Platform regulation in Brazil and in the UK: designing and enforcing ‘duty of care’ frameworks

This research investigates the 'duty of care' concept as a regulatory framework for digital platforms, now essential communication and information infrastructure.
Project status
Ongoing
Departments
International

This research investigates the 'duty of care' concept as a regulatory framework for digital platforms, now essential communication and information infrastructure. Enshrined in the UK's Online Safety Act 2023 and adopted in Brazil's proposed Bill 2630/2020, this approach aims to hold platforms accountable for user safety, seeking to balance the mitigation of harms like hate speech and disinformation with protecting fundamental rights. However, translating these duties into actionable rules for platform design and operation remains under-researched. By analysing the UK's experience with the OSA, this project seeks to inform Brazil's approach, particularly given the lack of robust analysis on developing and implementing a 'duty of care' framework for online environments. A crucial aspect is examining how this duty applies when online content is increasingly shaped by algorithmic decisions. The research will investigate whether the 'duty of care' approach is sufficient to regulate algorithmic-driven platforms and ensure their responsible use.

Research Team: Dr Beatriz Kira, University of Sussex; Dr Ivar Hartmann, Insper Institute of Education and Research; Dr Phoebe Li, University of Sussex

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