A Project on Digital Governance

Project Aristotle is the flagship project of the Digital Constitutionalism cycle of the Institute for Internet and the Just Society. Project Aristotle publishes a research guide on what a structure of governance for the digital realm can look like when it is informed by interdisciplinary country-specific legal and policy research and analysis. We believe that delving deep into these bodies of knowledge, as shaped by a people within a particular national context, has much to offer in response to the pressing questions posed by the digital ecosystem.

If code functions as law, then we are creating the most significant new jurisdiction since the Louisiana Purchase, yet we are building it just outside the Constitution's review. 

Prof. Lawrence Lessig
Harvard Law School

Fabio-Sascha Gaul

Rethinking platform governance

Private online platforms are attempting to answer one of the most difficult questions invoked by the lived reality of individuals within modern society, that of balancing the competing concerns of its populace in a manner which is fair, inclusive, transparent, and accountable. Yet, the answers produced thus far are a distant reality from the expectations attached to this new frontier, from the hope for the digital world to not replicate the disparities of our physical world.

 

The manner of governing these platforms needs to be rethought in a manner which truly imbibes as well as showcases, “an eye for the public consequences of different choices, an ear for the different voices including the ones that often go unheard, a recognition that there is no neutral position as every arrangement carries with it an implicit idea of sociality, democracy, and fairness, and a deliberate commitment to scientifically testing these arrangements and pursuing through this process” (Gillespie). This is why a research guide on what a structure of governance for the digital realm can look like, will be a helpful tool in order to fulfill this goal. 

What is ?

platform governance

A concept intended to capture the layers of governance relationships structuring interactions between key parties in today’s platform society, including platform companies, users, advertisers, governments, and other political actors

Ali Samil Temel

Redesigning platform governance
We endeavour to fill a vacuum in the knowledge and information produced about, and the questions invoked by the growingly intricate web of governance gradually embedding itself within our lives. The manner of governing these platforms needs to be rethought in a manner which truly imbibes as well as showcases, “an eye for the public consequences of different choices, an ear for the different voices including the ones that often go unheard, a recognition that there is no neutral position as every arrangement carries with it an implicit idea of sociality, democracy, and fairness, and a deliberate commitment to scientifically testing these arrangements and pursuing through this process” (Gillespie).

Interdisciplinary country-specific research

By delving into the country-specific regulations on the digital sphere, Project Aristotle aims to analyse and find the ‘best practices’ from various jurisdictions as well as compare the outcomes and effects these laws and policies have had in practice. This will be a new way to approach the question on what a structure of governance for the digital realm can look like.

Solitudinem

Contabilidade

6.4 million
Around 6.4 million pieces of content were restored after the appeal (BSR ‘Human Rights Review: Facebook Oversight Board’, Dec. 2019). 
Towards a future which aligns with the promises of the past
We believe that the manner in which the digital space is presently governed is a replication and further deterioration of inequalities and lacunae of accountability and transparency in the physical world. We believe that passionate, well-informed citizens from different socio-cultural backgrounds are responsive to growing calls for a future which distinguishes itself from the present reality. We believe that we can harness the power of technology to bring together a community of such citizens, who engage in constructive dialogue and produce robust research impactful on policy. Our objective is to influence the manner in which the 

Russ Ian Salas

new moment in constitutional governance is shaped - as a sustained force for the positive. Our discourse and research output shall participate in the life of its object, bringing it within the ‘constraints of value’ inherent in constitutional law and policy as we know it today. Pro bono.
A new constitutional moment?
“The existing constitutional settings created for an analogue society are being modified or integrated in a way that better addresses the challenges of a digital age...we have seen that the constitutional ecosystem is not inert, it is a producing a series of normative counter-actions. This is the case to say we are witnessing a new constitutional moment.”

Our Work

Platform Governance

By Digital Constitutionalism • February 20, 2021
The cycle on Digital Constitutionalism presents a series about the platform governance with a focus on Facebook's Oversight Board and Article 19's Social Media Councils.

Digital Taxes: A Fake Solution For A Real Problem?

By Nicola Bressan • January 26, 2021
Real solutions to the tax avoidance and advantageous taxation digital supergroups enjoy can only be international and structural, updating practices of international taxation that have now become obsolete. They cannot be a mere quick fix. Voters demand it, the sustainability of our economic models requires it.

Social Media Councils

By Sonia Sangiovanni • December 19, 2020
A decentralized solution fit for Digital Constitutionalism.

A Constitutional Court?

By Giovanni Paolini • December 13, 2020
The creation of Facebook’s Oversight Board has divided experts and the general public among supporters of the initiative and critics. A comprehensive review of what will change with its introduction and which problems remain unsolved.

The Digital Services Act Decoded

By Sonia Sangiovanni • October 30, 2020
Can the EU take over tech giants with the new set of regulations?

How 'Pivotal' a Moment in Global Governance?

By Sanskriti Sanghi • August 30, 2020
The Facebook Oversight Board has been introduced as a novel experiment in global governance which is posited as having the potential to conduct independent and external assessment of controversial cases the determination of which are likely to have far-reaching implications for human rights. This article attempts to ascertain whether the Facebook Oversight Board presents true promise, or whether it is a smokescreen to gain greater legitimacy with minimal changes to its corporate structure undergirded by certain vested interests.
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Join Us Aboard

To solve global challenges we need interdisciplinary and diverse research teams. We offer a safe haven for digital castaways, creative sailors and curious explorers. Do you share the same passion for constitutionalizing our digital society? 
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Mark Arrow