AI and emerging technologies.  Big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are transforming many areas of the economy and society, while presenting novel ethical questions to business, politicians and society at large.  As both a major developer and user of these technologies, RELX can bring expertise and experience to the developing policy debate. 

Critical to the safety of AI systems and their outputs is accuracy and reliability of the content on which the systems are trained. Curating content for quality and trustworthiness has been core to our product development over many years. 

We advocate building on existing regulatory principles and a sector-based approach to ensure responsible use of AI. A context-driven and sectoral approach, whereby individual regulators are responsible for mitigating identified risks, is the most appropriate way of regulating AI. This should be supported by strong regulator cooperation and underpinned by cross-sectoral principles set by central government.

Recently, we launched two services powered by generative AI: Lexis+AI, a legal research, summarisation and drafting tool trained on the largest repository of accurate and exclusive legal documents and records, and designed to imrove efficiency and profitability of the legal sector; and Scopus AI, a search model, based upon the world’s largest database of curated scientific literature, which enables researchers to find research papers and synthesizes the findings of decades of research into digestible summaries in seconds.  In the legal and scientific fields especially, efficient delivery of high-quality, trustworthy information and analytical insights is key to advancing knowledge, innovation, the rule of law, and safety.  This is particularly true in the current era where misinformation, and its attendant global risks, are on the rise.  

Intellectual Property.  Copyright provides the legal and economic underpinning to the success of the knowledge and creative economies. It also provides an incentive to invest in and develop the curated information and content that will power the application of safe AI. RELX supports a robust and flexible copyright system which fosters collaboration, rewards authors and incentivises investors.

Open science.  The dissemination, sharing and discovery of research has clear benefits for the development of human knowledge in every area.  RELX supports, invests in and actively contributes to a sustainable global open science framework.

In the UK, our Elsevier business has an agreement with the university sector to support researchers who want to publish on an open access basis.

Elsevier publishes more than 2,800 journals and 600,000 academic articles a year. In total, 224 of the 225 science and economics Nobel Prize winners since 2000 have published with Elsevier.

Elsevier’s service SciVal is used by 19 of the 24 Russell Group universities to provide insights into the research performance of over 22,000 institutions. Also there is Scopus, an expertly curated abstract and citation database with content from over 27,000 journals to help researchers track and explore global knowledge. It is used by about 5,000 universities worldwide and some 1,000 corporations, including GSK, 3i Group, IBM and Boeing.

Anti-money laundering. Tackling anti-money laundering is a key part of the global battle against organised crime and terrorism.  RELX plays a critical role in helping the financial services sector identify and cut off sources of illicit funds.  We believe a successful global policy regime needs to be transparent and based around common international standards.

Tackling fraud requires the full involvement of the private sector, but the complexity of the UK’s data protection regime results in companies not using data that would increase the effectiveness of measures to protect citizens from identity theft and fraud.  We support a data protection law which specifically allow the processing personal data when detecting, investigating or preventing crime.

Promoting financial inclusion.  Banks are more inclined to take on customers for whom they have a strong credit history and record.  LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ rich data assets are a powerful tool for improving financial inclusion, potentially helping to lower the number of people who lack access to affordable financial services in the UK. A RELX survey suggested that almost 80 per cent of the 7.1m people currently without a credit rating could be effectively risk-rated using alternative data to traditional, backward-looking credit scores – from vehicle listings and utility bills to education levels and job stability. This ability to measure risk better makes lower-cost credit more accessible for consumers while lowering costs for financial services companies.

Promoting innovation. The UK’s tax incentives, such as R&D tax credits and Patent Box, work well supporting innovation activity in traditional R&D-intensive industries like life sciences, engineering and manufacturing.  However, they are much less effective in encouraging innovation in the data-driven industry. Other countries, such as The Netherlands, have responded by reforming tax incentives to promote investment in innovation in this area. Policy: Introduce Dutch-style innovation incentives – wage tax subsidies combined with a new Innovation Box. These mechanisms would offer upfront certainty to firms that they will receive tax incentives in return for making upfront commitments about investment in innovation activity and related job creation.

