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Kirsten Gollatz

Kirsten Gollatz is an associate researcher at the HIIG. Before that, she was Project Manager at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society in Berlin where she has worked on projects in the field of Policy and Governance since she joined the institute in 2011. She is currently conducting research with a focus on the conditions for exercising freedom of expression on the internet and the relevance of private transnational governance, as well as online participation.

Since 2014 Kirsten has been writing her thesis as an external doctoral student with the University of Zurich. In her thesis she investigates the evolution of transnational governance regimes that private social media companies apply to user-generated content on their platforms.

Ongoing and past research projects

  • Governance by numbers and the power of rankings in governing Internet Freedom. This newly developed project examines the ordering capacities of measuring devices, such as comparative numerical rankings, in constructing a transnational governance area frequently referred to as “Internet Freedom”.
  • Researcher with the Ranking Digital Rights Project, examining polices and practices of European internet and telecommunications companies as well as their legal and political context of operations in relation to international freedom of expression and privacy norms.
  • Research Contributor to the UNESCO/Internet Society case study report with the title Fostering Freedom Online: the Role of Internet Intermediaries (PDF).
  • Case Study Writer examining the model of the German parliamentary Internet Enquete Commission as part of case study series on Multistakeholder as Governance Groups by the Network of Interdisciplinary Internet & Society Research Centers (NoC).
    Read and discuss the case study and project synthesis report.
  • From November 2015 until May 2016 Kirsten joined the Governance Laboratory (The GovLab) at New York University as a Visiting Fellow. The fellowship has been supported by a research stipend from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

In summer 2012, Kirsten was a research intern at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Before that, she worked as a research assistant to the project field Cultural Sources of Newness at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB). Kirsten has a Master’s Degree in Media and Political Communication from the Free University Berlin. While attending university, Kirsten worked as a research assistant for enterprises, journalists, media industry associations and research organizations. She was involved in a variety of projects focusing on emerging media and internet policies and media economical issues, particularly on governance models in the context of a disruptive structural shift in media and journalism.

Videos

Publications

Books (1)

MacKinnon, R., Hickok, E., Bar, A., & Lim, H. with research contribution by Kirsten Gollatz (2015). Fostering Freedom Online: the Role of Internet Intermediaries. Paris, France: UNESCO/Internet Society. Publication details

Journal articles and conference proceedings (5)

Hofmann, J., Katzenbach, C., & Gollatz, K. (2016). Between coordination and regulation: Finding the governance in Internet governance. New Media & Society. Publication details

Gollatz, K., Herweg, S., & Hofmann, J. (2015). Enquete-Kommission Internet und digitale Gesellschaft (Enquete Commission on Internet and Digital Society). Berkman Center Research Publication, 2015(01). Publication details

Gollatz, K. (2014). Online Free expression in the Corporate Realm: Corporations’ Policies and Practices Shaping Private Speech on Communication Platforms. Nova Acta Leopoldina, NF 119(403), 49-55. Publication details

Gollatz, K. (2013). App development: Is ‘privacy by design’ the new standard? Internet Policy Review. Publication details

Wagner, B., Gollatz, K., & Calderaro, C. (2013). Common Narrative – Divergent Agendas: The Internet and Human Rights in Foreign Policy. Conference Proceedings. International Conference on Internet Science. Brussels, April 9-11, 2013, 19-27. Publication details

Book contributions and chapters (3)

Gollatz, K. (2013). Transnational Pirates. In Dobusch, L., Mader, P., & Quack, S. (Eds.), Governance across Borders Transnational. Fields and Transversal Themes (pp. 222-228). Berlin: epubli. Publication details

Hofmann, J., Katzenbach, C., & Gollatz, K. (2013). Freedom on the Net Report Germany. In Kelly, S., Truong, M., Earp, M., Reed, L., Shahbaz, A., & Greco-Stoner, A. (Eds.), Freedom on the Net 2013 (pp. 302-321). New York, NY: Freedom House. Publication details

