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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260504T000000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260504T235959
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
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SUMMARY:PAIRSx Africa 2026: Shaping African AI Through Participatory Governance and Design
DESCRIPTION:In 2025\, the first PAIRSx Africa webinar was held alongside the Global AI Summit on Africa in Rwanda. The session brought together policy experts\, practitioners\, developers\, and academics to advance the practice of participatory AI across Africa. It served as a critical point for defining Africa’s participatory needs and establishing a community capable of formulating a shared vision for policy action. This webinar culminated in an open statement to the Summit Co-Chairs\, urging them to expand the conversation to address key areas that drafters and co-signers felt were insufficiently covered during the April 2025 Summit. These key areas included: Decent AI Jobs for Africa\, Public Engagement and Participation in AI Governance\, and Resourcing Participatory AI Development. \nPAIRSxAfrica @ Rightscon\nThe second iteration of PAIRSxAfrica will be hosted in-person alongside RightsCon in Lusaka\, Zambia\, on 4 May 2026\, under the theme: ‘Shaping African AI Through Participatory Governance and Design’. \nRightsCon is the ideal venue for the first in-person PAIRSxAfrica. Rightscon convenes a rich and experienced global digital rights community. Furthermore\, with “Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies” serving as one of the themes for this year’s conference\, the deliberations at PAIRS can directly inform and elevate discussions during the main event. \nWho is PAIRSxAfrica for?\nThis is a space to advance both Participatory AI scholarship and practice across the African continent. PAIRSxAfrica brings together representatives from civil society\, industry\, and academia who are dedicated to advancing Participatory AI as a method for aligning AI in Africa with public interest needs and outcomes. \nWe aim to highlight existing studies\, evidence\, frameworks\, and toolkits that demonstrate how African communities can directly shape AI governance and development\, and how the concerns of skeptical groups can be leveraged generatively. Additionally\, we seek to identify the research and evidence gaps that must be addressed to further advance participatory AI in Africa. \nWhat Tracks will be explored in 2026?\nBuilding on the work that began in 2025 and on the themes that emerged from webinar in 2025\, PAIRSxAfrica @ Rightscon will focus on advancing the following tracks: \nTrack 1: Moving from Consultative to Participatory AI Governance\nGuiding question: How can AI governance be structured and institutionalised to ensure impacted African communities can meaningfully shape outcomes at national and local as well as global levels? \nWhether at the African Union or within various African countries\, practices referred to as “participatory” are often merely consultations or validation meetings. In these settings\, the public or community members are invited to share opinions on governance decisions that have already been determined in their absence. While this approach seems ‘inclusive’\, it fails to address fundamental challenges such as extractive data practices\, the unequal distribution of benefits and harms\, or the power disparities among participants (such as those between civil society and Big Tech lobbyists). There should not be a presumption of knowledge or understanding of AI use regarding an individual or community. Specifically\, there should be a right to know when AI use affects decisions made in response to an individual or community. \nThis track aims to highlight participatory AI governance that empowers African communities to influence critical decisions regarding how AI is governed – locally\, nationally\, and globally. It seeks to move governance from tokenistic gestures toward meaningful practice. Additionally\, this track will explore “clear avenues to effectively engage the public\, movements\, and civil society organisations in contributing to AI governance\,” as called for in the open statement to the conveners of the 2025 Global AI Summit on Africa. \nTrack 2: Participatory AI Development\nGuiding question: How can those developing\, designing and localising AI systems center the needs of African communities\, without negating their historical and structural contexts? \nThe present day frontier AI models are developed outside of the continent\, giving Africans very little opportunity to shape their technical artifacts or socio-economic impacts. This means more investment is needed to: 1. create datasets that fit the context and use the languages in different African countries\, or 2. build small\, task-specific algorithmic systems that meet the needs of African communities. This track aims to explore design-justice and community-based participatory methodologies that take into account the historical and structural injustices poising over technological design; especially regarding frontier AI models emerging from the US and China that are developed and designed to meet the needs and fit the context of those countries. \nTrack 3: The Political Economy of