Description
Panel abstract:Platform companies wield enormous power over digital infrastructures, unilaterally reconfiguring group dynamics and communities. With the objective of solidifying their power over data production, extraction, and exploitation, these platform companies are strategically safeguarding their rule-setting position. The COVID-19 pandemic has catalysed the further entrenchment and solidification of platform power across the board, increasing vulnerabilities and dependencies for some more than others, but also boosted public awareness about the complex risks and challenges raised. While much of these power dynamics are enabled by the law, we believe the law can also offer the opportunity to individuals and communities to countervail these existing power structures. Data rights in particular appear to be a promising avenue for challenging platform power, in order to safeguard individual and collective interests in a wide variety of contexts. Yet, important questions remain as to the suitability, scope, and effectiveness of doing so. With that in mind, we propose to have a panel discussion to explore the following open questions:
• What are the collective and individual dynamics of data rights? (e.g. Is there a normative basis for collectivising? What is the most appropriate and efficient governance model for the collective exercise of data rights?)
• How do context-dependencies factor into harnessing data rights? (e.g. Can we generalise across the board? What general rules or recommendations apply across the board, where do we need topic/community specific rules? What are the shortcomings of the existing framework?)
• Can we see the emergence of a new category of ‘data rights’ – in the GDPR, but also increasingly in digitally-oriented regulatory proposals such as the Digital Services Act and the Data Governance Act – aimed at challenging data-driven power asymmetries? What are some potential updates of existing legal and regulatory tools that would offer better protection pertaining to data rights?
• In addition to the GDPR, what other legal (or non-legal) means can, or should, work alongside it?
This multi-disciplinary panel will discuss these questions through pre-identified use-cases that will be used as examples which showcase distinct communities with different dynamics, while still falling under the category of gig work: (a) individual content creators challenging financial censorship decisions by fintech intermediaries embedded in online sex platforms, and (b) platform economy workers demanding better labour conditions through access to their data and insight to algorithmic management by ride-hailing and delivery companies.
We believe this panel to fit the selected track perfectly, as it specifically aims to (a) explore where GDPR-rights fall short, by contextualising it through specific use cases, and more importantly (b) position ‘data rights’ as a wider legal and policy tool in the platform-resistance debate. This will also inform the wider discussion on how data rights can evolve constructively and systemically as a tool to address social and economic injustices.
| Periode | 20 mei 2021 |
|---|---|
| Evenementstitel | TILTing Perspectives 2021 - Regulating in Times of Crisis |
| Evenementstype | Conference |
| Mate van erkenning | International |