Blog
Big tech’s duty of care
Lawyers and doctors have to act in their clients’ best interests. What if Facebook and Google had to do the same?

By
Duncan McCann
03 August 2021

Imagine that you have a serious and embarrassing medical condition, or need financial or legal help to extricate yourself from bankruptcy, or help with a painful divorce. You go and visit your doctor, financial advisor or lawyer, where you explain your problem in detail to get advice and help. Now imagine you later realise that this had not been a private conversation with

Blog
Risk but no return
The government puts billions into research and development – so why doesn’t it own a stake in the results?

By
Duncan McCann
05 July 2021

2021 is already looking like a big year for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in the UK, with £5.6bn already raised in the first quarter of 2021 – the biggest sum since before the financial crisis in 2008. During an IPO, companies ​‘go public’ by selling their shares on the stock exchange. This means they can raise money by selling new shares to the public. IPOs are also an opportunity for founders and early

Publications
I‑spy
The billion-dollar business of surveillance advertising to kids

By
Duncan McCann
18 May 2021

Download the report

Today, one in three internet users is a child, but they are using a digital environment that was not designed with them in mind. Unless we take active measures to limit it, our everyday activity on the Web, as well as that of our children, is recorded and tracked. Large multinational companies buy and sell this data to build detailed profiles that are used to target advertising.