February 2019 - netsociety - server-nexa.polito.it

Call for Applications: Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowships “Algorithmed Public Spheres” (Hamburg)

by Cornelius Puschmann

Dear colleagues, Please allow me to share the call for applications pasted below -- do pass it on to any postdocs you know who might be interested. All best (and apologies for cross-posting), Cornelius ***Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowships “Algorithmed Public Spheres” (Deadline: April 1st)*** The Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI) in Hamburg, Germany, invites applications for international postdoctoral research fellows who will conduct innovative research on the social and cultural impact of algorithms during stays of 2-12 months in the academic year 2019/2020. The Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI) is a publicly funded research institute and member institute of the Leibniz Association that focuses on the study of mediated public communication. Its research encompasses both broadcast and digital communication from an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective. The members of the postdoctoral research network Algorithmed Public Spheres (http://aps.leibniz-hbi.de/) study the relevance of algorithms for the constitution of the public sphere. We emphasize in particular the importance of algorithms for filtering, ranking and selecting media content and for structuring digital communication. In contrast to the use of data mining in areas such as healthcare, credit scoring and general business analytics, where such techniques have a long tradition, the impact of algorithms on the public sphere poses novel challenges. How are communication, media, and public discourse impacted by transferring the dominant logics of consumption from other industries to news, information, and political deliberation, implemented in social media platforms, search engines, and on news websites? How do we adapt as individuals as well as as a society to the growing prevalence of algorithmic systems? Research in this area could include: – Algorithms and political polarization – Reverse engineering of platform mechanics – (Big) social data mining – Fragmentation of the public sphere – Governance of and by algorithms – Algorithm awareness and algorithm literacy – Measurement of algorithmic bias and discrimination – Algorithms in news production, distribution and consumption processes – User interaction with and rationalization of algorithms We invite applications for international postdoctoral research fellows from fields including, but not restricted to, computer and information science, communication and media studies, law, political science, sociology and philosophy, who will conduct innovative research on the social and cultural impact of algorithms during stays of 2-12 months in Hamburg in the academic year 2019/2020. We particularly welcome cross-cutting research proposals that integrate technical and social perspectives and result in concrete outcomes, for example in the form of peer-reviewed research articles or proposals for externally funded projects. Up to two funded fellowships will be awarded as result of this call. The fellowships cover airfare and a contribution to the accommodation and subsistence in Hamburg. In specific cases, we may offer a temporary employment contract instead of a scholarship. To apply, please send a cover letter (one page), a project proposal (up to three pages) and your CV (up to four pages), including a list of your most relevant publications (maximum of five), to Cornelius Puschmann ( c.puschmann(a)leibniz-hbi.de) Please note that applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered. IMPORTANT DATES: Application deadline: April 1, 2019 Announcement of 2019/2020 Fellows: May 1, 2019 -- Dr. Cornelius Puschmann Senior Researcher Leibniz Institute for Media Research │ Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI) Rothenbaumchaussee 36 20148 Hamburg, Germany www.hans-bredow-institut.de Associated Researcher Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) Französische Straße 9 10117 Berlin, Germany www.hiig.de p: +49 40 450 217 55 e: c.puschmann(a)hans-bredow-institut.de w: cbpuschmann.net *Recent papers:* Möller, J., van de Velde, R. N., Merten, L., & Puschmann, C. (2019). Explaining online news engagement based on browsing behavior: Creatures of habit? *Social Science Computer Review*. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319828012 <https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319828012> Puschmann, C. (2018). Beyond the bubble: Assessing the diversity of political search results. *Digital Journalism*. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.1539626 Puschmann, C., & Powell, A. (2018). Turning words into consumer preferences: How sentiment analysis is framed in research and the news media. *Social Media + Society*, *4*(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118797724 -- <http://www.hiig.de/>Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> <http://www.facebook.com/HIIG.Berlin> <https://twitter.com/hiig_berlin> <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Dr. Ingolf Pernice · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß

