And how can we regulate these mechanisms?
New publication with the Department of Law researchers out now
On 14 March 2024, the European Audiovisual Observatory published the IRIS Special 2023-2 on Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability in Digital Services – a “must-read round-up of the current issues concerning algorithm use in Europe”. The Report maps existing regulatory approaches towards the use of algorithmic systems and was written by an editorial team from the Institute for European Media law (EMR) of which Prof Dr Mark D. Cole, Professor for Media and Telecommunication Law at the Department of Law, is the Director for Academic Affairs.
Algorithmic systems have a significant impact on the way users today interact with the online environment, consume media content and other types of information, actively find entry points to something they are looking for via search engines or passively are confronted with more or less individualised recommendations or advertising. The core concept when it comes to regulating algorithmic systems and, more generally and even more currently, artificial intelligence, is ‘transparency’.
Focusing on the relevance of transparency as a regulatory concept, the standard-setting activities of the Council of Europe since 2017 and the EU legal framework with particular emphasis on the importance of the Digital Services Act Package are assessed. Further, the publication addresses international developments beyond these frameworks and presents some case studies at national level. A summary outlook concludes that “transparency alone does not necessarily change practices and behaviours, if it is not followed up on with rules on how algorithmic systems have to be or are prohibited from being designed. […] In that sense, the activities of the authorities and bodies in charge of overseeing the use of algorithmic systems especially by platforms will be decisive.”
A glossary with simplified explanations of terms used in this IRIS Special compiled by Sandra Schmitz-Berndt, Postdoctoral Researcher at FDEF, completes the Report. Research that went into this publication was funded by the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) under the project LAIWYERS: Law and AI: WaYs to Explore Robust Solutions.
Background information: The European Audiovisual Observatory was set up within the framework of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in 1992 in order to provide a comparative European overview of the audiovisual industry in Europe as well as detailed analysis of national and regional industries. The publications in the IRIS Special series tackle current issues in media law and related fields.
The IRIS Special on Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability in Digital Services is available for free on the website of the European Audiovisual Observatory in English, French and German.