Policy & Research
Digital communications
Digital downsides
We asked Ctrl-Shift to to carry out a research project on the internet and new technologies which have made powerful new approaches to consumer empowerment possible.
Most observers would probably say that, on balance, these new technologies have brought significant benefits to consumers. However, these benefits are not unqualified. There are real and potential downsides too – and that is what this project focuses on. The aim of this research is to build an inventory and a publicly accessible database of all the potential consumer risks and downsides of the emerging digital age.
Armed with a broad perspective and understanding of what these downsides are, consumers and consumer bodies like Consumer Focus will have greater ability to proactively work to head off or avoid potential these downsides before they do too much damage or become too entrenched in the system.
Get involved
There’s something here to interest everyone with a stake in digital policy or strategy development. This isn’t the final Report (PDF 465KB) or Word version (1.1MB) and we’d like as many people as possible to have their say on the issues around digital downsides. We’re bringing together content using the tag #digitaldownsides – please use that if you choose to join the debate.
