31 March 2025

Centre for Digital Rights

Non-profit
Research
Ongoing

The Regulatory Capture Lab

Regulatory Capture Lab is a collaboration between the Centre for Digital Rights and FRIENDS. Research support was provided by students from McMaster University’s Master of Public Policy in Digital Society program.

The Regulatory Capture Lab is building a clear, research-informed picture of how decision-making works in Canada, to document the crossover between public offices and corporate interests, and to stimulate debate about power and influence in Canadian digital policy. The Lab’s initial focus is on the influence of foreign Big Tech on Canadian public policy through mechanisms like “academic capture” and the “revolving door” of employment between the federal government and the private sector.

 

Visit regulatorycapturelab.ca

2022Globe and Mail
article:

Big Tech’s support for Canadian universities risks compromising the integrity of research and scholarship. McMaster University’s Vass Bednar outlines “academic capture” and its consequences. Read here

2022Postmedia Network
article:

New research from the Regulatory Capture Lab exposes the “revolving doors” between staff in private and public sectors that can leave consumers vulnerable to regulatory capture. Read here