Dr Beatriz Kira outside the Houses of Parliament in London

Dr Beatriz Kira gives evidence to the House of Lords

Dr Beatriz Kira, Assistant Professor in Law at the University of Sussex, was invited to share insights from her research and to give evidence to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee on 9 September in relation to additional online safety measures proposed in Ofcom’s recent consultation for the Online Safety Act 2023.

The invitation followed a written submission Dr Kira co-authored with colleagues Zoe Asser (Law Research Assistant), Phoebe Li (Professor in Law & Technology) and Julie Weeds (Professor in Artificial Intelligence) from the Sussex Centre for Law & Technology and Sussex AI to a House of Commons inquiry last year on social media, misinformation and harmful algorithms and the extent to which existing legislation addresses the risks posed by recommender systems as well as the need for a “break the glass mechanism” for responding to crises – which was extensively quoted in their final report.

Reflecting on her trip and the impact she hopes her research will have, Dr Kira said:

“It was an honour to contribute to the important work being done by the Lords Communications and Digital Committee. The Online Safety Act is a key focus of my research on platform regulation, and I hope my contributions offered a helpful perspective on how to strengthen Ofcom’s proposals.

“My aim was to suggest that we look beyond the binary of keeping up or taking down content, and instead, regulate its amplification.”

The consultation includes proposals to stop illegal content from going viral, including crisis protocols and changes to platforms’ recommender systems.

Jo Moran-Ellis, Professor of Sociology and Head of the School of Law, Politics & Sociology, said

“We are very proud as a school of Bea’s contribution to this highly important piece of legislation, which also reflects wider work taking place across the school to give our research ‘real world’ relevance and significance to policy makers, legislators, and others making positive differences to everyday lives.”

Listen to the full recording.