Feb. 27, 2019

CfP Platform Values: Conflicting Rights, AI and Tax Avoidance

by Luca Belli

Dear colleagues, Please find below the Call for Papers for a special issue of the Computer Law & Security Review<https://www.journals.elsevier.com/computer-law-and-security-review/call-for…>, dedicated to Platform Values: Conflicting Rights, Artificial Intelligence and Tax Avoidance. The CfP celebrates 5 years of activities of the UN Internet Governance Forum Coalition on Platform Responsibility<https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/dynamic-coalition-on-platf…> and includes the organisation of a workshop for feedback and discussion of the submitted papers that will be hosted at FGV Law School, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2019. Please, feel fre eto share this CfP through your networks Best Regards Luca CfP page https://www.journals.elsevier.com/computer-law-and-security-review/call-for… Platform Values: Conflicting Rights, Artificial Intelligence and Tax Avoidance. Purpose: The purpose of this call is to gather a diverse range of analytical perspectives on the multiform notion of platform values. The special issue resulting from this call will be presented in a dedicated workshop at the IGF 2019, hosted by the Government of Germany in Berlin from 25 to 29 November 2019. To guarantee that authors receive the most extensive feedback on their contributions, an additional workshop for feedback and paper discussion will be hosted at FGV Law School, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 27 July 2019 (see the timeframe at the bottom of this call). The authors of the papers selected after the first round of reviews will be invited to come – at their own expenses – to present their draft papers at the workshop. Description: Platform regulations are having enormous impact on the lives of several billion individuals, and this impact is poised to increase over the next decade. This special issue aims at exploring three of the most crucial points of contention with regard to values underlying the operation of digital platforms: the dispute resolution mechanisms they design and the ways such mechanisms are structured to deal with conflicting rights and principles; the values that can or should be baked into platforms’ automated decision-making and the rights of appropriation in relation to the development of artificial intelligent systems; and the tax avoidance strategies that are frequently pursued by tech giants to minimise their fiscal responsibility across the multiple jurisdictions in which they provide their services. This Call for Papers celebrates five years of activities of the UN IGF Coalition on Platform Responsibility1. Over the first years of activity, the Coalition has explored the role of digital platforms as gateways to speech, innovation and value creation; it has highlighted that their ascendance as central elements of our society, economy, and public sphere is redefining the concepts of “private” and “public”, and challenging conventional approaches to regulation and governance. Along those lines, this Call for Papers starts from the consideration that, to guarantee the balance and sustainability of governance systems, the exercise of power should be constrained. To do so, a deliberative process over the aims, mechanisms and boundaries of regulation is needed. Accordingly, when private entities rise to the level of quasi-sovereigns or private regulators, it is natural to expect discussion, shared understanding and scrutiny of the choices and trade-offs embedded in their private ordering. Yet, there is little discussion of the ways in which platforms are generating, shaping and championing values in an increasingly intermediated society. More work is needed to question and enquire what counts as value and how value judgment ought to be made in these hybrid spaces, exploring the elements that should underpin legal and policy-making initiatives, and the risks that may occur when decision-making remains in the sole province of contractual and self-regulation. Contributions to this work should enquire whether it is appropriate for deliberations over platform values and user rights to be exclusively driven by the economic imperatives of shareholders, and whether they should not also take into account the broader set of concerns and expectations of the stakeholders affected by platform regulations. In this perspective, we call for papers providing analyses and putting forward concrete solutions and policy proposals with regard to platform values. This call is therefore aimed at papers analysing conflicting rights, artificial intelligence systems and tax avoidance strategies with regard to digital platforms. Particularly, the call targets analyses regarding: 