Europe’s next frontier for independent research
The research community is at the forefront of holding platforms accountable, shaping a viable data-access regime and advancing Europe’s digital sovereignty ambitions, Brandi Geurkink writes in her op-ed. Thirty-five years after the invention of the…
Auditing moderation
Stefano Cresci wants platforms to be honest about their moderation – and he is using data from the Digital Services Act (DSA) to check. His research shows that bans and removals work for most users, but a vocal minority becomes more aggressive in…
What users see – and don’t see
Jana Lasser wants to understand not just what people do on social media, but also what they see in their personalised feeds. For her, this is central to grasping how recommendation algorithms shape civic discourse – and where current regulation…
How the research community can help keep Big Tech in check
By opening up platform data to independent researchers, the Digital Services Act (DSA) gives Europe’s scientific community new power to scrutinise how digital platforms influence our societies, with a key role for the European Research Council in…
Editorial - Making the digital world ours
By Gerd Gigerenzer Considering the digital world today means confronting questions that intersect with research, policy, and everyday life. As our societies become increasingly shaped by algorithms, platforms, and data-driven systems, the challenge…
News beyond the echo chamber
When people worry about ‘the algorithm’, they often imagine invisible machines quietly narrowing our horizons. Damian Trilling sees a more complex story and explores how news recommender systems can also broaden what we see online. Trilling’s work…
Bots, amplification and system-wide effects
Milena Tsvetkova studies how humans and intelligent machines interact in digital spaces. Her work moves past isolated cases to explore how interventions, bots, and algorithms affect entire networks, impacting democracy and daily interaction. …
Inclusive futures: ERC grantees tackling inequality through research
Inequality often emerges in subtle ways – through life transitions, urban planning choices, or the daily rhythms of community life. Three ERC grantees are tracing the everyday moments where systems, decisions, and spaces shape who belongs, who…
Seeing the full picture: Why science needs every mind
Science thrives when every perspective is part of the story. Yet, with women making up less than one-third of researchers globally, our understanding remains incomplete, filtered through a narrow lens that obscures crucial insights, writes Lora…