Trade Shows. RELX’s RX business operates 400 shows across 23 different sectors in 22 countries. Every year it puts on the biggest trade shows in the UK, including World Travel Market (WTM), which boasts the participation of nearly 200 countries and more than 35,000 travel professionals, in an area the size of five football pitches at ExCel London. RX’s free to attend Big Data London show is the UK’s leading data, analytics and AI conference, while the London Book Fair draws more than 25,000 publishing professionals from around the globe each year. In 2022, over 4.1m people participated in 254 events across 22 countries. Many of these shows, such as London Book Fair, World Travel Market are held in the UK and bring thousands of exhibitors and delegates to the doorstep of British companies, especially small and medium enterprises.  Using data analytics expertise RX can help businesses identify new opportunities and make the most efficient use of their time at trade events.

International Trade.  As a global business operating in over 180 countries RELX supports the development of trade between all nations.  We are active in our support for a range of international and multi-lateral bodies, such as the UN, World Trade Organisation and bilateral arrangements like the US-EU Trade and Technology Council.

Data Flows.  RELX’s business is built on the responsible collection, usage and curation of data – and often of personal data.  We believe the responsible use of data and analytics provides immeasurable benefit to society and is one of the great societal advances of the last several decades. RELX is considered a leader in data privacy best practices. We proactively take into account privacy concerns in designing our products, regularly works with established privacy advocacy groups, federal and state legislators and other interested parties. We always operates within relevant legal, regulatory, ethical and best practice frameworks.

We believe there should be mechanisms to enable cross-border data flows. Many countries have enacted rules that restrict the free flow of data, making it harder to prevent national and transnational crime. Trade agreements should protect the movement of data, subject to reasonable safeguards such as the protection of sensitive data when exported.

We also have concerns about data localization requirements. Companies rely on cloud computing to deliver internet-based products and services reliably and cost effectively. Companies should not be required to build physical infrastructure and maintain expensive data centres in every country they seek to serve. Such requirements add unnecessary costs and burdens on providers and customers alike and undermine data services focused on anti-money laundering, sanctions compliance and anti-fraud.

We believe there should continue to be a recognition at the WTO of the need to prohibit customs duties on digital products. This will ensure that customs duties do not impede the flow of information, data, research works, music, video, software, and games for the benefit of authors, creators, artists, and entrepreneurs.

Corporate responsibility.  Our unique contributions to society are at the heart of our business. When we scale our expertise and knowledge, we make a significant impact in critical areas linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): universal, sustainable access to information; protection of society and reduced inequalities; advancement of science and health; the rule of law and justice; and support for communities.

Medical research and education.  The Lancet, headquartered in London, is the world’s most widely-cited public health journal and in 2023 celebrates its 200th anniversary. Other influential journals such as those published by Cell Press – whose advisory board members and authors have won Nobel Prizes for the past three years – fortify RELX’s reputation as one of world’s largest publishers in the field, as well as offering valuable insights to the scientific research community.

Elsevier launched the world’s first female anatomy model, in a major step forward for the medical profession. Since ancient Greece, students have almost exclusively learned about white male bodies; the female anatomy model will help educate the next generation better and address gender inequalities in healthcare.

Clinical Education.  Elsevier ensures that higher learning institutions and educators are well equipped with the latest information, learning technology and assessment tools to effectively guide students in becoming leading health science experts and caregivers.  By ensuring the widespread use of digitally-delivered standardised clinical guidelines and procedures at the point of care, the unwarranted variation in patient care that leads to many adverse events and inefficiencies can be reduced.

COVID-19.  From the very beginning of the crisis in January 2020 each area of the RELX business shared free insights and resources to support our people, our customers and society, for example, Elsevier moved to make relevant research papers freely available through its COVID Information Centre.  The ability to provide these services for free at a time of crisis is only possible because of the sustainable long-term business models underpinning our markets.

Rule of Law.  LexisNexis is also helping advance the rule of law around the world through its Rule of Law Foundation. It helps institutions from the legal, judicial, academic and NGO sectors support projects that defend principles such as equal treatment under the law, transparency of the law, access to legal remedy and independent judiciaries.

One way it is doing this is through its work with the International Bar Association to bring war criminals to justice with the help of the eyeWitness to Atrocities app, which enables the authentication of images of war crimes. More than 60,000 photos and videos have been received so far and 53+ dossiers submitted to different investigative bodies around the world.  

In the seven months following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, eyeWitness to Atrocities app users uploaded almost 20,000 photos, videos, and audio recordings relating to the deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine.  Evidence of human rights violations is submitted to the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine for further investigation.