1. Conflicting rights. The first set of governance questions pertain to the intersection of conflicting rights and values: should platforms prioritise certain rights or principles over others? Are they best-placed to identify which rights should be privileged when - privately - regulating social interactions? How should such balancing be conducted between conflicting rights of the same nature, for example between conflicting economic freedoms or conflicting fundamental human rights? What is the relevance of the sources of those rights, for instance in conflicts between rights enshrined in terms of service and diverging conceptions of those rights under the “law of the land”? Should principles, community guidelines and rules of practice (including internal precedents) be weighed any differently as part of balancing? Should balancing be ruled out for certain conflicts? 2. Artificial intelligence. This second set of questions can be seen as twofold. On the one hand, it relates to value appropriation, in particular in the scramble for data and insights that can be extracted from it to power a new breed of artificial intelligence applications. Since data is a key input for the improvement of algorithms, profiling, and the elaboration of new cognitive services, should data subjects and other players in the platform ecosystems share in the value generated by their marginal input? Should platforms be the only beneficiaries of this learning process, or should the law constrain their ability to exclude others (including consumers, workers, competitors and complementors) from sharing in the benefits generated by the platform ecosystem? On the other hand, the development and implementation of artificial intelligence systems to automatise decision-making functions calls into question the values that should be “baked” into such systems in order to minimise negative consequences and strive towards the design and development of ethical automated systems. In this respect, what are the fundamental values that should orientate the design, development and deployment of artificial intelligence within platforms? How can those values be appropriately incorporated into artificial intelligence solutions implemented within platforms? Are the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and due process sufficient to prevent unfair value extraction, or do we need stronger intervention? 3. Tax avoidance. Finally, it is necessary to appreciate whether platforms provide long-term value with their functionalities (for example, bringing together different sides) or rather primarily engage in value extraction (for instance, limiting choice and deriving advantages in favouring certain kinds of behaviors or business models) and regulatory arbitrage. Defining how and where the value is created is crucial in determining the tax regime that is applicable to their activities, and in identifying unfair or fraudulent transfers of wealth. How should value be constructed for tax purposes, and how should regulators around the world deal with global tech giants? Are recent legislative initiatives on digital VAT marking the beginning of an inevitable race to the bottom to attract investment by global platforms, or do they set the foundations for interstate cooperation? Are existing reflections, such as the OECD’s works on transfer pricing and Base Erosion and Profit-Shifting sufficiently mature to be implemented by states? And, most importantly, are states willing and able to implement existing proposals?Is a national or local tax on intermediaries for data collection and aggregation a viable way to account for the transfer of value that takes place between users and platforms? [1] For an overview of the Coalition’s work, see https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/dynamic-coalition-on-platf… Timeframe Ø Deadline for extended abstracts (min. 4000 words): April 10th, 2019 Ø First Round of Reviews and paper selection: May 31st, 2019 Ø Workshop for feedback and paper discussion: July 27th, 2019 Ø Revised manuscript: September 10th, 2019 Ø Final decision: September 30th, 2019 [http://www.fgv.br/mailing/2018/direito_rio/assinatura/fgv_direito_rio.jpg] Luca Belli, PhD Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation [http://www.fgv.br/mailing/2018/direito_rio/assinatura/fgv_tel.jpg]+55 21 3799 5763 t @1lucabelli<https://twitter.com/1lucabelli> [http://www.fgv.br/mailing/2018/direito_rio/assinatura/fgv_direito_rio_map.j… de Botafogo, 190 13º andar Botafogo - Rio de Janeiro, RJ - CEP: 22250-900 [http://www.fgv.br/mailing/2018/direito_rio/assinatura/fgv_ass_email.jpg] luca.belli(a)fgv.br<mailto:luca.belli@fgv.br> [http://www.fgv.br/mailing/2018/direito_rio/assinatura/fgv_ass_url.jpg]inter… <https://internet-governance.fgv.br/>