Dobusch, L. & Gollatz, K. (2012). Piraten zwischen transnationaler Bewegung und lokalem Phänomen. In Bieber, C. & Leggewie, C. (Eds.), Unter Piraten. Erkundungen in einer neuen politischen Arena (pp. 25-40). Bielefeld: transcript. Publication details

Working paper (3)

Gollatz, K., Beer, F. &, Katzenbach, C. (2018). The Turn to Artificial Intelligence in Governing Communication Online Workshop Report. HIIG Discussion Paper Series, 2018(09). Publication details

Hofmann, J., Katzenbach, C., & Gollatz, K. (2014). Between Coordination and Regulation: Conceptualizing Governance in Internet Governance. HIIG Discussion Paper Series, 2014(04). Publication details

Wagner, B., Gollatz, K., & Calderaro, A. (2014). Internet & Human Rights in Foreign Policy: comparing narratives in the US and EU Internet Governance agenda. EUI Working Paper RSCAS; Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF), 2014/86. Publication details

Other publications (10)

Gollatz, K., Riedl, M. J. & Pohlmann, J. (2018). Removals of Online Hate Speech in Numbers. Digital Society Blog, HIIG Science Blog, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany. Cross-posted at Media Policy Project Blog, London School of Economics, London, UK. Publication details

Gollatz, K. & Jenner, L. (2017). Hate Speech und Fake News – Über die Vermischung und Politisierung zweier Begriffe, Teil 1. Digital Society Blog. Publication details

Gollatz, K. & Jenner, L. (2017). Hate Speech und Fake News – Über die Vermischung und Politisierung zweier Begriffe, Teil 2. Digital Society Blog. Publication details

Gollatz, K. (2016). 5 Questions for … Visiting Researcher Dr Axel Bruns. Digital Society Blog. Publication details

Gollatz, K. (2016). The Power of Platforms. Digital Society Blog. Publication details

Send, H., Ebert, J., Friesike, S., Gollatz, K., & Schildhauer, T. (2014). Online Mit­machen und Entscheiden – Partizipationsstudie 2014, Berlin: Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft. Publication details

Gollatz, K. (2014). Deutsche Telekom’s ‘surveillance report’ builds on a trend. Internet Policy Review. Publication details

Gollatz, K. (2013). App development: is ‘privacy by design’ the new standard? Internet Policy Review. Publication details

Activities

Lectures and presentations (15)

14.11.2019 · Martin J. Riedl, Kirsten Gollatz, Jens Pohlmann.

Weaponizing internet governance: Comparing the German Network Enforcement Act and FOSTA-SESTA in the United States

Annual Meeting of the National Communication Association (NCA), Freedom of Expression Division. Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, United States.

Further information

19.10.2017 · Christian Katzenbach, Kirsten Gollatz

Platform Governance as Reflexive Coordination – Mediating Nudity, Hate Speech and Fake News on Facebook

AoIR 2017 Networked Publics. Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR). University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.

19.10.2017 · Kirsten Gollatz, Jonas Kaiser, Cornelius Puschmann

Politics of Discourse: Fake News Controversy in Germany and how it solidifies in new institutional arrangements

AoIR 2017 Networked Publics. Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR). University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.

17.07.2017 · Kirsten Gollatz

Talk: Turn to Artificial Intelligence in Content Moderation

The turn to artificial intelligence in content moderation. Digital-born Media Carnival. SHARE Foundation, OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Pjaca od Kina, Kotor, Montenegro.

29.05.2017 · Kirsten Gollatz

Measuring User Rights Online: Numerical Rankings as a Form of Governing Internet Freedom

Annual Conference of the Canadian Sociological Association at Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences 2017. Canadian Federation of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada.

11.06.2016 · Kirsten Gollatz

My place, my rules! Wie Plattformen entscheiden was wir online sagen können

Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften. Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften e.V.. Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany.

