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TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

Andrei Radu

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Sep 9, 2024
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Squires Patton Boggs’ vacation scheme question is just ‘Please argue whether you are for or against stricter regulation of social media. (300 words max)’ I am not sure how I am to approach this and what is the best structure to use.


Would really appreciate any guidance.
I think the point of this question is to see if you can concisely and clearly present a cogent argument on a current business topic. I do not believe there is a clear "right" or "wrong" way of going about this, as the structure it is advisable to use will depend a lot on the content. That said, off the top of my head I would go for the following approach:
  1. Paragraph 1 (100-150 words): I would state the background and explain the rough outlines of the views of the two main camps in the current social media regulation debate in the UK. In this context, I would briefly outline the changes brought about by the new Online Safety Act 2023 in regards to age and ID verification of users, censorship of "harmful" topics, and increased fines for online platform operators.
  2. Paragraph 2: (100-150 words): I would present my view as to which side has the stronger argument. Here, to have a nuanced argument and not simply only stating your side's points, I would try to address/acknowledge the valid factors brought up by the opposition, but explain why my side's points should be given more weigh and overall win out in an overall cost-benefit analysis. To inform your view, a particular story you may want to read about is Wikipedia vs UK Government, where the two sides took part in this debate before the High Court in a case the could result in Wikipedia being removed from the UK.
 
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