Feb. 27, 2019

Essay competition "twentyforty"

by Benedikt Fecher

Dear colleagues, there's less than a week left to submit an abstract to our NoC essay competition on utopias for a digital society. I am sure there are quite a few creative minds in our circle that are able to develop utopias for how we live, love, rule, work, and learn in 20 years time. This is your chance to contribute a piece and be one of the 10 people that get invited to Berlin for a 5-days essay sprint – expenses covered. Please look here for more info: http://hiig.de/twentyforty?fbclid=IwAR19csTab_vkY7H2mQKaM-R-Y1Hj_lHtRUK3Nwu… I'm looking forward to seeing you in Berlin. All the best benedikt -- Dr. Benedikt Fecher | Head of Research Program "Knowledge & Society" -- <http://www.hiig.de/>Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> <http://www.facebook.com/HIIG.Berlin> <https://twitter.com/hiig_berlin> <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Dr. Ingolf Pernice · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß

Feb. 26, 2019

Re: [netsociety] Global web tracking study

by Chukwuyere Izuogu

Dear Leonie, Thanks for sharing. By way of introduction, I am ChukwuyereE. Izuogu, and presently a Tech Policy Fellow at Mozilla Foundation. As part ofmy fellowship with Mozilla, I will be engaging stakeholders and conductingresearch questions related to net-neutrality and data protection in Nigeria. The web tracking study comes across as very interesting tome, as I will be conducting research into the policy options for mitigatingdata protection risks in the cross-border transfer of personal informationacquired by online platforms in Nigeria. I am hoping that the web trackingstudy would provide new insights into my research and help me frame theconclusions of my data protection research. I am willing to participate in your study and collect the relevantdata from Nigeria. Please find attached my signed consent form. Let me know ifyou have any other question regarding this. Kind Regards, Chuks Chukwuyereskype: chukwuyere.izuoguchukwuyere.izuogu(a)yahoo.com Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing, moderation is for cowards On Tuesday, February 19, 2019 1:57 PM, L.M.H. de Jong-van Hooff <L.deJong(a)uvt.nl> wrote: Dear Members of the Network of Centers, On behalf of the Global Data Justice research group at TILT, Tilburg University, I am writing to invite you to participate in the first global study on the web tracking practices and networks. We are conducting research to explore what third-party trackers loaded through particular websites can tell us about the firms, networks and transfers that make up the global data market. Very little is known about the size and nature of this market on the global level, although many studies have been conducted on higher-income countries, and this study aims to begin to fill this gap in the research. We are seeking collaborators who can conduct a simple, fairly non-technical, 10-minute piece of web research using simple tools that will analyse what trackers load when they visit a) a news website and b) a mobile phone operator’s website, each based in their own country. (For more information, see the brief ‘info for participants’ file attached). When we have a set of files showing which trackers load from similar searches in different countries, we will use this as the basis from which to anlayse more complex features of the data market such as links between firms, processes of data brokerage, and how the market for tracking data operates in different countries and regions. We aim to do this study yearly over the next five years, so if you would be interested in collaborating over the longer term, you can indicate this on the consent form (attached in pdf and word). We will keep your details private, but we will inform you of all findings from the study, and the eventual global dataset of trackers by country will be released as open data for researchers worldwide. If you would be willing to participate, or can recommend someone else who might, please reply to this email with a signed consent form (signing electronically is fine) and you will receive the protocol for the study. The team is happy to discuss further: please send any questions to info(a)globaldatajustice.org. Yours, Leonie de Jong Managing Director Department of Law, Technology, Markets, and Society (LTMS) Home of Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC) Tilburg University Montesquieu Building M709 Phone: +31 13 466 3665 e-mail: L.dejong(a)tilburguniversity.edu _______________________________________________ netsociety mailing list netsociety(a)lists.networkofcenters.net https://lists.networkofcenters.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/netsociety

Feb. 19, 2019

Re: [netsociety] Global web tracking study

by L.E.M. Taylor

Dear NOC members, Thanks for your help with the web tracking study. Apologies - the version of the protocol that went out to you had some comments in it due to an error with Word. I'm re-sending the clean version, in case you are able to help and wish to send it out. Best regards, Linnet Taylor --- Linnet Taylor Associate Professor, Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT) Room 712B |PO Box 90153 | 5000 LE Tilburg tel: (0031) 61 6626953 |skype: linnet.taylor New publication: What is data justice? The case for connecting digital rights and freedoms globally<http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2053951717736335>. Big Data & Society From: L.M.H. de Jong-van Hooff <L.deJong(a)uvt.nl> Sent: dinsdag 19 februari 2019 12:01 To: netsociety(a)lists.networkofcenters.net Cc: L.E.M. Taylor <L.E.M.Taylor(a)uvt.nl>; A.K. Martin <A.K.Martin(a)uvt.nl>; laura.savolainen(a)helsinki.fi Subject: Global web tracking study Dear Members of the Network of Centers, On behalf of the Global Data Justice<http://www.globaldatajustice.org/> research group at TILT, Tilburg University, I am writing to invite you to participate in the first global study on the web tracking practices and networks. We are conducting research to explore what third-party trackers loaded through particular websites can tell us about the firms, networks and transfers that make up the global data market. Very little is known about the size and nature of this market on the global level, although many studies have been conducted on higher-income countries, and this study aims to begin to fill this gap in the research. We are seeking collaborators who can conduct a simple, fairly non-technical, 10-minute piece of web research using simple tools that will analyse what trackers load when they visit a) a news website and b) a mobile phone operator's website, each based in their own country. (For more information, see the brief 'info for participants' file attached). When we have a set of files showing which trackers load from similar searches in different countries, we will use this as the basis from which to anlayse more complex features of the data market such as links between firms, processes of data brokerage, and how the market for tracking data operates in different countries and regions. We aim to do this study yearly over the next five years, so if you would be interested in collaborating over the longer term, you can indicate this on the consent form (attached in pdf and word). We will keep your details private, but we will inform you of all findings from the study, and the eventual global dataset of trackers by country will be released as open data for researchers worldwide. If you would be willing to participate, or can recommend someone else who might, please reply to this email with a signed consent form (signing electronically is fine) and you will receive the protocol for the study. The team is happy to discuss further: please send any questions to info(a)globaldatajustice.org<mailto:info@globaldatajustice.org>. Yours, Leonie de Jong Managing Director Department of Law, Technology, Markets, and Society (LTMS) Home of Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC) Tilburg University Montesquieu Building M709 Phone: +31 13 466 3665 e-mail: L.dejong(a)tilburguniversity.edu<mailto:L.dejong@tilburguniversity.edu>