AI and Participation\nGuiding question: How can community refusal\, contestations and critical engagement reshape AI development and  governance in African countries? \nGiven the disruptiveness of AI\, it is important to consider  how existing forms of contestation and refusal can inform more just and context-sensitive pathways for its adoption. Various African communities; including data workers\, epistemologists\, and ethicists\, have been sounding alarms regarding how AI affects labor practices\, knowledge systems\, and the values underpinning African societies. \nWhile many African communities are facing strenuous economic conditions\, these contestations and refusals of AI should not be dismissed because of a future which promises economic development. Rather\, they should be viewed as the foundation of a negotiation practice that could redirect focus toward alternative AI technologies or governance frameworks. These practices can open space not only for alternative technological trajectories\, but also for the recognition of diverse knowledge systems\, cosmovisions\, and governance traditions that have historically been excluded from dominant AI frameworks. Under this track\, we apply a political economy analysis of AI\, exploring how African values can be incorporated into its development\, deployment\, and management\, while critically analysing the economic motivations guiding adoption of AI. \nFrom this perspective\, Participatory AI does not solely rest on universal ethical principles or rights-based approaches. It must be grounded in the meaningful inclusion of plural epistemologies and community-based governance models\, particularly those of traditional communities.
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/pairsx-africa-2026-shaping-african-ai-through-participatory-governance-and-design/
LOCATION:Raddison Blu Hotel\, Lusaka\, 19029 Great East Rd\, Lusaka\, 10101\, Zambia
CATEGORIES:Conference
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260512T114000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260512T130000
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260413T165856Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T165856Z
UID:515989-1778586000-1778590800@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Rebuilding Belonging in a Digital Age: Teens\, Tech\, & Third Places
DESCRIPTION:Join the Tech Impact and Policy Center on May 12th from 12PM–1PM Pacific for a seminarwith Jennifer Heifferon & Alanna Powers-O’Brien. \nAbout the Seminar: \nAs adolescence becomes increasingly digital\, public discourse tends to focus on screen time\, platform design\, and online harms. Yet alongside these concerns\, a parallel transformation has unfolded: the steady erosion of physical spaces meant for teens. What happens to youth social life when the outside world contracts? This talk argues that the rise of digital adolescence must be understood alongside the decline of third places—low-barrier environments beyond home and school that once supported informal peer culture and autonomy. Drawing on original statewide data from caregiver focus groups and a survey of more than 1\,000 teens\, we examine how young people navigate belonging amid shrinking real-world options. By reframing youth technology use as intertwined with social infrastructure\, this research raises a new policy question: What would it mean to treat third places as essential civic infrastructure for youth in a digital age? \nAbout the Speaker: \nJennifer Heifferon is the Child Well-Being Program Director at the California Partners Project\, where she leads research and cross-sector initiatives focused on youth development in a digital age. Her work examines how technology\, family systems\, and community environments intersect to shape adolescent well-being\, with an emphasis on translating lived experience and empirical research into insights for families\, educators\, and civic decision-makers. Jennifer’s background bridges K–12 education as a teacher\, learning specialist\, and equity leader\, formal training and facilitation in diversity\, equity\, and inclusion\, and ongoing leadership in youth sports coaching. Prior to her work in education\, she worked in digital media as an interactive producer. She holds a BA in Psychology from Stanford University and an MA in Teaching from the University of San Francisco. \nAlanna Powers-O’Brien is the Research Specialist for the Family Online Safety Institute\, managing FOSI’s research projects. She is passionate about creating safer experiences for kids and families online. Alanna has created several resources and managed research projects that focus on informing parents\, educators and other stakeholders about concepts such as digital literacy\, wellbeing and AI. Her prior experiences were in both media and education. Alanna has taught English and communications courses at both the high school and college level\, and concentrated on the subject of media literacy education during her master’s program. Alanna has a master’s degree in Media Studies from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She also holds undergraduate degrees in both Public Relations and English from Penn State University\, and is a Fulbright alumna. \nClick here to learn more and register to attend. \nNote: Event details are listed in PDT (UTC-8).
