Online policy panel: Examining the role of platforms and AI in elections

Experts from various fields will discuss actions that platforms are undertaking, how online political campaigning is currently regulated in the EU, and how these measures interplay. Speakers will also place the upcoming elections in the wider context of our saturated (dis)information environment and reflect on how platforms and politicians can maintain and restore trust with citizens in an intertwined offline and online society.

The panel discussion is organised as part of the Jean Monnet Winter School on EU Policy Making focusing on digital rights and diplomacy and is openly accessible to the public. Registration is required to participate.

Speakers:

• Trisha Meyer, Director of the Centre for Digitalisation, Democracy and Innovation, Brussels School of Governance
• Nicola Aitken, Meta, Lead, Stakeholder Engagement, Content Policy
• Mattia Caniglia, Atlantic Council’s DFR Lab, Associate Director, Capacity Building
• Mihalis Kritikos, European Commission, DG-RTD, Policy Analyst, Ethics and Integrity Sector

Trisha Meyer is Director of the Research Centre for Digitalisation, Democracy and Innovation, Academic Coordinator of the Jean Monnet Winter and Summer Schools on EU Policy-Making, and Assistant Professor of Digital Governance and Participation at the Brussels School of Governance. She is also the principal investigator of the EDMO BELUX project, an EU-funded hub on research, fact-checking and media literacy on online disinformation in Belgium and Luxembourg (2021-2027). Trisha researches the regulatory push toward and societal consequences of tech platforms taking proactive (automated) measures to moderate online content, with a focus on disinformation and copyright. A second closely related research strand pertains to stakeholder engagement and participatory governance in digital policy. 

Nicola Aitken is Meta's lead for external engagement on misinformation and responsible AI within the Trust and Safety organisation. Her role is to work with external experts around the globe to get independent feedback on Meta's policy and product development. Prior to joining Meta, Nicola was a Policy Manager at Full Fact, the UK’s independent fact checking charity, where she managed the strategic response to Covid-19 misinformation on social media platforms. She also spent 5 years in the UK government, where she worked on countering mis and disinformation, tech regulation, broadcasting regulation and wider media policy.

Mattia Caniglia is an Associate Director at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab where he coordinates training and capacity-building activities on open-source intelligence techniques, disinformation, and digital resilience. Mattia is also Affiliate Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, where he regularly delivers lectures on jihadist and right-wing violent extremism and international security. An expert in open-source intelligence data analysis, he has conducted high profile research and analysis activities on disinformation, terrorism and counterterrorism, international security and geopolitical issues, the European Union Common Security and Defence Policy and the European External Action Service. He has a geographical focus on Europe, the Mediterranean, the Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Mihalis Kritikos is Policy Analyst at the Ethics and Integrity Sector of the European Commission (DG-RTD) working on the ethical development of emerging technologies with a special emphasis on AI Ethics and Senior Associate Fellow at the Brussels School of Governance. Before that, he worked at the Scientific Foresight Service of the European Parliament as a legal/ethics advisor on Science and Technology issues (STOA/EPRS). Mihalis is a legal expert in the fields of EU decision-making, legal backcasting, food/environmental law, responsible governance of science and innovation, and regulatory control of new and emerging risks.