Trolling, conspiracy theories, racist algorithms, cyberwarfare – every day our headlines are ablaze with negative stories about the internet. The problem? The unaccountable power of the big tech companies. 

That’s the view of bestselling author and barrister Jamie Susskind, who has been acclaimed for his groundbreaking work by the likes of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The problem, he believes, is not just the fault of a few bad apples at the top of the industry but the result of our failure to govern technology properly, a failure derived from decades of muddled ideas and wishful thinking. 

In June 2022 Susskind came to Intelligence Squared to discuss the themes of his new book The Digital Republic and to set out his vision of a different type of society in which humans can take power back and reshape the digital world into a space where we can all flourish. With his rare understanding of both law and technology, he set out a roadmap for new legal standards, new public bodies and institutions, new duties on platforms, new rights and regulators, and new codes of conduct for people in the tech industry.

Praise for Jamie Susskind’s The Digital Republic:

‘The Digital Republic is as innovative in its ideas as it is sharp with its analysis, offering an important contribution to the future of technology regulation while bridging the gap between changemakers and policymakers’ – Tony Blair

‘Original and hopeful, The Digital Republic provides a unique guide to the great challenges of the digital age‘ – Anne Applebaum

‘Lucid and persuasive‘ – Niall Ferguson

‘In the shadow of algorithmic discrimination, Big Tech’s overarching power, and menacing cyberwarfare, Susskind offers an alternative, enticing and convincing in equal parts: digital republicanism. I am sold. Read this book.’ –  Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, co-author of Big Data and Framers