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Owen Bennett

@owbennett.bsky.social
472 followers 327 following 249 posts

Now: Independent consultant and Fellow at the Hertie School. Then: Head of International Online Safety at Ofcom; Senior Policy Manager at Mozilla.

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Reposted by Owen Bennett
John Springford @johnspringford.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
My Brexit 10 years on take. The more responsible parts of the media struggled to get useful information to voters, because hypotheticals can't be proved and plausible outcomes had to be modelled. The less responsible parts simply campaiged for Brexit.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
linkedin.com
Canada's proposed Digital Safety Act is a fine example of the 'second mover advantage' in global tech regulation. But the aspect of the law that's most intriguing to me is one which la...
Canada's proposed Digital Safety Act is a fine example of the 'second mover advantage' in global tech regulation. But the aspect of the law that's most intriguing to me is one which lacks any preceden...
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
The Canadian Digital Safety bill is a fine example of 'second-mover advantage' in the tech regulation space. But the provision that's more interesting to me is one that's totally novel: enjoining regulators with companies in the process of determining what good safety looks like.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
I understand why this is newsworthy, but the crucial missing context is that this kind of intervention on tech policy matters has been a standard playbook for US embassies in Europe and globally as far back as the Obama administration. www.thetimes.com/article/cd13...
thetimes.com
White House tells UK: Don’t ban social media for under-16s
The Trump administration criticised plans for Australian-style age restrictions, while tech companies are expected to seek judicial reviews
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
And of course, the fact that OP can express this, that you can comment on it, and that I can respond to you is all predicated on there being online platforms that aren't treated as publishers.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
www.bbc.com/news/live/cr...
bbc.com
Tech firms have three months to stop children seeing or sending explicit content, Starmer says
The government says it will introduce new laws if firms don't act quickly to prevent children from sharing or receiving nude images.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
'For de Souza, the language shouldn't be about "banning the children", but instead "banning the companies"'. The UK gov isn't planning to include an 'off-ramp' for companies whereby they can avoid a ban by offering age-appropriate services. That means it's a ban on companies AND a ban on children
Screenshot from BBC coverage on UK social media ban plans:

Children's Commissioner for England Rachel de Souza says under-16s across the country want to cut down on social media, but "don't know how".

On Monday she told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that "there is a groundswell from everyone that we need to get something done".

The consultation comes as Keir Starmer says "decisive" action is needed for under-16s on social media. For de Souza, the language shouldn't be about "banning the children", but instead "banning the companies".

"The children have done nothing wrong," she told Radio 4. "We are protecting children by not allowing these companies to have access to them."
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The Law Society of Ireland's annual MOOC has provided foundational teaching in the law to over 30,000 people from 115 countries since launching in 2014. I'm delighted to play a part this year. Full details on the programme and how to participate: mooc2026.lawsociety.ie
mooc2026.lawsociety.ie
Home | MOOC 2026
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
I'll be delivering the seminar on the law and policy of harmful 'deepfakes', where we'll cover what deepfakes are, how they can cause harm, and how lawmakers in Ireland, the EU, and beyond have responded.
Owen Bennett, International digital policy expert; former Head of Online Safety Ofcom - AI and the rise of deepfakes
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Know anyone who has burning questions about how law is responding to the confluence of AI and social media? The 2026 instalment of the Law Society of Ireland's free annual Massive Open Online Course kicks off next week, and this year the focus is all things AI and social media law.
This year’s MOOC will provide participants with an insight into the rapidly developing impact and intersection of Social Media, AI and the Law. The course will offer an overview of recent advancements, delving into issues surrounding liability, regulation, privacy and data protection, social media bans, cybercrime and e-commerce. It will also explore the considerable impact on our work environment and daily lives, including digital manipulation and surveillance.  

