In this episode of Top in Tech, Tom Doherty, Director, is joined by Gosia Szczodrowska and Fergus Cameron Watt, Associate Directors, to unpack the fast-moving technology policy landscape in the first few weeks of 2026. The discussion ranges across AI safety, online harms, and the political dynamics shaping regulation in the UK and the EU, as governments grapple with how to balance economic growth, online safety and geopolitical pressures.

The conversation explores the fallout of the widespread use of X/Grok's AI tool to generate non-consensual intimate images and the balancing act being played in the UK and EU with domestic and international politics. Beyond safety, the episode looks at the rising importance of digital sovereignty, the mounting strain AI is placing on copyright regimes, and why debates around authorship, training data, and enforcement are far from settled.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Top in Tech, Megan Stagman, Director, and Tom Wheeler, Senior Adviser and former US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair, examine how the FCC has emerged as a central actor in US technology as well as national security policy in 2026. They discuss the agency's underpinning remit, and look at how that is evolving to meet new technological needs and priorities.

They explore what the 'Covered List' mean for Chinese technologies in the US, what to expect from spectrum auctions in the coming months, and the extent to which the FCC's deregulation aligns with standard behaviour from successive FCC leaderships (or constitutes a more Trump-ian angle). They also examine the concept of 'public interest' under the FCC, and explores whether there might be more cases like that of Jimmy Kimmel to come.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Top in Tech, Megan Stagman, Director, and Associates Anna Lisa Schäfer-Gehrau and Sarah Shinton, delve into the sharpening geopolitical rift between the US administration and Europe over the course of 2025, and what this means for the tech sector specifically.

They explore the implications of last week's US national security strategy, the EU's recent enforcement cases against American tech companies (and the reaction that this sparked), as well as the growing controversy on issues like digital services taxes. The team also ask the question of what other alliances grow in strategic importance if the Europe-US relationship declines, and what this new world order means for multinational companies trying to navigate competing regulatory regimes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.