Data access, power and the future of digital platform accountability
This keynote by professor Mato Brautović, University of Dubrovnik, Croatia, addresses the growing asymmetry between platforms and the research community and how the architecture of access, or the denial of it, allows platforms to control not only what we know about them, but also what we are allowed to know.
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At a time when digital platforms are shaping public discourse and influencing democratic life, the issue of researchers' access to platform data is no longer a technical footnote, but a key political battleground. This keynote addresses the growing asymmetry between platforms and the research community and how the architecture of access, or the denial of it, allows platforms to control not only what we know about them, but also what we are allowed to know. Referring to the evolving regulatory landscape, particularly the ambitions of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the talk argues that restricted access undermines transparency, stifles critical scrutiny and weakens the public’s right to accountability. By affirming research as a political act, this keynote calls on regulators, academics, and civil society to resist the normalization of opacity and reclaim empirical inquiry as a pillar of democratic resilience.
About professor Mato Brautović
Mato Brautović is Full Professor of Journalism at the University of Dubrovnik and Vice-Rector for Internationalization. He leads two EU-funded projects: Adria Digital Media Observatory (ADMO) and DU-Check - which deal with disinformation, platform accountability and media literacy. As a member of the Executive Board of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), he actively advocates for better access to platform data for researchers. In his recent work, he emphasizes the political importance of digital research and argues that data is vital for democratic control. Brautović regularly lectures on digital regulation, transparency and disinformation in the platform age.
Related links: https://www.unidu.hr/vicerectors/
