The Telegraph - Starmer cosies up to ‘big tech’ in his desperate search for growth

Europe director Max von Thun criticizes the Labour Party's approach to the digital economy, arguing that instead of creating a robust plan to regulate and shape it, they appear to be aligning too closely with big tech monopolies, effectively granting these corporations more control and influence.

Appearing on stage at the UK International Investment Summit alongside Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google, Sir Keir Starmer made it clear to industry that Britain was open for business.

The Prime Minister promised to “make sure that every regulator in this country, especially our economic and competition regulators, takes growth as seriously as this room does”. The words would have been music to the tech industry’s ears.

The appearance next to Schmidt was more than just a gesture. Since coming to power, Labour has appointed “big tech” insiders to key advisory positions; it has signalled it favours a data centre building blitz; and suggested it may take a more laissez-faire attitude towards artificial intelligence (AI). One former government adviser has described relations as “cosy”. 

Yet these friendly overtures have raised eyebrows in some quarters after clashes between successive Conservative regimes and the tech sector.

 They fear the tech industry will run rings around an inexperienced government, winning concessions around AI, social media harms and other contentious areas. “It is naivety more than anything else,” the former adviser says. 

High on the agenda are potential changes to copyright rules that would allow US tech giants to “train” their AI algorithms using UK intellectual property.

Previous talks between the tech sector and the music industry ended in a stalemate, and the Conservatives backed away from making any immediate changes earlier this year.

Last month, Feryal Clark, the AI minister, said the Government was seeking a “way forward” before the end of the year.

A consultation is now expected in the coming weeks that one industry source said would lay out “a roadmap to a final decision”.

This has raised fears among the creative industries that Labour is willing to sacrifice Britain’s powerhouse industry for an uncertain AI future.

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