31 March 2022
Regulating News Recommender Systems in Light of the Rule of Law
Many online services - search, e-commerce, movie streaming, social media, and news - use recommender systems. I argue that it is largely unnecessary and, in any case, contrary to the rule of law to regulate how news media deploy recommender systems to select and rank the news for individual users. Instead, I consider an alternative for state regulation of news recommenders, should empirical research show that certain news recommender systems have harmful effects on individual rights and societies. Continue reading >>
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29 March 2022
Algorithm Centrism in the DSA’s Regulation of Recommender Systems
The regulation of recommender systems is often framed as an issue of algorithmic governance. In this post I want to argue that this focus on recommender algorithms can be restrictive, and to show how one can go about regulating recommender systems in a broader sense. This systemic view pays closer attention to recommendation outputs (i.e. recommendations) and inputs (i.e. user behavior), and not just processing logics. Continue reading >>
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29 March 2022
Regulating Recommending: Legal and Policy Directions for Governing Platforms
Digital platforms have strategically positioned themselves as intermediaries between individuals, businesses, organisations, governments, and others. Platform companies frequently adopt business models based around extensively tracking user behaviour and using that information to supply targeted advertising, algorithmically personalise services, and grow user engagement, revenue, and market position. While platform capitalism can be immensely profitable, the problems this brings are increasingly stark. As we have argued elsewhere, it’s time to regulate recommending. Continue reading >>
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