GovTechTalks: (Algorithmic) Discrimination in the Platform Economy
| When: | Th 15-04-2021 12:00 - 13:00 |
| Where: | Online |
This online and interdisciplinary talks series on digital government and society will take place twice a month on Thursdays at 12.00 CET. Registration is required and is free. The events will be widely publicized on social media and through different academic networks. Each session will include two invited speakers who will present their research and engage with the audience’s questions.
Organizer: Prof. dr. Sofia Ranchordas
Seminar 15 April 2021, 12 PM CET: (Algorithmic) Discrimination in the Platform Economy
Invited Speakers:
- Ana Maria Correa (lecturer Comparative Law, Université Libre de Bruxelles)
- Alba Soriano Arnanz (postdoctoral researcher, University of Valencia)
Ana Maria Correa
Bio
Ana Maria Correa is currently lecturing Comparative Law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She is also a curator and researcher of internet legal and policy developments at DiploFoundation. Ana has recently defended her PhD thesis at the Université Libre de Bruxelles on the challenges of regulating the digital economy and preventing discrimination in the US and European markets. Her project was awarded a four-year grant from the CAPES Foundation. A member of the Berkeley Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law Study Group and the Internet Society, she has led classes in comparative law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and in global law theories the Goethe University Frankfurt. Ana is interested in the intersection of Internet governance and equality rights.
Abstract
Over the past two decades, online platforms have undoubtedly emerged as a driving force in most economies. Unfortunately, social interactions taking place in these online spaces have mirrored the state of inequality of these capitalists markets offline. So far, media, scholars, and case law have extensively documented the development of discrimination against statutorily protected classes in platforms’ marketplaces. Having this in mind, this talk looks into the challenges the online platform economy presents to equality rights that are part of the European Union anti-discrimination laws, by focusing in the design governance of platform’s businesses, and in the failures and opportunities of the EU legal framework.
Alba Soriano Arnanz
Bio
Alba Soriano is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Valencia. Her PhD, which she recently defended at the University of Valencia, focuses on the regulation of algorithmic discrimination. Her research is mainly centred on the regulation of new technological developments in order to protect against the risks and harms that these can generate for the fundamental rights of individuals and, in particular, for the rights to equality and non-discrimination.
Abstract
One of the main concerns that results from the growing use of automated decision-making systems is the way in which these tools have been proven to perpetuate the oppression and subordination historically suffered by certain social groups. It is therefore essential to consider whether the existing legal framework for the protection of equality and non-discrimination can correctly address cases of algorithmic discrimination and protect the members of disadvantaged groups from the perpetuation of inequality that can be brought by the increasing automation of all types of decision-making processes.