Lecture from Bill Mew (OS 1986)
On Wednesday 23 November Bill Mew (OS 1986), one of the world’s top campaigners for digital ethics, delivered a thought-provoking workshop on ‘Social Media regulation and holding Big Tech to account’ to Sixth Form students and a fascinating evening presentation on ‘Cybersecurity resilience and risks – from geopolitical rivalry to cyber warfare’.
Bill’s main focus was on striking the right balance between meaningful protection (cybersecurity, privacy, digital ethics) and the maximisation of economic and social value (AI, cloud, digital transformation, innovation).
The workshop addressed questions such as why data privacy matters and whether big businesses and Big Tech are above the law. Bill’s real-world experience and success at bringing cases against Facebook to the European high court (a case that may soon see Facebook banned in Europe) and insight into a ‘Bond Villains plan for mass surveillance’ were contemporary and interesting.
The evening presentation outlined a very real new kind of Cold War – a new geopolitical front line both in trade and war. The insight he provided into the activities of cyber criminals and some state actors was both compelling and unnerving.
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