Research & Commentary

As lawsuits mount and legislation proliferates aimed at stemming online harms, the battle over how algorithmic recommender systems should be designed is heating up. Yet common policy solutions that focus on mandating chronological feeds or limiting personalization fail to address the core issue: how to design recommender systems that align with users’ genuine long-term interests rather than exploiting their short-term impulses.

This month, the Knight-Georgetown Institute convened two events during Georgetown University’s fourth annual Tech & Society Week. KGI brought together leading experts, academics, and other key stakeholders across the digital technology landscape to explore some of the most pressing topics around social media platform design as well as consumer protection litigation aimed at keeping users safe online.

As state, federal, and global policymakers grapple with how to address concerns about the link between online algorithms and a variety of harms, KGI’s latest report authored by a distinguished group of researchers, technologists, and policy leaders is a roadmap for design and governance solutions that put users first. Product designers and policymakers can promote better algorithms through detailed design transparency, user choices and defaults, and assessments of long-term impact.

The Knight-Georgetown Institute (KGI) submitted comments to the United Kingdom regulator for communications services’ (Ofcom) call for evidence on researcher access to information from digital platforms. KGI’s comments highlight barriers to independent research and practical steps that Ofcom can take to strengthen access to data and independent research in the online information ecosystem.

Late last year, the public got its first glimpse into one of the EU Digital Services Act’s (DSA) key governance tools. Nineteen designated Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines (VLOPs and VLOSEs) published systemic risk assessment and audit reports focusing on platform risks and mitigation measures.

The DSA’s required risk assessments and audits create the possibility to advance groundbreaking platform transparency and accountability, but this first round falls far short of realizing that potential.