Beyond the buzzwords: Putting meaningful transparency at the heart of the Digital Services Act
Register now for an Online Policy Dialogue by AlgorithmWatch and the EPC, with Margrethe Vestager, Alexandra Geese, Daniela Brönstrup and Jef Ausloos: 30 October, 10:00 CET
AlgorithmWatch and the European Policy Centre (EPC) are pleased to invite you to this Online Policy Dialogue:
Friday, 30 October 2020 | 10:00 - 11:30 CET | Online
Speakers
Margrethe Vestager
Executive Vice-President for Making Europe Fit for the Digital Age, European Commission
Alexandra Geese
Member of the European Parliament
Roderik De Turck
Advisor to Kris Peeters MEP, European Parliament
Daniela Brönstrup
Deputy Director General for Regulatory Framework for Digital Policy, Postal Policy, International Affairs and Media, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Jef Ausloos
Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam
Online platforms and digital services play a central role in modern society and especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are inextricably linked to how we coordinate remotely at school or work, find and consume information, organize our social movements or exercise key democratic rights. From search engines to social networking sites, large parts of our communications infrastructure are governed by opaque algorithmic curation, moderation, and recommendations systems.
With a view to the forthcoming Digital Services Act (DSA), policymakers, civil society, and online platforms have emphasized the need to improve algorithmic transparency so that citizens and elected officials can understand the rules governing online content in algorithmic ‘black boxes.’ But what does this mean in practice? What regulations must be put in place to enable algorithmic scrutiny for the common good? What rules must the DSA enforce in order to empower watchdogs to understand and combat online harms? How can the DSA set a global standard in platform governance?
At this event, AlgorithmWatch and the EPC will present the key recommendations of their Governing Platforms project, a year-long, civil society-driven dialogue series involving participants from around Europe. Following a keynote speech and Q&A with European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, panellists will discuss how the DSA could improve algorithmic transparency by providing watchdogs with the tools they need to hold platforms accountable.
Register now
Read the recommendations as PDF file:
About the Governing Platforms project
A plethora of regulatory attempts are underway – at EU level and in member states – to mandate Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube and other intermediaries to patrol content, by blocking unwanted posts, or ensure plurality and non-discrimination of sources. The reason: the influence of intermediaries on public discourse is perceived as overly powerful and damaging. However, it is doubtful whether current strategies will succeed in strengthening public discourse.
Engaging with civil society and other stakeholders in a participatory design process, we will develop innovative governance/policy proposals and other tools that we will then feed into the EU and member states’ policy processes.
More Information about the project