Positions

Here you’ll find AlgorithmWatch's positions on current policy and regulatory processes concerning algorithmic decision-making systems and online platforms. AlgorithmWatch is an evidence-based advocacy organization. We advocate for the use of ADM systems that benefit people and society instead of harming them. Learn more about the basics of our policy and advocacy work here.

Risky business: How do we get a grip on social media algorithms?

Since personalized recommender systems have the power to influence what we think and do, we need to understand the risks they pose to our society. The DSA’s new transparency regime is a promising step forward, but we still need external, adversarial audits by independent research facilities.

7 March 2023

France: the new law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games threatens human rights

France proposed a new law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (projet de loi relatif aux jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques de 2024) which would legitimize the use of invasive algorithm-driven video surveillance under the pretext of “securing big events”. This new French law would create a legal basis for scanning public spaces to detect specific suspicious events.

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6 March 2023

A joint statement on Digital Services Act implementation at the national level

As the political process of negotiating the landmark new set of EU rules for a safer and more accountable online environment has concluded, civil society organisations from across Europe joined forces to offer suggestions on how to strengthen the harmonization of the DSA implementation process across EU member states.

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Tara Winstead, An Artificial Intelligence Illustration for Pexels

31 January 2023

Civil society observers call for an effective Council of Europe Convention on AI

On the occasion of the International Data Protection Day on 28 January, AlgorithmWatch and six other civil society organizations remind the Council of Europe of its mandate in negotiating a global Convention on AI.

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Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

6 December 2022

Joint statement: The EU AI Act must protect people on the move

In its current form, the AI Act does not adequately address and prevent harms stemming from the use of AI in the migration context. Today, AlgorithmWatch together with 191 organizations and individuals are sending a decisive signal to EU decision-makers: ensure the protection of human rights of people on the move!

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Photo by Micaela Parente on Unsplash

6 December 2022

How the German government decided not to protect people against the risks of AI

Today, EU member states’ ministers are meeting in Brussels to formally adopt the version of the AI Act that their governments agreed to. As it stands, it will not be in line with the German government’s vows to protect fundamental rights. Instead, it will propose lavish exemptions for security agencies to the detriment of people’s rights.

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Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

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.

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Photo by Niv Singer on Unsplash

8 November 2022

Open letter: the German government should stand up for a strong ban on biometric surveillance in the Council of EU negotiations regarding the AI Act  

AlgorithmWatch and 26 other civil society organizations are calling on the German government to stand up in the negotiations on the AI Act and advocate for a strong ban on biometric surveillance as mirrored in its coalition treaty.

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Adrian GrycukCC BY-SA 3.0

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.

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Samynandpartners | CC BY-SA 4.0

17 October 2022

Civil society open letter demands to ensure fundamental rights protections in the Council position on the AI Act

Negotiations in the Council of the EU regarding the AI Act are at full speed. Civil society calls for the Council to correct major shortcomings of their version of the Act which fails to ensure the necessary safeguards against harmful applications of AI systems.

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