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/rebuilding-belonging-in-a-digital-age-teens-tech-third-places/
LOCATION:Hybrid
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyber Policy Center | Stanford University":MAILTO:cyber-center@stanford.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Berlin:20260515T000000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Berlin:20260515T235959
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260413T194543Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T194543Z
UID:516012-1778803200-1778889599@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Call for Papers: Measuring Media Use and Effects | Annual Conference of the Methods Division of the German Communication Association (DGPuK)
DESCRIPTION:The increasing availability of digital behavioral data and computational tools has transformed how communication researchers study media use\, exposure\, and effects. These developments offer unprecedented analytical depth – but also introduce new complexities in measurement\, theory-building\, and ethical practice. This year’s conference of the Methods Division invites contributions that advance and critically engage with computational approaches to the measurement of media use and effects – through methodological innovation\, conceptual refinement\, or empirical application. \nWe seek submissions that explore how computational methods can not only extend but also rethink established approaches to studying media exposure\, its drivers\, and its consequences. \nThe deadline for submission is May 15\, 2026. Submissions can be in English or German. \nClick here to learn more.
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/call-for-papers-measuring-media-use-and-effects-annual-conference-of-the-methods-division-of-the-german-communication-association-dgpuk/
CATEGORIES:Call for Paper or Proposal
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260515T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260515T235959
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260413T202505Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T202505Z
UID:516019-1778803200-1778889599@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Conspiracy Theories in the Wake of Disaster | Call for Papers for Edited Volume
DESCRIPTION:In late September\, 2024\, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the continental United States\, churning its way up the Atlantic seaboard. The storm devastated North Carolina with massive rainfall and flooding of towns such as Asheville. All told\, the damage from Helene totaled over 50 billion dollars and the loss of entire communities. But Hurricane Helene inadvertently produced another storm in its wake\, a deluge of conspiracy theories about the “true” cause of the hurricane and about the response from the Federal government. Even as the Biden administration rushed to respond to the destruction\, conspiracy theories began circulating on X.com (formerly Twitter) about Biden ignoring the destruction due to senility\, about the government using the hurricane as a pretext for nefarious deeds\, and\, perhaps most bizarre of all\, about Federal agencies using secret weather technology to steer the hurricane into conservative parts of the country to dampen electoral turnout. Donald Trump\, then candidate for president\, circulated some of these conspiracy theories himself on Truth Social\, claiming that President Biden steered disaster aid to illegal immigrants\, among other lies. (Waldman and Aton\, 2024). The spread of these conspiracy theories forced the Federal Emergency Management Agency\, long a villain in conspiracy theory discourse\, to publish a fact-checking website to deal with public outrage (FEMA.gov). These false claims hindered disaster relief efforts and impacted the 2024 elections as Americans responded in outrage to perceived incompetence by the Biden administration (Gollom\, 2024).\n\nThe story of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath is not new. Conspiracy theories circulate in the wake of disasters because these events are such traumatic and sensational eruptions in media coverage that alternative narratives about their “true” causes are almost inevitable. If disasters are events that render the unthinkable thinkable (Cerulo\, 2006)\, then conspiracy theories twist this revelatory moment into a warped attempt to think about something else. They provide a context for disaster that provides a distorted simulacrum of an explanation of the destruction and death and loss by offering a convenient villain whose shadowy machinations are to blame for the tragic event. They turn what could be explained as an unfortunate but “normal accident” (Perrow\, 1999)\, into proof of nefarious agents. Shifting the focus from the human role in creating and exacerbating disastrous conditions (Erikson\, 1995)\, to a way of blaming a secretive cabal. And because many disasters are caused by human error or negligence or complicated historical trajectories\, conspiracy theories may seem plausible even when they are not. Conspiracism offers a satisfying explanation for the spectacle of destruction\, rooted in narratives about evildoers who cause such pain and anguish (Rice\, 2020). While at the same time providing a comforting assurance that the skeptics\, unlike the supposed experts\, are the ones who know the real explanation for what has happened (Murphy\, 2006; Buhs\, 2009).