Expert speakers, lawyers, public figures and academics will review the current state of play, demystify concerns, discuss the potential impact in the coming years, and much more.
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Reposted by Owen Bennett
Simon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
“Ireland is described as “a live cautionary example” of energy demand running ahead of infrastructure, with data centres using electricity equivalent to all urban households combined” Everyone always says how fun it is to be held up as a cautionary tale by the UN www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...
irishtimes.com
Ireland’s data centre strain a ‘cautionary tale’ for rest of world, UN says
Data processing accounts for 21% of Irish electricity use – compared to just 4% in the US and 1% in China
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
I can't find the actual Mann recommendations online (only the HMG response to it) and I am very curious to see if the line-drawing exercise WRT to 'political' symbols is engaged with in the report.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Sigh. I feel for the junior civil servants whose job it will be to write the policy to ban 'political' symbols in the NHS, that somehow captures pro-Palestine badges but doesn't mess with the poppy. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
NHS to curb political symbols on uniforms after antisemitism report
Government-ordered review reveals ‘routine ostracism’ of Jewish staff and patients in health service
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
TBF how many Champions League and La Liga titles does Andy Burnham have? #levels #aura
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Reposted by Owen Bennett
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
This episode of "Today" desperately needs a historian of policing, to explain why things like anti-racism training were introduced in the first place. This wasn't some departure from a world in which the police treated everyone the same. It was an attempt to bring that world fractionally closer.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
The course lives on @hutko.bsky.social's Platform Regulation Academy, alongside the existing courses on the EU Digital Services Act. www.platform.courses/osa-mini If this course doesn't give you what you need on UK online safety, reach out for more 🫡
platform.courses
The UK OSA Mini Course
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
📢 Calling all UK online safety practitioners and enthusiasts I've created a free two-part introductory course on the UK Online Safety Act, as a starting point for lawyers, public affairs practitioners, or frankly anyone who wants to learn the fundamentals of the OSA and its implementation by Ofcom.
A screenshot of the course overview and what is covered in the two parts of the mini-course. The overview can be read on the course website: https://www.platform.courses/osa-mini
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
in addition to refusing to open documents, its web app version will routinely partake in DDOS attacks on public digital infrastructure in support of its striking human agent.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
I would like to see news publishers establish a standard practice whereby the outside law firms that enable this kind of lawfare are named in the articles (and not solely their clients).
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
There's lots of great CPDP content on LinkedIn, but that platform just isn't designed for the conference micro-blogging immersive experience.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
And finally, when it comes to children's online experience, there remains a politically unsustainable gap between what the law promised and what children are actually experiencing.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
3) The regulator - to the extent that an independent and impartial agency can under UK convention - has thrown its weight behind a new wave of government action against social media services.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
2) Ofcom is eager to stress that Snap has made a voluntary safety commitment to the UK regulator that the company - as of now - isn't offering anywhere else in the world. That's a bad look for the company and will undoubtedly create tension for them elsewhere.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
1) The companies have voluntarily agreed to share off-cycle risk assessments with the regulator before implementing product changes. This is a direct response to the Grok/X scandal, wherein the regulator was blindsided by the company's product roadmap in its supervisory engagement.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
🔔Ofcom has this morning published a update on its regulatory engagement with large tech companies on child protection. www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet... Three stand-outs for me ⤵️
ofcom.org.uk
Tech firms commit to stronger anti-grooming measures in response to Ofcom demands
Children in the UK will be better protected from harm as some of the largest and most popular sites and apps agree to introduce significant new anti-grooming measures in response to Ofcom’s public cal...
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
I look forward to the day when Harvard Business School whiz kids write the history of Sonos' *two* catastrophic attempts at building a functioning mobile app.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
As necessary as it is, I don't see any pathway for Labour to deliver a dramatic EU reset this side of a general election. The party got elected on a manifesto that allows for only the most tentative of resets. Either it breaks the manifesto in a radical way, or it owns the catastrophic error.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
He doesn't track back, he doesn't press the opposition defenders, but by jolly, he sure knows how to skewer the fash 🫡
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Expect a surge in integration requests to the stopNCII reporting tool.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Companies at risk of NCII in the UK will now need to deploy dedicated hash-matching technology to remain in compliance with the Online Safety Act, under an update to Ofcom's codes of practice announced today. ofcom.cmail20.com/t/i-l-zhuykkt-iiulklydjk-i/
ofcom.cmail20.com
Platforms should use detection technology to stop spread of illegal intimate images online, under strengthened Ofcom Codes
Platforms should use detection technology to stop spread of illegal intimate images online, under strengthened Ofcom Codes.
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Reposted by Owen Bennett
Jonathan Jones @sirjjkc.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
