Platform Leaders June 2025

WELCOME TALK

Introducing Platform Leaders.

KEYNOTE: THE MISINFORMATION MACHINE – SOCIAL MEDIA, FAKE NEWS, AND THE FUTURE OF TRUTH

Misinformation and fake news have emerged as defining challenges of our era, capable of shaping public opinion, influencing elections, and impacting public health. In this insightful keynote, Professor Marshall Van Alstyne, co-author of Platform Revolution and a leading expert on platform economics, will address why existing regulatory and legal frameworks for social media struggle to address misinformation effectively. Drawing from his latest research, Marshall will propose a unique and innovative set of interventions designed to empower users and reduce negative externalities such as misinformation, hate speech, and illegal content on social media.

How can shifting central control from social media networks to users enhance the integrity of online discourse? What are "listener rights," and how can the concept of a "marketplace of filters" enable users to better control their exposure to content? What insights can we gain from recent experiments and regulatory approaches designed to manage misinformation through user-driven decentralised solutions? What practical steps should policymakers, platform leaders and users take to build healthier, more transparent social networks and digital communities?

REGULATING FOR GROWTH

The UK is at a pivotal moment in shaping the regulatory landscape for digital markets. With the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) coming into force, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is adopting a new, more proactive approach to overseeing major digital platforms. This includes its four P framework—Pace, Predictability, Proportionality, and Process—aimed at ensuring that regulatory interventions support competition, innovation, and economic growth while protecting consumers.

How will this new regime encourage investment and innovation with ensuring fair competition? And what does this mean for the UK’s position in global digital markets, especially in relation to regulatory approaches in other countries? How to ensure interventions contribute to economic growth?

AI DISRUPTION AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR BUSINESS: THE CASE OF SERVICE MARKETPLACES

AI is reshaping the landscape of service marketplaces—redefining user experience, personalising offerings, optimising matchmaking, and streamlining operations at scale. Yet, AI's impact isn't uniformly positive; in some instances, it has the power to disintermediate entire markets, creating significant disruption. This panel will explore real-world use cases and provide actionable insights on harnessing AI to boost efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive marketplace growth. Additionally, it will address the critical challenges and risks posed by AI, particularly the potential disintermediation of platform participants.

What are the primary opportunities and risks presented by AI? How should marketplaces prepare for, respond to, or pivot when AI threatens to desintermediate one side of their platform?

CONFERENCE WRAP UP

Closing remarks and key insights from the event by our conference co-chair.