Hilary

The front page of today’s Boston Globe.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board was created specifically to provide oversight over the kinds of government actions where the need for secrecy makes people most vulnerable to abuses of power.

Come be my colleague! This is a really interesting, internationally-focused, remote-friendly, human rights & tech policy role. More info & apply ⬇️

a republic, if we can keep it 🤞🇺🇸

cat in a witch hat with a wand making a scrunched up face

what i look like faving your posts

So far, I am heartened by the draft! Right off the bat, it requires a data access portal (that's interoperable with the EC's existing portal) for researchers to apply and the various actors related to review/approval to be in communication. This seems prosaic, but it is crucial. (2/x)

Anyway, it's late, so that's a wrap on my disjoined initial reactions! Look forward to reading the community's thoughts on the draft (8/8)

Reading the European Commission's Proposed Implementation of DSA Article 40: Six Initial Observations on a New Framework for Research Data Access | TechPolicy.Press Today the European Commission proposed how Article 40 of the DSA could work in practice. Mathias Vermeulen offers early observations.

It's also very heartening to see it made clear that researchers outside of the EU can apply, though as @mathver.bsky.social makes clear in this great piece it will likely be quite complex: www.techpolicy.press/reading-the-... (7/x)

Other prosaic things I'm heartened by: standardizing requests, making requests publicly available. (6/x)

Other prosaic things I'm heartened by: standardizing requests, making requests publicly available. (6/x)

More broadly, the draft envisions a very expansive role for DSCs- verifying whether the data requested is necessary for the research project, validating privacy/security protections, deciding to consult outside experts, etc. That all requires specific expertise and capacity...! (5/x)

The draft specifies many possible types of data researchers can request. This is great for research! As a user, it's… a lot of data. As @daphnek.bsky.social notes, platforms might not actually track it all & we should be careful that regulation doesn't inadvertently create perverse incentives. (4/x)

Figuring out who is a qualified researcher is surprisingly complicated. The draft requires researchers to demonstrate "their affiliation to a research organisation, such as employment contracts or any other form of legal association". That might be limiting, but I think it is necessary. (3/x)

So far, I am heartened by the draft! Right off the bat, it requires a data access portal (that's interoperable with the EC's existing portal) for researchers to apply and the various actors related to review/approval to be in communication. This seems prosaic, but it is crucial. (2/x)

For context, I used to run a data access program. Balancing all the equities in this space (public interest need for research, user privacy, trade secrets, not creating perverse incentives to store more data) while figuring out the practicalities is very complex. (1/x)

European Commission - Have your say European Commission - Have your say

EU DSA's Article 40 Delegated Act is out and open for comment for the next 4 weeks! ec.europa.eu/info/law/bet...

Today the European Commission proposed how Art.40 of the Digital Services Act (#DSA) could work in practice.In a worldwide first, this article in the DSA mandated very large platforms to grant researchers access to a wide range of previously undisclosed data.Some key points - now also on Bluesky :)👇

bah Shit Is Bad.

Reupping this for the institutional leaders who need it.

👋

GNI Learning Forum 2024: Global Dynamics in Government Demands of Tech - Global Network Initiative Register for GNI events in Washington D.C. from Nov 19 & 20.

👋 Join @thegni.bsky.social Annual Learning Forum on Nov. 19th “Global Dynamics in Government Demands of Tech”, covering trends & tactics in gov't demands and mandates of tech and protecting human rights amidst changing contexts.

Virtual registration: globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-learning...

Come and join our small but mighty team working towards healthier local digital spaces!

(& please share widely with folks who might be interested! 🙏)

overwhelmed by the vast complexity of governing online speech... she ends up with no content and no face lolsob

my fave line in Daphne's piece is: "Whether that fundamental reframing of speech governance will be a net positive for internet users or society remains to be seen."

Lotta work to be done to try to make it so...!

globalnetworkinitiative.org/eu-stakehold...

Ensuring Digital Services Act Audits Deliver on Their Promise | TechPolicy.Press DSA audit procedures have been under-developed, leaving lots of open questions, say GNI's Jason Pielemeier, Ramsha Jahangir, and Hilary Ross.

and thanks for citing our pieces! :) :) www.techpolicy.press/ensuring-dig...

The Rise of the Compliant Speech Platform Content moderation is becoming a “compliance function,” with trust and safety operations run like factories and audited like investment banks.

great piece by @daphnek.bsky.social describing the "compliance-ization" (is that a word? now that's a word!) of platform policy and trust & safety functions. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

congratulations! this is really an exceptional resource.

The RSC comes out of research that Prof. Katie Searles (Univ of S Carolina) and I have been conducting into the impacts of occupational intimidation (OI) on experts—scientists, journalists, public health and election officials, etc.—focusing in particular on what can be done to mitigate harms. 1/

🚨 🚨 if you work in T&S, it turns out you should be paying attention to this UN treaty process! Jason lays out the concerns for a number of communities, including practitioners within companies. ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️