why has the EU embraced this role and what does this mean for companies navigating the landscape?

Simone Casadei Pastorino, Director at Taso Advisory, spoke to Jillian Mertsch, Senior Director of Government Affairs at Qualcomm, and Kai Zenner, Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for MEP Axel Voss, to find out.

They talked about where the EU draws its mandate for tech policy from (2:00), where it sits within the geopolitical landscape in the world of digital regulation (08:28), the areas of tech policy that the EU is keen to shape in the year ahead (18:47) and how next year’s election could shape tech regulation across the continent (24:57).

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Enjoying Taso Tech Talks? Subscribe to the show to get new episodes every month. Or, if you’re already subscribed, leave us a positive review to help more people discover the show.

You can also keep up with Taso Advisory by subscribing to our newsletter or by following us on social media through the links below.

Twitter - www.twitter.com/tasoadvisory

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/taso-advisory/

Newsletter - http://eepurl.com/ilFC09

Need help shaping the tech policy environment in the UK, the EU or Ireland? Email [email protected] for more information.

Mia Bartoloni, Policy Manager at Taso Advisory, caught up with Chantal Swainston, Senior PR manager at Wise and Founder of The Heard, and Dani Dhiman, Policy Manager at TechUK, to discuss what it means to be a woman in tech and tech policy in time for International Women’s Day. 

They discussed how they joined the world of tech and tech policy (1:45), the challenges facing women in tech generally (4:42) and specifically within tech policy (9:32) and what can be done to overcome those challenges to level the playing field (13:54). 

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Lulu Freemont, a Director at Taso Advisory, is joined by Vicki Shotbolt, CEO of Parent Zone, and Harry Eccles-Williams, Managing Associate at Mishcon de Reya, to discuss the Online Safety Bill, its impact, and what it should and should not cover.

They cover the history and ambition of the Online Safety Bill (1:45), the impact the Bill will have on adults using the internet (2:55), the impact of the Online Safety Bill for young people (5:00), the Bill's approach to user empowerment and age verification (7:25), how we can ensure that children and young people still experience the benefits of the internet (8:30), whether age-gating of services will become widespread (10:47), how the Bill may impact freedom of expression (12:50), and a quick fire round of OSB or NoSB testing the need for the Bill to deal with specific issues (15:47).

Ben Greenstone, Managing Director at Taso Advisory, and Matt Peake, Global Director of Public Policy at Onfido, discuss the purpose of the policy function in scaleups, and how to make the business see the value of the function.

They cover off the role of a scaleup policy team (1:35), what you need to give the business as a policy professional (2:40), carving out a policy team's internal reputation (3:19), bringing policy insights to product development (5:39), advising the exec team (6:30), balancing the speed of the business with the speed of government (7:11), the differences between large businesses, scaleups and public sector jobs (10:50), bringing on consultants to support your public policy programme (14:50), the "so what" test (17:30), using trade associations (17:50).

Recorded on 19/01/2023.

This podcast is produced with Front Ear

Lulu Freemont, Director at Taso Advisory, and Rt Hon Baroness Morgan, former DCMS Secretary of State and Chair of the Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Committee, discuss online fraud, the Committee's report, and what the Government, regulators and companies can do to protect consumers.

They discuss what the Committee covered and how they gathered evidence (1:51), how we should define fraud to best solve it (3:53), the impact of fraud and the patterns and journey of a fraudster (6:25), the practical solutions available to tackle fraud and the work that is ongoing (8:35), the Online Safety Bill and fraud provisions (9:59), the importance of public-private collaboration (11:00), the need to avoid siloed solutions (12:15), the "fraud chain" (13:05), which one recommendation Baroness Morgan wants the Government to take forward (16:10), and what's next now the Committee's report has been published (18:20).

This podcast is produced with Front Ear

Ben Greenstone, Managing Director at Taso Advisory, Margot James, Chair at Taso Advisory, and Joel Gladwin, Director at Taso Advisory, explore what the UK's new Prime Minister and his team mean for tech policy and tech companies.

They cover off the Government and Prime Minister's general view on tech (1:50), potential tensions between the Prime Minister and his Cabinet (5:03), potential changes to the Online Safety Bill (5:50), deals that might be done between the Government and opposition (8:10), reforms to both data protection and digital competition (9:25), whether the Digital Markets Unit will be in force before the end of this Parliament (11:10), data protection and trade deals (12:25), and the future of crypto and web3 under Rishi Sunak (13:05). 

Recorded on 1/11/2022.

This podcast is produced with Front Ear

Ben Greenstone, Managing Director of Taso Advisory, and Saskia King, Legal Director at Bird & Bird, explore the UK's efforts to create a new regulatory regime for digital markets and the tech companies operating in them.

They cover off an overview of the proposed approach (1:35), the enforcement tools available to the new regulator (4:00), where the UK is now compared to the EU (5:10), what the current political turmoil (6:05) and a possible election (8:15) means for the proposals, the role of the Digital Markets Unit currently (9:13), the increasing activism of the CMA in tech (10:10) and the role of other UK regulators in tech regulation (12:17). 

Recorded on 12/10/2022.

This podcast is produced with Front Ear