Insights

This week on Top in Tech, Conan D'Arcy speaks to Guy Parker, Chief Executive of the Advertising Standards Authority, the UK regulator of advertising in media. They discuss recent questions around advertising in the technology sector, Parker's long career regulating the sector, and the policy questions raised by new advertising technology. 

2022 has popularised a new German word in international politics: Zeitenwende, an “epochal tectonic shift”, emanating from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Europe’s increased awareness of economic exposure to authoritarian regimes has coincided with the emergence of new, China-critical voices in European capitals, such as the Greens in Germany, which have…

As the world’s largest grain-importing region in the world, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has felt acutely the impact of the Ukraine conflict’s disruption to global food production and exports. The MENA is an agro-ecologically diverse region, ranging from the Gulf, where there are no permanent rivers or lakes and minimal rainfall, to Egypt and Iraq, where river…

Associate Director Jens Presthus is joined by Senior Practice Director Thomas Gratowski to discuss China's remarkable reversals regarding covid policy.

The ‘metaverse’ term was coined thirty years ago, and until recently was part science fiction, part speculation. But with Facebook’s rebranding as Meta last year, an increasing consumer acceptance of virtual interactions post-Covid, and a steady uptick of interest from new sectors (ranging from retail to public services), the metaverse suddenly seems very real. Against…

This week saw the third meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) take place in the United States. What was discussed by the negotiators, and how significant is what was announced? 

Beata Stepantchenko, Giulia Pasquali, and Varsha Shankar explore new proposals in the US, EU, and UK that seek to combat forced labour and the associated implications for business.

This week, over 15,000 delegates, including environment ministers from around the world and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be attending the Conference on Biological Diversity (CBD) or ‘COP15’ which is being hosted in Montreal. Building on the momentum of COP27 (the climate COP) which saw progress towards agreements to halt especially deforestation, COP15 is…

Despite years of lobbying for awareness and action, recognition of the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is still lagging compared to its urgency. For example, a recent survey across 27 European countries showed that public awareness stood at just 30%. With 700,000 deaths every year attributed to AMR and expected to rise to 10 million by 2050, what practical…

Reversing the environmental damage and imbalances that have become accepted as structural features of our economic system requires transformational, not marginal, solutions.

Welcome back to the Global Month Ahead, our monthly podcast looking at the stories that will define the month to come.

Today on the podcast, Conan D'Arcy talks to Elizabeth Denham, the former UK Information Commissioner at the ICO and current International Adviser at Baker McKenzie. They talk through the past and future of UK data privacy, Elizabeth's time at the ICO, and how the UK policy stance compares to the US and EU.

Following several leader-level summits in Asia, including ASEAN in Cambodia; G20 in Bali, and APEC in Thailand, Asian countries continue to take an increasingly active role in dealing with global challenges and brokering a pathway between US-China competition. What does the future of Summit diplomacy look like from Asia and what did we learn after the first set of in…

This week’s EU energy council comes at an inflection point in the energy crisis. It will be a moment to take stock of progress on short-term challenges:  the new gas storage regulation means underground gas storage is above 95%; demand-side measures for gas and electricity have reduced gas consumption by 15% since August; and LNG supplies hit a new record of 109 bcm…

The ‘metaverse’ term was coined thirty years ago, and until recently was part science fiction, part speculation. But with Facebook’s rebranding as Meta last year, an increasing consumer acceptance of virtual interactions post-Covid, and a steady uptick of interest from new sectors (ranging from retail to public services), the metaverse suddenly seems very real. Against…

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25%, according to research by the World Health Organization. Is there a role for digital technologies in treating and supporting patients with mental health conditions?

The bankruptcy of major cryptocurrency exchange FTX marks a major moment in the ongoing drive to regulate digital assets within the United States, likely dwarfing the impact seen by the collapse of the Terra-Luna ecosystem earlier this year. The concurrent timing of the 2022 midterms blunted the initial reactions from Congress, but with contagion risks still possible and…