\n\nSuch conspiracy theories are detrimental because they produce suspicion\, fear\, and anger toward the very agencies responsible for responding to these disasters\, while undermining efforts to understand the decisions that have been made over decades (if not centuries) that generated the risks that eventually turned into disasters. And in the age of social media\, conspiracy theories can circulate with incredible speed and scope\, fueled by recommendation algorithms and the attention economy which ensures that the most sensational content is incentivized (Valaskivi\, 2022; Popken\, 2018). While thinking about worst case scenarios plays an important role in disaster preparedness (Clarke\, 2006; Thomas\, 2021; Wuthnow\, 2010)\, events such as Hurricane Helene demonstrate that today even as organizations like FEMA try to manage crises on the ground they find themselves bogged down combatting conspiracy theories online.\n\nConspiracy Theories in the Wake of Disaster will combine conspiracy theory research with disaster studies to launch a new horizon for research focused on the relationship between disasters and conspiracy\, which we see as an understudied and fruitful area of study. Contributions can include multiple authors from various disciplines and methodological approaches\, including work from sociology\, history\, communications\, philosophy\, information studies\, data science\, and other relevant disciplines\, and we are especially interested in approaches from science and technology studies\, extremism and conspiracism studies\, and disaster studies.\n\nAbstracts of 250-300 words and biographical statements will be due by May 15th\, 2026. Please send materials to both Matthew N. Hannah at matthew.hannah@wisc.edu and Zachary Loeb at zloeb@purdue.edu. While we are still working on identifying a press\, but we are currently in discussion with editors about publishing the book.\n\n\nPossible topics of interest include:\n\nHurricanes\, conspiracism\, and recovery efforts\nWildfire and water/forest management conspiracy theories\nMysterious technologies as cause of disasters\nAnalysis of social media discussions following disaster (Telegram\, X\, Truth Social)\nConspiracy theories about Federal disaster agencies such as FEMA or NOAA\nDisaster preparedness efforts and public conspiracism\nAnthropogenic disasters (Fukushima\, 3-Mile Island) and conspiracy theories\nFalse-flag operations and disasters (September 11)\nThe impact of conspiracism on civil society in the wake of disasters\nGeoengineering and disasters\nClimate change conspiracy theories
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/conspiracy-theories-in-the-wake-of-disaster-call-for-papers-for-edited-volume/
CATEGORIES:Call for Paper or Proposal
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260520T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260520T133000
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260413T163756Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T163857Z
UID:515976-1779278400-1779283800@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Inside the 2026 AI Index Report | Stanford HAI
DESCRIPTION:The AI Index\, currently in its ninth year\, tracks\, collates\, distills\, and visualizes data relating to artificial intelligence. What is changing in the field of AI? Join Stanford HAI’s AI Index Lead Sha Sajadieh for an exclusive look into this trusted source of AI intelligence. \nLearn about the year’s major AI breakthroughs\, changes in the workplace\, policy shifts\, and an evolving public sentiment for this technology. From technical advances to ethical considerations\, education trends to economic impact—get the unbiased\, data-driven insights that executives\, policymakers\, and global researchers rely on. \nClick here to learn more and register to attend online or in-person. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNote: Event details are listed in PST/PDT (UTC-8).
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/inside-the-2026-ai-index-report-stanford-hai/
LOCATION:Hybrid
CATEGORIES:Talk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260521T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260521T235959
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260512T142417Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260512T142518Z
UID:516203-1779321600-1779407999@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Call for Abstracts: The Politics of GenAI Governance
DESCRIPTION:João C. Magalhães (University of Manchester\, UK)\, Klara Matusewicz (University of Manchester\, UK)\, and Robert Gorwa (WZB Berlin Social Science Center\, Germany) are organising a two-day workshop\, The Politics of GenAI Governance\, at MANCEPT 2026 in Manchester\, 2–4 September 2026.\n\nThe workshop treats GenAI governance as a collective and contested political practice — asking which actors\, representing whose interests\, have more or less power and legitimacy to influence the mechanisms whereby GenAI is governed into being\, and who stands to benefit or lose from these processes. Contributions are welcome on topics including the conceptualisation of GenAI governance as a form of power\, its intersections with democracy and authoritarianism\, the political economy of GenAI\, and the democratisation of GenAI governance.\n\nSubmit a 500-word abstract by 21 May 2026 to joao.magalhaes@manchester.ac.uk.
