#publicsphere - AlgorithmWatch

Blog, 16 February 2023

Platforms’ promises to researchers: first reports missing the baseline

An initial analysis shows that platforms have done little to “empower the research community” despite promises made last June under the EU’s revamped Code of Practice on Disinformation.

Photo by Schluesseldienst on Pixabay

Blog, 7 December 2022

A guide to the EU’s new rules for researcher access to platform data

Thanks to the Digital Services Act (DSA), public interest researchers in the EU have a new legal framework to access and study internal data held by major tech platforms. What does this framework look like, and how can it be put into practice?

Jack Sharp - unsplash

Story, 30 November 2022

Mastodon could make the public sphere less toxic, but not for all

The open-source social network gained millions of new users following Twitter’s takeover. While some of its features could improve the quality of public discourse, disadvantaged communities might be excluded.

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

Position, 29 November 2022

Open Letter: EU must protect fundamental freedoms for online political speech

As EU lawmakers negotiate important new transparency rules for online political ads, AlgorithmWatch and 8 other civil society organizations are calling on the German government to address serious risks to democratic pluralism and freedom of expression contained in the Council’s most recent proposal.

Adrian Grycuk | CC BY-SA 3.0

Position, 18 October 2022

Civil society responds to the Council of Europe Treaty on AI

Together with other observer civil society organizations in the Committee on AI in the Council of Europe, AlgorithmWatch stresses the importance of that legal framework on AI based on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law that is currently being elaborated in Strasbourg. We urge the EU not to delay this process in light of the negotiations on its own AI Act currently ongoing in Brussels. The two frameworks have a different purpose and should complement rather than copy-paste each other.

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

Blog, 21 September 2022 (update: 22 August 2023)

A guide to the Digital Services Act, the EU’s new law to rein in Big Tech

Everything you need to know about the Digital Services Act (DSA), Europe’s new law to make powerful tech platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter more transparent and accountable for the risks they pose to society.

Catherine Breslin / Better Images of AI / Silicon Closeup / Licenced by CC-BY 4.0

Opinion, 5 July 2022

The Digital Services Act: It’s time for Europe to turn the tables on Big Tech

The EU’s new Digital Services Act is a blueprint for forcing Facebook, Youtube, and other major online platforms to tackle the serious risks they pose to individuals and the public sphere. Its success now depends on whether EU officials will effectively enforce the law.

Publication, 5 July 2022

Policy Brief: Our recommendations for strengthening data access for public interest research

Photo by @felipepelaquim on Unsplash

Position, 28 June 2022

Open Letter: Big Tech won’t respect the new Digital Markets Act unless it can be enforced

AlgorithmWatch and 17 other civil society organizations are calling on the European Parliament to quickly mobilize the resources needed for the European Commission to strongly enforce of the Digital Markets Act.

"Privacy" by g4ll4is | CC BY-SA 2.0

Position, 9 June 2022

Submission to the UN report on the right to privacy in the digital age

When the right to privacy is violated, it is often the case that other human rights are also negatively impacted. In our submission, we list key areas of concerns on the way automated decision-making systems (ADMs) affect people’s basic rights.