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 recommendation 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 online content 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, panelists will discuss how the Digital Services Act could improve algorithmic transparency by providing watchdogs with the tools they need to hold platforms accountable.