
Latest blog articles
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Let’s take a deep breath: on the EU (and academic) reaction to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling
Breath in, breath out. Yes, the judgment of the (unlawfully composed) Polish Constitutional Tribunal is a serious challenge to the European Union’s legal system and to the principle of primacy of EU law. No, Poland has not activated the process of withdrawal from the EU under Article 50 TEU. Yes, EU...
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Human ads beyond targeted advertising - Content monetization as the blind spot of the digital services act
The DSA reflects the issue of advertising in its draft Art. 24, mandating transparency in advertising displayed by platforms – the traditional ad archives, discussed above. However, the proposal makes no acknowledgement whatsoever of new advertising business models emerging from content monetization...
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Freedom of expression & content moderation on social media: the promises and challenges of experimental accountability
This blog post is part of a collaborative education project on social media and platform governance undertaken by Prof. Nicolo Zingales (Fundação Getulio Vargas), Thales Bertaglia (Studio Europa/Institute of Data Science, UM) and Dr. Catalina Goanta (UM).
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Minors and social media – how are the most vulnerable protected?
Could you estimate how much time of your day you spend on social media? The answer would most likely be something along the lines of ‘a lot’ or ‘I’m always connected, so I get notifications all the time anyways’ but an actual estimate, that’s a very tough guess to take. However, for most people, it...
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Social media sanctions – the new procedural justice?
One view on social media communication is that platforms should remove content deemed to be inappropriate or disturbing and suspend users who have repeatedly violated the Community Guidelines and should do so in a consistent and coherent manner. A contrasting view is that users can share what they...
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How the BetterHelp scandal changed our perspective on influencer responsibility
Influencer marketing and mental health. The global spend on Influencer marketing is expected to reach $15 Billions by 2022, and naturally, brands have grasped how influential social media could be in their marketing campaign. Influencer marketing has grown exponentially, leaving more traditional...
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"Get the facts about freedom of speech and Twitter!"
In agony, many US citizens were awaiting the night of November 3rd when the first voting results for the US presidential election were expected to trickle in. Having regard to what happened since May and what was bound to happen in the weeks following the election, Twitter, presumably, was...
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Fake it till you make it - Influencer’s insatiable desire and thirst for fame
Nowadays, the prominent role social media has in our society cannot be denied, plenty of people define themselves through their presence online.
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Digital Influencers: selling products or selling body dysmorphia?
The disturbances social media has been causing to its users’ mental health cannot be ignored. It is of extreme importance that the private and public spheres work together to protect consumers from the unfeasible search for perfection.