The European Partnership Bill in the King’s Speech isn’t quite what I expected. It’s said the Bill will contain powers to implement treaties with the EU once agreed. Earlier reports suggested a form of “dynamic alignment” which would allow gov to follow EU rules even with no treaty. Will wait & see
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Reposted by Owen Bennett
Sandra Wachter @swachter.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Come & work with me at the Hasso Plattner Institute & Prof @bmittelstadt.bsky.social & @cruss.bsky.social @oii.ox.ac.uk I am looking for a post doc on the governance of emergent tech. jobs.plattnerfoundation.org/HPI/job/Pots... Application deadline is June 18, 2026
jobs.plattnerfoundation.org
Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/x) in Technology and Regulation
Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/x) in Technology and Regulation
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
I spoke to MLex about the limits of the OSA/DSA, and why lawmakers in the EU and UK will sooner or later opt to confront GenAI chatbots as a discrete object of regulation, separate from the existing online safety rulebooks. www.mlex.com/mlex/data-pr...
mlex.com
X’s Grok deepfakes scandal has seen limber lawmaking eclipse regulatory response | MLex | Specialist news and analysis on legal risk and regulation
The scandal of X's Grok producing millions of sexualized deepfakes led to multiple probes early this year. None has concluded yet, though Brazil’s privacy regulator expects preliminary findings by Jun...
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
I’m generally of the view that the EU and UK’s online safety rulebooks are sufficiently flexible to respond to the ever-evolving commercial, technological, and social factors that drive online safety risks. But GenAI chatbots and their emerging risks to children might prove an exception.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Perhaps because I 'want' it to be true, I found this piece by @mijrahman.bsky.social on Europe's emerging geopolitical consciousness to be a great read. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Yes, Europe’s leaders are finally standing up to Trump. Here’s why | Mujtaba Rahman
Friedrich Merz’s criticism of the US president was not a solo run. It was born of the realisation that US leverage has slipped, says political analyst Mujtaba Rahman
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Significant change at the top of Ireland's online safety regulator, with Commissioner Niamh Hodnett stepping down after three years in the role. Given she's been running the public sector equivalent of a high-octane start-up, that's a good innings. www.gov.ie/en/departmen...
gov.ie
Minister O’Donovan appoints Niamh Hodnett as a Commissioner to ComReg
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
My go-to on days like today:
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
According to MLex, the European Commission Pres has signalled that an EU-level social media ban could be proposed as early as this summer. If Brussels goes down that route, London will have little choice but to follow suit, irrespective of domestic sentiment. www.linkedin.com/posts/sara-b...
linkedin.com
❗The EU is edging closer to introducing a minimum age for social media, aka a social media ban. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that Brussels could present a legal… | ...
❗The EU is edging closer to introducing a minimum age for social media, aka a social media ban. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that Brussels could present a legal pro...
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Good thread on this from @nvondarza.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/nvon...
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Much of the media commentary in the build-up to Starmer's last-chance speech focused on this 'Britain at the heart of Europe' line. But now that we know it doesn't imply a review of the government's self-sabotaging negotiating 'red lines' vis-à-vis the EU, it shouldn't be taken seriously.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
It's unusual for an arms-length-body to publish something of such political interest while Parliament is in recess.🤔
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
The post-GFC austerity experiment and what it did for the social fabric gives Brexit a good run for its money in terms of the causal factors that shall not be named in the Discourse.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
gardencourtchambers.co.uk/garden-court... Background to the contempt of court proceedings (which can only be reported on as of this week) here: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Barrister in Palestine Action trial facing contempt of court proceedings
Rajiv Menon KC accused of defying judge’s orders to not inform jury of right to acquit on basis of conscience
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
'We are extremely concerned about the chilling effect on the Bar of the state seeking to criminalise barristers for their representation of their clients'. Strong statement from Garden Court Chambers, as one of their barristers faces contempt of court proceedings WRT a Palestine Action case.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
It is these powers and what they mean for end-to-end encrypted services that has caused so much international controversy around the Online Safety Act.
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
A major and often forgotten features of the UK Online Safety Act is that it empowers Ofcom to direct companies to deploy advanced tech to identify and suppress CSAM and terrorist content. The regulator has today set out its views on how that tech should work www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
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Reposted by Owen Bennett
The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Given the limited powers of local authorities and the constraints on financing and on doing anything, a majority is something one would perhaps wish on one's political opponents. It is almost impossible for a majority to do well in charge of a local authority nowadays, only grades of doing badly.
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Reposted by Owen Bennett
Liz Carolan @lizcarolan.com · 08/05/2026
Crucial point by John Curtis on BBC - Councils flipping from Labour to Reform are because Labour are losing **to the left**, & Cons to Reform Chasing Reform failed Labour; they lost the base & didn’t convince many on the right (Failed Tories too) Watch everyone learn the wrong lesson anyway
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Owen Bennett @owbennett.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Another great policy job, this time at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. Focus is broader than tech, mind. www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...
iccl.ie
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