Lord Puttnam

Lord Puttnam: We need regulation to curb data capitalism

Lord Puttnam (Credit: RTS/Paul Hampartsoumian)

In a high-concept, passionate RTS lecture, illustrated by film clips and quotes from such 20th century giants as John Maynard Keynes and Bob Dylan, Puttnam mounted a passionate case for media regulation to curb the excesses of “data capitalism.”

“Tech monopolies (Google, Amazon, Facebook) are taking over the internet. A pernicious form of corporatism could, under the wrong set of circumstances, replace democracy as we have known and enjoyed it,” he said.

It was “nonsense” that these companies were too big to regulate.  

Ed Vaizey unveils two new facilities at the National Film and Television School

The Channel 4 Rose building at the NFTS (Credit: Rob Parish)

The two buildings were opened by Former Minister of State for Digital and Culture at the DCMS, the Rt Hon Ed Vaizey MP at a special event attended by leading figures from across the film TV and games industries.

The Channel 4 Rose building - named after the late Senior Commissioning Editor for Fiction, David Rose - and the Sky Studios at the NFTS, are part of a £20 million development of the School, and boasts a 4k Digital Content studio, a second cinema, and around 20 000 square feet of teaching space.