The world's biggest tech companies now shape what we see, think and do online every day - raising big questions about who really holds the balance of power between them and national governments.

The previous government proposed banning social media for under-16s, a policy Andy Burnham has also backed. But is that enough? As Burnham sets out his agenda, what should he prioritise in his first 100 days to protect children online, strengthen the UK's digital independence and make powerful tech companies more accountable?

In this special deep-dive from the Policy Fix, Nesta's policy podcast, Nesta CEO Ravi Gurumurthy sits down with some of the country’s leading experts on policy and government. Rather than just rehearsing the problems facing Burnham, they stress-test the big ideas that should shape his agenda, discuss the policy solutions he should actually pursue and map out the steps he should take to get started in his first 100 days.

In this episode, Ravi is joined by filmmaker, politician and leading voice on children’s rights in the digital environment, Baroness Beeban Kidron OBE, to unpack the steps Andy Burnham should take to decisively reclaim public control from Silicon Valley.

Taking a wider view than proposed responses like social media bans or regulating AI, Beeban argues the real challenge is the growing power of a handful of tech companies. She explains why governments should hold platforms responsible for harmful and addictive products, not just the content they host.

The conversation also explores the risks of powerful AI, why the UK should make better use of trusted public data from organisations like the NHS and the BBC and how Britain can build digital technology that serves the public interest instead of corporate profit.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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Baroness Beeban Kidron OBE

Baroness Beeban Kidron is a member of the UK’s House of Lords and a former film director. She is a leading voice on children’s rights in the digital environment and a global authority on digital regulation. She has played a central role in establishing standards for online safety and privacy across the world.

Baroness Kidron sits as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. She is the Honorary President, founder and former Chair of the 5Rights Foundation, a Visiting Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics, where she chairs the Digital Futures for Children research centre, and a member of the Lancet Psychiatry’s Commission on Global Action on Problematic Usage of the Internet. She holds several roles at the University of Oxford, including as an advisor to the Institute for Ethics in AI, a Fellow at Jesus College, and as a Visiting Fellow to the Department of Computer Science. Until 2024, she was an expert consultant to the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence.

Before she became a peer, Baroness Kidron was an award-winning film director. She co-founded the charity Filmclub (now Into Film) in 2006, and was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2012.

Users, which is Baroness Kidron’s first book, recalling her work on digital rights and setting out her proposals for a brighter technological future, was published in June 2026.

Ravi Gurumurthy, group chief executive officer, Nesta

Ravi Gurumurthy is group chief executive officer, joining Nesta as chief executive in December 2019. Nesta’s mission is to design, test and scale solutions to society's biggest challenges, from sustainability and health to educational inequality.

Ravi also leads the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), often known as the ‘Nudge Unit’. BIT has grown from a small team in No 10 Downing Street to a 250-person global social purpose consultancy and a subsidiary of Nesta.

Prior to joining Nesta, Ravi co-founded and led the Airbel Innovation Lab at the International Rescue Committee. He was responsible for designing new products and services for people affected by crises in over 40 countries.

Ravi worked in the UK government from 1999 to 2013. He was an adviser and speechwriter to Foreign Secretary David Miliband, leading the creation of Every Child Matters and the Children Act 2004, and the world’s first legally binding climate legislation.

Ravi has held a number of non-executive roles, including lead non-executive director for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.