Behind this search and policy metric, there are potential hidden costs and often overlooked externalities.
Stating that content regulations directly feed into academic and political research oversimplifies the process, omitting prerequisites and perverse incentives that determine the interest in study.
If a new regulation, such as the French law on media chronology, leads to higher prices or less diverse offerings for consumers, research might then focus on these negative social and economic effects, rather than on the realization of abstract policy.
The link between regulation and research is therefore conditional, depending on the visibility and perceived impact on citizens' lives, not on an automatic transformation.