Standard form consumer contracts (SFCCs), including Terms of Service agreements, are drafted by businesses and presented to consumers on a non-negotiable basis. Since these contracts present an asymmetric imbalance of information and resources between parties, they have been of concern for consumer rights in recent years. While some have characterized these issues as a ‘duty to read’ for consumers or as egregious terms and weak disclosures by drafters,’ this project suggests at least part of the issues exist from a lack of consideration of the document itself (i.e., medium, format, authenticy, reliability, stability) and the processes that deem it ‘standard.’
Datafication (the quantification of social life) is a colonial move which perpetuates a legacy of appropriation. But how to regulate this?
People are increasingly concerned that data collectors can use information about them to subtly influence their decision-making—what is often called “online manipulation”. To further efforts at combating such strategies, this paper defines “online manipulation” and explores the harms it threatens.
This paper examines data protection policies in Australia and Europe and outlines how both frameworks evoke different notions of citizenship.
Why did China’s Alibaba platform reform its enforcement practices in line with demands from the US government and US companies?
What are the informal arrangements governing online content on platforms in Europe, and what are the factors that make them more or less successful?
Manufacturers of “smart goods” can remotely alter or destroy software-enabled devices to further their corporate interests, a form of post-purchase control termed “bricking”.
This paper explores the social, demographic and attitudinal basis of consumer support for a Copyright Compensation System (CCS), which, for a small monthly fee would legalise currently infringing online social practices such as private copying from illegal sources and online sharing of copyrighted works.
Data ethics has gained traction in policy-making. The article presents an analytical investigation of the different dimensions and actors shaping data ethics in European policy-making.
Net neutrality consultations that tap into networked publics rest on a thin version of participation that maintains existing inequality.