Feb. 19, 2019

Global web tracking study

by L.M.H. de Jong-van Hooff

Dear Members of the Network of Centers, On behalf of the Global Data Justice<http://www.globaldatajustice.org/> research group at TILT, Tilburg University, I am writing to invite you to participate in the first global study on the web tracking practices and networks. We are conducting research to explore what third-party trackers loaded through particular websites can tell us about the firms, networks and transfers that make up the global data market. Very little is known about the size and nature of this market on the global level, although many studies have been conducted on higher-income countries, and this study aims to begin to fill this gap in the research. We are seeking collaborators who can conduct a simple, fairly non-technical, 10-minute piece of web research using simple tools that will analyse what trackers load when they visit a) a news website and b) a mobile phone operator's website, each based in their own country. (For more information, see the brief 'info for participants' file attached). When we have a set of files showing which trackers load from similar searches in different countries, we will use this as the basis from which to anlayse more complex features of the data market such as links between firms, processes of data brokerage, and how the market for tracking data operates in different countries and regions. We aim to do this study yearly over the next five years, so if you would be interested in collaborating over the longer term, you can indicate this on the consent form (attached in pdf and word). We will keep your details private, but we will inform you of all findings from the study, and the eventual global dataset of trackers by country will be released as open data for researchers worldwide. If you would be willing to participate, or can recommend someone else who might, please reply to this email with a signed consent form (signing electronically is fine) and you will receive the protocol for the study. The team is happy to discuss further: please send any questions to info(a)globaldatajustice.org<mailto:info@globaldatajustice.org>. Yours, Leonie de Jong Managing Director Department of Law, Technology, Markets, and Society (LTMS) Home of Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC) Tilburg University Montesquieu Building M709 Phone: +31 13 466 3665 e-mail: L.dejong(a)tilburguniversity.edu<mailto:L.dejong@tilburguniversity.edu>

Feb. 19, 2019

Fwd: assistance report

by Leyla Keser

Dear all, We are in the process of organising a conference on behalf of the Turkish Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on law ethics and technology interplay in the digital age. We plan to invite speakers/delegates from all around the world. The conference is an interdisciplinary event; for which we plan to invite academics, lawyers, engineers as well as other professions from different backgrounds. We need your assistance in terms of establishing a general invitee list who may be of interest for this event. We would like to remind you that the event is not limited to academia; we expect active participation of NGOs, companies, public and private sector. You know better who would fulfill the criteria and could possibly contribute to such an event. Please share with us as much as possible names, institutions, etc. that you consider suitable for the context. Turkish MoJ will cover accommodation, travel costs and any relevant expenses. The event is planned to take place at the end of September in Istanbul. We, as Bilgi IT Law Instiute, are co-organising the event with Turkish MoJ. If you may have any further questions, please contact us. Best, Leyla -- www.leylakeser.org

Feb. 18, 2019

Paper on the 'WhatsApp Lynchings' in India

by Chinmayi Arun

Dear All, This is to share a paper I wrote on WhatsApp and the lynchings in India. You should be able to access it here <https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/6/insight/whatsapp-rumours-and-lynchings.ht…> for the next couple of weeks. Do let me know if you have any trouble with the website- I'll send you a copy. It may be of interest to anyone who is interested in hate speech and platform governance. I would be very grateful for any feedback that you have for me. Best, Chinmayi

Feb. 15, 2019

Data request on e-commerce and online platforms

by Leyla Keser

Dear NoC people, Hope this finds you well. As IT Law Institute we prepare a comprehensive report on e-commerce and online platforms. To that extend we would be happy if you could provide us data about: - e-commerce legislation in your country ( text of the Law and/or link) - general evaluation of your e-commerce law, i.e strength and weak aspects - general info and/or statistics of e-commerce market in your country - any legislation about online platforms. If there is no legislation, please inform us about current situation in your country (i.e. discussions, pre-legislative works etc.) We would like to thank you in advance for your collaboration. Best, Leyla Keser Director IT Law Institute Istanbul Bilgi University -- www.leylakeser.org

Feb. 8, 2019