[Wien] Policy Chat: Access Denied: Challenges on the Quest to Understanding AI on Platforms

Host: Women in AI Austria

Panel:
Susanne Lackner (KommAustria)
Rania Wazir (laiwand.ai)
Jennifer Adams (Communications Policy Collaborative, Uni Wien)
Thomas Lohninger (epicenter.works)

With the DSA recently coming into force alongside growing awareness around the systemic effects of recommendation algorithms, we need to make good use of the tools available to gain an understanding of these algorithmic practices and their potential risks to society.

One of these tools is Art. 40 DSA, which obliges VLOPs and VLOSEs to provide vetted researchers with access to data in order to advance our understanding of systemic risks. A narrower obligation also allows not-for-profit organisations to request access to data, although this type of data access is restricted only to publicly accessible data.

Conducting such research is important because it helps us understand the effects of recommendation algorithms and other AI systems on online and offline worlds - and there is a lot of work to be done! However, access to data in practice is not so easy. Our panelists will share experiences on data access in practice and the challenges that currently exist and may persist in the future.