UK will lose influence over development of Digital Single Market with Brexit

Waste of an opportunity to shape key EU policies, claims Business Innovation and Skills committee

The UK will lose its influence over the shape and policies that will underpin the nascent Digital Single Market in the European Union as a result of Brexit, according to the House of Commons' Business, Innovation and Skills Committee.

The second report of the 2016-2017 session on the digital economy by the Committee has spelled out what it regards as the waste of an opportunity to assert digital leadership.

Specifically, the report talks about the European Commission's 2015 legislative proposals aimed at implementing the Digital Single Market strategy.

This is intended to provide a foundation by which digital services would be more easily portable across the EU, enabling the same access to digital content in France, for example, as in the UK.

The policy outlines three general areas: better online access to digital goods and services; an environment where digital networks and services can prosper; and digital as a driver for growth.

"The decision to leave the EU risks undermining the UK's dominance in this policy area. We could have led on the Digital Single Market, but instead we will have to follow," claimed the report.

It continues: "The government must address this situation to stop investor confidence further draining away [as] firms relocate to other countries in Europe to take advantage of the Digital Single Market."

The report added that the government should be negotiating on behalf of film, television and travelling content "in reference to portability" in order to protect British interests during Brexit negotiations and after the UK formally leaves the European Union.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe, minister of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, as well as minister for intellectual property, said that the consumer benefits of a single digital market are "extremely important" and that the media industry will need strong backing to maintain the ability to sell rights in different countries.

Neville-Rolfe was interviewed for the report, which admitted that the specific implications of the European Digital Single Market are beyond the remit of its findings. However, it reiterated the need for the government to make sure that UK business can still access the single market in the EU when it finally arrives.