Silicon Valley lobbyist launches UK office as regulation threat grows
The Internet Association, an organisation which lobbies on behalf of Facebook, Google and Amazon, is launching its first UK office, in the latest sign of Big Tech's growing concern over Britain's tougher stance on regulation.
The office, located in St James' Park near Westminster, is currently home to just two staff, and is being headed up by Daniel Dyball, who previously handled policy and regulatory affairs at both Channel 4 and National Lottery owner Camelot.
Mr Dyball said: "We know that there are legitimate concerns with how the internet is used, and as an industry we have a critical responsibility to engage in this debate in the UK.
"We look forward to working closely with Government and other stakeholders to both address these concerns and also enable the internet economy to thrive."
The Internet Association, which has an office in Washington and represents around 40 different companies, said it would be urging the Government to "ensure that any further online regulation is principles-based, sector neutral, and proportionate".
"We see the debates playing out in the UK and we want to be part of that," Mr Dyball said. "The number one priority at the moment is to engage and get out there."
It is thought talks for an office opening began last year, in preparation for the UK leaving the European Union in 2019.
News that the body is launching in the UK comes just weeks after The Daily Telegraph revealed some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley had doubled their numbers of in-house lobbyists over the past two years.
Employee data from Facebook, Google and Amazon revealed that, together, they now had around 50 people whose job it was to influence policy.
There have been a number of high-profile hires in recent months, such as Sir Nick Clegg, who has joined as one of the most senior lobbyists at Facebook, and Theo Bertram, the former advisor to Tony Blair, who Google hired as its public policy manager for Europe.
Companies are not required to provide details of how much they are spending on lobbying in the UK, unlike in the US where rules are more stringent, although calls have been mounting for further oversight on activities to influence policy.
The UK, in particular, has been pushing forward on regulation of tech companies, having late last month announced it would be introducing a digital services tax, structured to ensure the biggest internet companies, and not startups, were "shouldering the burden".
The Information Commissioner's Office, meanwhile, is currently conducting the largest data privacy probe of its kind, looking into how data analytics was used in political campaigning. It has handed Facebook a £500,000 fine, the maximum possible, for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
