Research Clinic Americas – Platform://Democracy
Platforms are legislators, enforcers and adjudicators of online speech rules. Their norms and algorithmic practices shape how we communicate. But how can we ensure public values in digital communication orders? And which ones? In four regional research clinics we aim to shed light on how to provide the normative infrastructure for better rule-making, rule-enforcing and rule-adjudication structures in (primarily online) hybrid communication spaces. In these clinics we will make use of the unique institutional experiences and individual backgrounds of Clinic participants, to work towards good suggestison on how to democratize online communication spaces and to ensure that rules and practices are socially sustainable.
Americas Research Clinic | Regional Coordinator
 | Heidi Tworek Dr. Heidi Tworek is Associate Professor of International History and Public Policy at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. She holds a Canada Research Chair and directs the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at UBC. She is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation as well as a non-resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Affiliation: University of British Columbia, Centre for International Governance Innovation |
Americas Research Clinic | Fellows
 | Luca Belli Luca Belli is Professor of Digital Governance and Regulation at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) Law School, where he directs the Center for Technology and Society (CTS-FGV) and the CyberBRICS project. He conducts research on data governance, digital sovereignty, AI regulation, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. Affiliation: Fundação Getulio Vargas Law School, Rio de Janeiro Twitter • LinkedIn | |
 | Katie Harbath Katie Harbath is a global leader at the intersection of elections, democracy, and technology. As the chief executive of Anchor Change, she helps clients think through tech policy issues. She is a senior advisor for technology and democracy at the International Republican Institute and is also a fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Integrity Institute and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council. Affiliation: Anchor Change Twitter • LinkedIn | |
 | Kate Klonick Kate Klonick is an Associate Professor of Law at St. Johns University Law School, an Affiliate Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School and a Nonresident Fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she focuses on private governance of online speech. | |
 | Emma Llansó Emma Llansó is the Director of CDT’s Free Expression Project, where she works to promote law and policy that support Internet users’ free expression rights in the United States, Europe, and around the world. Emma's research focuses on the development of online communications governance and the use of machine learning techniques and other forms of automation in content moderation and analysis of online speech. Affiliation: Centre for Democracy and Technology Twitter • LinkedIn | |
 | David Morar David Morar studies governance structures, particularly private governance mechanisms, multistakeholder or otherwise. His original academic focus was on international internet governance institutions, with a dissertation looking at the way in which the human factor affects the other fundamental building blocks of such novel institutions. He has since expanded his work to also encompass platform governance institutions. Affiliation: Open Technology Institute, George Mason University | |
 | Aviv Ovadya Aviv Ovadya is an affiliate at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center's Institute for Rebooting Social Media, a visiting researcher at Cambridge University's Center for the Future of Intelligence, and a non-resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy. He works at the intersections of platform governance, information ecosystem health, artificial intelligence, and democratic deliberation. Affiliation: Berkman Klein Center, Cambridge University Twitter • LinkedIn | |
 | Peter Routhier Peter Routhier is a lawyer based in the United States and Policy Counsel at the Internet Archive. Previously, he was a partner in the intellectual property group of a large international law firm. He holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School and a B.A. from the University of Colorado. Affiliation: Internet Archive | |
 | Fabro Steibel Pos-doc, alumni at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University, and a former member of the Global Council at the World Economic Forum. He is a fellow in open government by the OAS, has a PhD at the University of Leeds, and has passages at the United Nations University (Macao), the University of California San Diego, and Federal Fluminense University/Brazil. Fabro is a member of the Data Protection Council of the Data Protection Authority of Brazil, and he is the executive director of ITS Rio. Affiliation: Harvard University, ITS Rio | |
 | Alicia Wanless Alicia Wanless is the Director of the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which aims to foster evidence-based policymaking to counter threats within the information environment. Affiliation: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |
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Platform://Democracy
About the Project
The project "Platform://Democracy: Platform Councils as Tools to Democratize Hybrid Online Orders" examines how the rules of discourse on platforms can be aligned with public values. It focuses on the following question: Can "platform councils" or other institutions ensure that public interests and democratic values are taken into account in the rule-making processes of platforms?
Project Team
 | Matthias C. Kettemann Matthias C. Kettemann is principal investigator of the Platform://Democracy project. He is research program lead at the Leibniz-Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut, research group head at the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society and professor of Innovation, Theory and Philosophy of Law at the University of Innsbruck. Affiliation: Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, University of Innsbruck, Leibniz-Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut. | |
 | Christina Dinar, Dipl.-Päd.
Christina Dinar is a junior researcher for Platform Governance at Leibniz Institut for Media Research|Hans Bredow Institut and specialises on community-involved content moderation practices and user participation perspectives. Affiliation: Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung | Hans-Bredow-Institut | |
 | Josefa Francke Josefa Francke is a junior researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research (HBI) in Hamburg and an associated researcher at the HIIG in Berlin. Her research focus lies in participatory-democratic innovations and human rights globally and in the digital space. Affiliation: Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung | Hans-Bredow-Institut | |
 | Lena Hinrichs Lena Hinrichs studies law at the University of Hamburg and works at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans Bredow Institute. Affiliation: Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung | Hans-Bredow-Institut |
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