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Better Access: Data for the Common Good

Report /

Better Access: Data for the Common Good

Online platforms shape what we know, how we connect, and who gets heard. As critical conversations unfold publicly on digital platforms, the ability to study them at scale has steadily diminished. KGI’s latest report authored by a distinguished group of leaders from research, civil society, and journalism offers a roadmap for expanding access to high-influence public platform data – the narrow slice of public platform data that has the greatest impact on civic life due to its reach, source, or role in shaping what people see online.

An information future for the common good

KGI distills research to inform actionable policy concerning platform governance and design, transparency, and competition policy.

Seeing the Digital Sphere: The Case for Public Platform Data

Commentary /

Seeing the Digital Sphere: The Case for Public Platform Data

Should we be able to understand the risks kids face online? Understand how brands communicate with consumers? How politicians communicate online? These questions – and many more – can only be answered when public platform data is accessible. A new series by Tech Policy Press and the Knight-Georgetown Institute explores why public platform data matters, what threats researchers and journalists face trying to access this data, and how we can build a more transparent digital public sphere.

Without a Payment Ban, What Can We Expect from the US v. Google Data Sharing Remedies?

Commentary /

Without a Payment Ban, What Can We Expect from the US v. Google Data Sharing Remedies?

On September 2, US District Court Judge Amit Mehta issued an opinion that many in the tech industry had been waiting on for more than 15 years: a ruling about how to rectify Google’s maintenance of its illegal monopoly in online search. The most consequential aspect of the opinion is that the remedies will not meaningfully address the conduct at the center of the case: Google paying distributors like Apple, Samsung, and Mozilla tens of billions of dollars per year to lock in Google Search as the default on nearly every mobile phone and across much of the desktop browser market.

Curbing Google’s Dominance: The UK’s First Test of Its New Digital Competition Powers

Commentary /

Curbing Google’s Dominance: The UK’s First Test of Its New Digital Competition Powers

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally designated Google as having Strategic Market Status – a  step toward curbing the company’s dominance in online search. The Knight-Georgetown Institute finds evidence to support this designation and urges the UK to prioritize stronger interventions that address key barriers to entry in the search market.

Europe Unveils New Evidence-Based Guidelines to Advance Safer Platform Design for Minors

Commentary /

Europe Unveils New Evidence-Based Guidelines to Advance Safer Platform Design for Minors

The European Commission’s new guidelines to protect minors online mark a step forward in online child safety, offering recommendations for how platforms are designed, including limits on manipulative design techniques, defaults to maximize protection, more agency for children, and regular risk reviews.

Robust Google Search Antitrust Remedies for an Uncertain AI Future

Commentary /

Robust Google Search Antitrust Remedies for an Uncertain AI Future

Robust and comprehensive remedies in the US government’s Google search antitrust case would help prevent Google from leveraging its monopoly power in search to dominate the emerging market for generative AI products.

The UK’s Ofcom Releases a Roadmap to Advance Researcher Access to Platform Data

Commentary /

The UK’s Ofcom Releases a Roadmap to Advance Researcher Access to Platform Data

A new report by Ofcom, the UK’s communication services regulator, underscores the challenges researchers face in accessing platform data and proposes a roadmap to improve researcher’s access to data to support online safety.

Recent News

Platform Design on Trial: Evidence-backed Frameworks for Discovery and Remedy

Announcement /

Platform Design on Trial: Evidence-backed Frameworks for Discovery and Remedy

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against online platform companies alleging harms related to social media, artificial intelligence, and gaming products. Together with the Tech Justice Law Project and the USC Neely Center, KGI is building a network of collaborators developing practical resources for use by litigators as they shape their approaches to discovery and remedy. Our Litigating Platform Design initiative bridges the gap between litigators, technology researchers, and legal scholars – equipping their joint efforts towards tech accountability.

Google Wins, We Lose

Media Coverage /

Google Wins, We Lose

What a great time to be Google. Not only is it facing only the meekest of punishments for abusing its monopoly of the search market, it is actually now positioned to further entrench its dominance of our information landscape. This is a perilous moment to be granting one company this much control over global access to knowledge.

New York Times

What does the Google antitrust ruling mean for the future of AI?

Media Coverage /

What does the Google antitrust ruling mean for the future of AI?

When the government launched an antitrust lawsuit against Google five years ago, it was all about whether the tech giant had a monopoly on internet search. But by the time the judge ruled on punishments for the company this month, the future of artificial intelligence was front and center.

NPR

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