23.10.2015 · Christian Katzenbach, Kirsten Gollatz, Jeanette Hofmann

Vortrag IR16 Internet Governance

Continous Ordering and Algorithmic Translation: How STS opens up and re-assembles Internet Governance. Internet Research 16. Association of Internet Research. ., Phoenix, USA.

12.09.2015 · Kirsten Gollatz

“You own your content, but…” – Tracing changing notions of ownership over user content in social media platform policies

"You own your content, but…" - Tracing changing notions of ownership over user content in social media platform policies. Media Trends 2015: Power and Media: Ownership, Sponsorship, Censorship. Webster Vienna Private University's Media Communications department. Webster Vienna Private University, Vienna, Austria.

30.08.2015 · Kirsten Gollatz

Internet Governance – Komplexe Strukturen, reflexive Prozesse und deren Legitimität

Telemedicus Sommerkonferenz: Zwei Schritte vorwärts: Die Zukunft des Internetrechts. Telemedicus in Kooperation mit Internet & Gesellschaft Collaboratory, Hertie Stiftung, Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, Humboldt Law Clinic Internetrecht. Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany.

01.09.2014 · Jeanette Hofmann, Christian, Katzenbach, Kirsten Gollatz

Between Coordination and Regulation: Conceptualizing Governance in Internet Governance

GigaNet 9th Annual Symposium. The Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet). Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center, Istanbul, Turkey.

03.03.2014 · Kirsten Gollatz, Julian Staben

Terms & Conditions – it’s ze law, stupid! Taking practical suggestions from German Constitutional Law

Terms & Conditions – it's ze law, stupid! Taking practical suggestions from German Constitutional Law. RightsCon Silicon Valley. access. Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco, USA.

13.09.2013 · Kirsten Gollatz

Talk on Corporate Policies and Practices

Corporate Policies and Practices Shaping Private Speech Online. 4th Symposium
 “Human Rights and Science”. Human Rights Committee of the
 German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and Polish Academy of Sciences. Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.

10.04.2013 · Ben Wagner, Kirsten Gollatz, Andrea Calderaro

Common Narrative Divergent Agendas: The Internet and Human Rights in Foreign Policy

1st International Conference on Internet Science of the Network of Excellence in Internet Science (EINS). EINS project, the FP7 European Network of Excellence in Internet Science. Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, Brussels, Belgium.

27.10.2012 · Kirsten Gollatz, Alexander Sängerlaub

Facebook at a Tipping Point. Is there a need for a new valorization of privacy?

4th European Communication Conference on “Social Media – Global Voices”, ECREA 2012. ECREA European Communication Research and Education Association. Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey.

23.10.2012 · Kirsten Gollatz

Between Coordination and Regulation: Conceptualizing Governance in Internet Governance

The quasi-public Sphere of Online Platforms. Global Spaces for Free Expression?. ECREA 2012 Pre-Conference “Imposing Freedoms: The role of copyright, privacy and censorship governance in the re/definition of rights in digital media”. Media Governance and Industries Research Group of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Vienna. Plato College of Higher Education, Istanbul, Turkey.

Panels (3)

05.10.2016 · Kirsten Gollatz, Christian Katzenbach, Jeanette Hofmann

Talk on Searching the governance in internet governance

Doing STS-informed Internet Governance Research. The Internet Rules, But How? A Science and Technical Studies Take on Doing Internet Governance (Pre-Conference Workshop, AoIR 2016). AoIR, Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, Hans-Bredow-Institut. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

26.03.2015 · Kirsten Gollatz

Netopia: Das Bürger-Internet

Vorstellung der Studie "Das Bürger-Internet: Neutralität ist nicht genug" und Diskussion. Das Bürger-Internet: Neutralität ist nicht genug. Netopia | Forum for the Digital Society. Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany.

