Lumen Database Leads Research Sprint Exploring Best Practices For Transparency around Online Content Takedowns

The Berkman Klein Center's Lumen Database is launching a nine-week research sprint to investigate potential improvements to the principles and practices that inform transparency regarding takedowns of online content. The "Takedowns and Transparency Research Sprint: Global Norms, Regulation and the Nature of Online Information" cohort consists of academics, professionals, and activists with expertise in law, technology, public policy, design engineering, ethics, and other disciplines. Participants are situated in a dozen different national jurisdictions across Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, and South Asia.

The Sprint focuses on the global notice and takedown environment from a multi-stakeholder and multi-jurisdictional perspective. Participants will develop knowledge of content takedown transparency practices online, particularly "notice and takedown" procedures and the issues surrounding them, while also gaining access to a new network of peers from around the world. They will work collaboratively among themselves and with external experts to generate draft guidance on both the procedural and substantive elements of transparency best practices in online content takedown contexts.

Cohort members will deepen their understanding of the development of best practices through analysis of similar efforts in other internet governance contexts. Areas of consideration will include processes for stakeholder selection and group formation, sustainability, and enforcement mechanisms. Research Sprint participants will also document insights and lessons derived from their own attempts at drafting best practices. This work will serve as a foundation for future policy discussions guided by Lumen on takedown transparency.

“Takedowns and Transparency Research Sprint: Global Norms, Regulation and the Nature of Online Information” is the latest in a series of similar efforts. The sprint model—developed at BKC in collaboration with numerous partners—incubates a community of burgeoning experts committed to collaboratively tackling difficult tech policy problems and enables the rapid development of new research ideas and policy ideation. We are excited to continue this work with Lumen Database, BKC’s longest-running project, through the generous support of Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.

Participants

(Header photo by Joel Filipe via Unsplash.)