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/the-politics-of-genai-governance/
CATEGORIES:Call for Paper or Proposal
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260526T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Brussels:20260526T113000
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260506T194132Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260506T194132Z
UID:516173-1779789600-1779795000@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:What Digital Futures Do We (Not) Want?
DESCRIPTION:  \n \nDemocracies today face profound challenges\, including the proliferation of fake news and online disinformation\, the rise of digital authoritarianism and digital fascism\, the big tech monopolies of online platforms such as Google\, YouTube\, TikTok\, Instagram\, Amazon\, WhatsApp\, ChatGPT\, etc.\, post-truth and algorithmic politics\, the danger of a new world war\, political polarisation\, the breakdown of the democratic public sphere\, the emotionalisation of politics\, echo chambers\, etc. \nTherefore\, it is an important question how the future of digital society will look\, and how digital democracy can be made resilient against its destruction. Digital futures research helps us to envision what the future of digital society and the Internet can look like and trigger discussions about what digital futures are desirable and undesirable\, how democratic digital futures can be advanced\, and how resilient digital democracy can be achieved. \nIn this online seminar\, INNOVADE’s Paderborn University team will present its research on digital futures conducted in the project. The Paderborn team will outline four scenarios for the future of digital society that together form a white paper on digital futures that uses a realist science fiction methodology. It will also present the methodology and selected results from the Futures of Digital Democracy Survey (FDDS) that was conducted in February and March 2026. The presentations will be followed by a discussion. \nWho should attend?\nThe event offers a forum for reflection and dialogue on urgent questions and will be of interest to: \n\ncitizens interested in how digital technologies change society;\npolicymakers and public officials working on democratic innovation\, digital governance\, or civic engagement;\nresearchers and students in political science\, digital governance\, media and communication studies\, sociology\, computer science\, and related fields;\ncivil society organisations and practitioners seeking to strengthen citizen participation;\ncivic tech developers and innovators designing tools for inclusive democratic practices.\n\nAgenda\n10.00-10.05 Introduction \n10.05-10.15 Kevin Friesch: The Futures of Digital Society: Four Scenarios \n10.15.10.25 Joel Museba: The Futures of Digital Democracy Survey’s Methodology \n10.25-10.45 Christian Fuchs: What Digital Futures\, Digital Society\, and Digital Platforms Do We (Not) Want? The Futures of Digital Democracy Survey (FDDS): Results and Policy Implications \n10.45-11.30 Discussion \n  \nClick here to learn more and register to attend. \nNote: Event details are listed in Central European Summer Time (CEST\, UTC+2). 
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/what-digital-futures-do-we-not-want/
LOCATION:Virtual
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260526T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260526T110000
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260512T160031Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260512T160044Z
UID:516217-1779793200-1779793200@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:AI companion bots as a public health issue: A new framework for regulation
DESCRIPTION:AI companion bots are reshaping how people connect\, confide\, and cope\, with children and adolescents among their most active users. Even as evidence of their potential social and developmental harms grows\, these products face limited regulatory oversight. \nOn May 26\, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings will host a conversation on whether AI companion bots should be governed as a product with public health implications. Gaia Bernstein will discuss findings from a forthcoming policy brief\, “From bans to recalls: A public health framework for AI companion bots.” The conversation will explore the public health risks of AI companion bots\, particularly for children; why existing regulatory frameworks may fall short; how tools such as recalls and pre-market approval could apply to AI systems; and what steps legislators\, companies\, families\, and advocates can take now to protect young users. \nOnline viewers can submit questions via e-mail to events@brookings.edu. \nLearn more and register to attend here. 
