On the 20th of September, Leiden University colleagues Assoc. Prof. Gianclaudio Malgieri (Main Applicant), Assist. Prof. Michael Klos (Co-Applicant), Prof. Simone van der Hof (Co-Applicant), Constanta Rosca, Maria-Lucia Rebrean and Maëlle Picout gladly welcomed RESOCIAL's consortium members to celebrate the project's kick-off.
The RESOCIAL project brings together an impressive team of scholars, researchers and external partners to identify, measure, and thereby address human vulnerabilities on social media platforms (including the metaverse and immersive technologies), thereby fostering the resilience of their users. A key focus of the project is the development of a comprehensive framework for assessing the impact of these platforms on fundamental rights. It will also establish best practices for creating social media designsand implementing EU law in a manner attentive to these vulnerabilities.
In attendance, whether it be online or in-person at Leiden University's historical Law Faculty "Kamerlingh Omnes Building", were multiple partners of the project: Mieke van Heesewijk (SIDN Fonds), Dr. Janneke Schokkenbroek (TU Delft & Inholland), Dr. Yannick Vogel (Dutch DPA), Jurgen Timmerman (Dutch DPA), Douwe de Lange (Pontus Advocaten), Anne-Jel Hoelen (The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM)), Dr. Ben Wagner (TU Delft & Inholland), Dr. Birna van Riemsdijk (University of Twente), Dr. Lorena Sánchez Chamarro (University of Twente), Bianca-Ioana Marcu (Future of Privacy Forum), and Maryant Fernandez (The European Consumer Organisation - BEUC).
The morning session started with a short introduction of the project's objectives with a special focus on its relevance considering social media and AI developments, where an appropriate understanding of 'vulnerability' is yet to be determined. Overall goals of the project's Work Packages (WPs) were presented, alongside the agreed timeline for completing the project's tasks and outputs. RESOCIAL WPs are the following:
- WP1 (M1-M24): Measuring social media vulnerabilities
- Main objective(s): Propose and validate a clear framework to measure risks and human vulnerabilities on social media platforms.
- WP2 (M1-M24) Addressing the law for the resilience of vulnerable users of social media
- Main objective(s): Identify gaps in (national and European) laws and regulations relating to vulnerable groups and investigate which legal instruments can be used to address vulnerabilities of these groups.
- WP3 (M1-M24): Vulnerability-sensitive design and self-regulation
- Main objective(s): Propose and validate best practices that can lead to a Code of Conduct for Vulnerability on social media.
Furthermore, the RESOCIAL project is divided into four phases: Phase 1 (Desk Research), Phase 2 (Survey), Phase 3 (Focus groups and guidelines consolidation) and Phase 4 (Multistakeholder workshops and publication of vulnerability measurement toolkit). As a follow-up to the project's presentation, an introductory round was held where each attendee presented themselves and their expectations for RESOCIAL's outcomes. Expectations of partners included, amongst others, a greater understanding of: (i) the concept of vulnerability, (ii) the interaction and protection offered by relevant EU legal provisions, as well as (iii) WPs alignment and goals.
In the afternoon a detailed presentation was given by colleague Maria-Lucia Rebrean on the project's management, upcoming deadlines and plans for communication and dissemination outputs. Finally, two active discussions were held, during which project partners collaborated on defining the scope of 'human vulnerability' and 'social media'.
After a lengthy session of collaboration and discussions, the meeting came to a natural conclusion mid-afternoon. Partners of the project voiced their eagerness to meet again in the near future to discuss project updates and achievements.
Stay tuned for further announcement regarding RESOCIAL!