03.10.2013 · Kirsten Gollatz

Workshop on Internet Freedom in Democratic Southeast Asia

Session on Western Perspectives and Implications for Policy. Internet Freedom in Democratic Southeast Asia. German Marshall Fund of the United States. Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Moderation of workshops and panels (4)

17.05.2018 · Kirsten Gollatz

RightsCon Toronto 2018

This Panel May Contain Sensitive Content: Automated Filtering and the Future of Free Expression Online. access now. Beanfield Centre at Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

15.07.2017 · Kirsten Gollatz

Co-moderation: Digital Transformation of Media Industry

Digital Transformation of Media Industry. Digital-born Media Carnival. SHARE Foundation, OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Masera Club, Kotor, Montenegro.

15.10.2016 · Kirsten Gollatz

Tagung “Gefährdet Big Data unsere Demokratie?”

Bedingungen für die Ausübung von Meinungsfreiheit im Internet. Gefährdet Big Data unsere Demokratie?. Vereinigung Deutscher Wissenschaftler VDW e.V., Ev. Akademie Villigst. Ev. Tagungsstätte Haus Villigst, Schwerte, Germany.

05.03.2015 · Kirsten Gollatz

VOX-Pol Workshop

Intermediary liability, jurisdiction and extremist content. 'The Role of Social Media and Internet Companies in Responding to Violent Online Extremism'. Network of Excellence for Research in Violent Online Political Extremism (Vox-Pol). Central European University, School of Public Policy, Budapest, Hungary.

Organisation of events (6)

09.06.2018 · Alexandra Giannopoulou, Tuukka Lehtiniemi, Nataliia Sokolovska, Lisa Gutermuth, Christian Djeffal, Shirley Ogolla, Sönke Bartling, Matti Grosse, Wolfgang Schulz, Kirsten Gollatz, Christian Katzenbach, Benedikt Fecher

Das Ende der Transparenz?

Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2018.. Co-Organised by: Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften Berlin + Potsdam. Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany (National).

Further information

20.04.2018 · Kirsten Gollatz, Christian Katzenbach

Workshop: The turn to artificial intelligence in governing communication online

The turn to artificial intelligence in governing communication online. Co-Organised by: AccessNow. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany (International).

23.05.2017 · Lisa Gutermuth, Kirsten Gollatz

Data Sprint on Digital Rights in the Telecom Sector

Co-Organised by: Ranking Digital Rights, The WikiRate Project e.V.. Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany (International).

24.09.2015 · Christian Katzenbach, Kirsten Gollatz

Panel/Workshop: Algorithmic Governance

Early Stage Researcher Colloquium on Internet and Society 2015.. Social Science Research Centre, Berlin, Germany (International).

07.08.2014 · Kirsten Gollatz, Rüdiger Schwarz, Osvaldo Saldías, Theresa Züger

Visitors’ Program of the Federal Republic of Germany: “Cyber Policies”

Discussion at the HIIG as part of the Federal Foreign Office's Visitors' Program.. Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany (International).

13.09.2012 - 14.09.2012 · Kirsten Gollatz

The Internet and Human Rights

The Internet and Human Rights: Building a free, open and secure Internet. Co-Organised by: Aarhus University, Human Rights Watch, Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. German Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, Deutschland (International).

Participation as expert (4)

24.09.2018 · Kirsten Gollatz

Roundtable on AI

MEP Marietje Schaake and Access Now. European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium.

26.04.2018 · Kirsten Gollatz

Expertenworkshop: Automatisierte Zensur?

Expertenworkshop: Automatisierte Zensur? Technische Lösungen zur Regulation politischer Online-Kommunikation. abida, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Universität Münster. Universität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.

19.05.2017 · Kirsten Gollatz

Measuring Fake News, Part 1

Measuring Fake News. Stiftung Neue Verantwortung. Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, Berlin, Germany.

04.10.2016 · Kirsten Gollatz

The Rule of Algorithms? Expert Workshop

The Rule of Algorithms? Exploring design, impact, and regulation of algorithmic decision-making. Hans-Bredow-Institut, Department Informatik der Universität Hamburg. Landesvertretung Hamburg, Berlin, Germany.

KirstenGollatz

Position

Former Associate Researcher: The evolving digital society

Contact

Current HIIG research activities

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