Policy and Law – Digital Society Blog

Dr. Theresa Züger | 18. August 2021

With Open Mind and Open Source – the democratic potential of public good-oriented AI

Dr. Theresa Züger talks to Patricia Leu from Prototype Fund about the Public Interest AI project and the democratic potential of AI for the common good.

Matthias C. Kettemann & Martin Fertmann | 22. June 2021

One Council to Rule Them All: Can Social Media Become More Democratic?

Parliaments set the rules for democracies. Platforms rule their private online spaces. But as online spaces become ever more important for democratic discourse, we ask ourselves: Can we make platforms…

Sami Nenno | 3. May 2021

Siri’s evil sister. When the Dutch public service steals your data

“System Risk Indication” (SyRI) deployed by the dutch government for automatically detecting social benefit fraud. The program was shut down due to a severe lack in transparency and unproportional collection of data. This demonstrates how automating public services fails, when not properly implemented.

Edoardo Celeste | 17. March 2021

Trump’s social media ban: Reviewing the constitutionality of permanent digital punishment

Trump’s ban from social media, while gaining significant media attention, does not represent an isolated case. Preventing individuals from accessing social media platforms or parts of them is a common phenomenon today that we can call ‘social media exclusion’.

Amélie Heldt | 20. January 2021

Trump’s very own platform? Two scenarios and their legal implications

Should it be up to private actors to decide whether or not to ban the US President from the digital public sphere? Most probably have a clear opinion on these questions, but in fact, they aren’t as easy to answer as it may seem.

Alexander Pirang & Matthias Kettemann | 3. December 2020

When scholars sprint, bad algorithms are on the run

The first research sprint of the Ethics of Digitalisation project reached the finishing line. Thirteen international fellows tackled pressing issues concerning the use of AI in content moderation. Looking back at ten intense weeks of interdisciplinary research, we share highlights and key outcomes.

Katrin Werner | 30. November 2020

“The idea that algorithmic decisions are not yet regulated is wrong”

Should machines make important decisions in HR management and administration? Who is responsible for ensuring that these decisions are taken fairly – and how do we prevent discriminatory structures from being algorithmically perpetuated?

Philipp Darius | 2. November 2020

More important than ever! Social Platform Governance during and after the 2020 US Presidential Election

The 2020 US Presidential Election has shown that practices of social platform governance and content moderation decisions are more crucial than ever. While the transparency of these algorithmic systems remains low, they might crucially affect public opinion formation of the electorate and need to be therefore more accessible and better understood by researchers and policymakers.

Bruna Toso de Alcântara | 23. September 2020

Security in Cyberspace: Workshop Insights

Analysing security in cyberspace can encompass a variety of topics. The workshop under scrutiny touched upon some of them, providing valuable insights for society and, ultimately, relevant ideas for building up better relationships among “cyber-actors”.