News and Research articles on Cambridge Analytica

Transnational collective actions for cross-border data protection violations

Federica Casarosa, European University Institute
PUBLISHED ON: 16 Sep 2020 DOI: 10.14763/2020.3.1498

Although the GDPR paves the way for a coordinated EU-wide legal action against data protection infringements, only a reform of private international law rules can enhance the opportunities of data subjects to enforce their rights.

Transparency in artificial intelligence

Stefan Larsson, Lund University
Fredrik Heintz, Linköping University
PUBLISHED ON: 5 May 2020 DOI: 10.14763/2020.2.1469

Introduction: transparency in AI Transparency is indeed a multifaceted concept used by various disciplines (Margetts, 2011; Hood, 2006). Recently, it has gone through a resurgence with regards to contemporary discourses around artificial intelligence (AI). For example, the ethical guidelines published by the EU Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on AI (AI HLEG) in April 2019 states transparency as one of seven key requirements for the realisation of ‘trustworthy AI’, which also has made its clear mark in the Commission’s white paper on AI, published in February 2020. In fact, “transparency” is the single most common, and one of the key five principles emphasised in the vast number – a …

Data-driven elections: implications and challenges for democratic societies

Colin J. Bennett, University of Victoria
David Lyon, Queen's University
PUBLISHED ON: 31 Dec 2019 DOI: 10.14763/2019.4.1433

In the wake of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal, it is timely to review the state of the debate about the impact of data-driven elections and to identify key questions that require academic research and regulatory response. The papers in this collection, by some of the world’s most prominent elections researchers, offer that assessment.

Disinformation optimised: gaming search engine algorithms to amplify junk news

Samantha Bradshaw, Oxford Internet Institute
PUBLISHED ON: 31 Dec 2019 DOI: 10.14763/2019.4.1442

This paper examines how Google Search ranked 29 junk news domains between 2016 and 2019, finding that SEO — rather than paid advertising — is the most important strategy for generating discoverability via Google Search. Google has taken several steps to combat the spread of disinformation on Search, and these strategies have been largely successful at limiting the discoverability of junk news.

This article identifies factors that could explain the increasing pressure to regulate Québec’s political parties’ uses of digital voter information.

The regulation of online political micro-targeting in Europe

Tom Dobber, University of Amsterdam
Ronan Ó Fathaigh, University of Amsterdam
Frederik J. Zuiderveen Borgesius, Radboud University
PUBLISHED ON: 31 Dec 2019 DOI: 10.14763/2019.4.1440

This paper discusses how online political micro-targeting is regulated in Europe, from the perspective of data protection law, freedom of expression, and political advertising rules.

Voter preferences, voter manipulation, voter analytics: policy options for less surveillance and more autonomy

Jacquelyn Burkell, The University of Western Ontario
Priscilla M. Regan, George Mason University
PUBLISHED ON: 31 Dec 2019 DOI: 10.14763/2019.4.1438

Personalised political messaging undermines voter autonomy and the electoral process. Use of voter analytics for political communication must be regulated.

Discussing three factors that characterise the activities of political campaigners, this article demonstrates variations in who is using data in campaigns, what the sources of campaign data are, and how data informs communication.

Zombie contracts, dark patterns of design, and ‘documentisation’

Kristin B. Cornelius, University of California, Los Angeles
PUBLISHED ON: 30 Jun 2019 DOI: 10.14763/2019.2.1412

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.’

Technology, autonomy, and manipulation

Daniel Susser, Pennsylvania State University
Beate Roessler, University of Amsterdam
Helen Nissenbaum, Cornell Tech
PUBLISHED ON: 30 Jun 2019 DOI: 10.14763/2019.2.1410

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.

Data and digital rights: recent Australian developments

Gerard Goggin, University of Sydney
Ariadne Vromen, University of Sydney
Kimberlee Weatherall, University of Sydney
Fiona Martin, University of Sydney
Lucy Sunman, University of Sydney
PUBLISHED ON: 31 Mar 2019 DOI: 10.14763/2019.1.1390

How do we construct and deliver data privacy rights? We discuss two recent Australian initiatives on regulation of digital platforms and a new consumer data right.

Standard form contracts and a smart contract future

Kristin B. Cornelius, University of California, Los Angeles
PUBLISHED ON: 15 May 2018 DOI: 10.14763/2018.2.790

With widespread smart contract implementation on the horizon, there is much conversation about how to regulate this new technology. Noting the failure of contract law to address the inequities of standardised contracts in the digital environment can help prevent them from being codified further into smart contracts.