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/ai-companion-bots-as-a-public-health-issue-a-new-framework-for-regulation/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Webinar
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260526T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260526T170000
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260512T140342Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260512T140432Z
UID:516199-1779811200-1779814800@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:IPIE | Confronting AI-Generated Misinformation - What the Science Says
DESCRIPTION:Generative AI is changing how misinformation is produced\, circulated\, and perceived. What does the evidence tell us specifically about this cycle\, opportunities to mitigate it\, and what we don’t know yet? \nThe IPIE is pleased to invite you to our upcoming webinar\, presenting findings from our major new meta-analysis drawing on studies that involved more than 33\,000 participants. The IPIE report represents one of the world’s most comprehensive examinations of AI-generated misinformation research to date. \nWhat you will hear: \n\nFindings on how people respond to AI-produced false content\nEvidence on which interventions reduce its impact and which are more variable than commonly assumed\nAn honest discussion of where the science is still limited and what this means for policy\n\n\nClick here to learn more and register to attend. \nNote: Event details are listed in BST (UTC+1).
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/ipie-confronting-ai-generated-misinformation-what-the-science-says/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Webinar
ORGANIZER;CN="International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE)":MAILTO:Contact@IPIE.info
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260527T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260528T235959
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260512T162059Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260512T162105Z
UID:516226-1779840000-1780012799@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:Global Disinformation Summit 2026
DESCRIPTION:The GLOBAL SUMMIT ON DISINFORMATION is a space for global interaction where journalists\, researchers\, academics\, fact-checkers\, media and government representatives\, civil society organizations\, professors\, and students meet annually to discuss\, and present actions\, proposals\, and success stories on the challenges of fighting disinformation at the global level. \nLearn more and register to attend here.  \nNote: This event is bilingual\, with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish and English. 
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/global-disinformation-summit-2026/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Conference
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260528T143000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Helsinki:20260528T153000
DTSTAMP:20261018T163151
CREATED:20260413T162036Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T162635Z
UID:515962-1779978600-1779982200@mediawell.ssrc.org
SUMMARY:David vs Goliath in the DSA era: Lessons from Bits of Freedom’s victory
DESCRIPTION:Article 38 of the EU Digital Services Act could be described as a masterpiece of legal drafting – 57 words to say very large online platforms must provide a version of their service not based on profiling. \nMeta provided a sludgy\, unusable option. In the absence of action from the European Commission\, Dutch NGO Bits of Freedom took on the mantle of David\, and took the Meta Goliath to court. And won. And then\, in appeal\, won again. \nWhat lessons were learnt? Can this success be replicated elsewhere? Are there pitfalls that need to be avoided? \nJoin the conversation to hear first-hand insights from Rejo Zenger\, Policy Advisor at Bits of Freedom. \nSpeaker: Rejo Zenger\, Policy Advisor at Bits of Freedom.ance Advisor \nRejo Zenger is a policy advisor at the leading Dutch digital civil rights organisation Bits of Freedom. There\, he is committed to protecting fundamental rights such as the right to privacy and freedom of expression\, and more broadly our democratic rule of law. Much of his work focuses on breaking down the power of dominant technology companies and the government. He leads Bits of Freedom’s lawsuit against Meta regarding user choice. \nModerator: Joe McNamee\, Senior Policy Expert\, EU DisinfoLab \nJoe McNamee has been working on topics related to internet regulation for over 20 years. Prior to his current role as Senior Policy Expert at EU DisinfoLab\, he worked as policy adviser for a political group in the European Parliament. From 2009 to 2018\, he led European Digital Rights\, the association of digital civil rights organisations in Europe\, working on major topics such as the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Copyright Directive. Prior to this\, Joe worked for a political consultancy specialised in telecommunications and internet policy\, where he led three research projects funded by the European Commission. During this time\, he also worked on the EU’s E-Commerce (the predecessor to the DSA) and ePrivacy Directives. Joe holds master’s degrees in European Politics and in International Law. \nClick here to learn more and register to attend. \nNote: Event details are listed in Central European Summer Time (CEST\, UTC+2). 
URL:https://mediawell.ssrc.org/event/david-vs-goliath-in-the-dsa-era-lessons-from-bits-of-freedoms-victory/
LOCATION:Virtual
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR