Timeline

Author: Yasmin Curzi This entry provides a brief literature review of ‘pornography’ through the lens of feminist legal theory. Chamallas (2012) segments the feminist movements in legal scholarship as (1) the generation of equality (1970s), which is often associated with liberal feminism (Chamallas, 2012, p. 19) because of the claims against formal inequality and toward… Continue reading Pornography

Author: Konstantinos Stylianou ‘Platform neutrality’ expresses the idea that products or services that function as platforms should not unreasonably discriminate against complements. Platform neutrality was popularized after a report issued by the French National Digital Council (Conseil National du Numérique) in 2014, which advanced numerous recommendations on the issue (CNNum, 2014).  The concept of ‘platform neutrality’ draws… Continue reading Platform Neutrality

Author: Paddy Leerssen The concept of governance refers to a ‘decentered’ perspective on regulation, which does not emanate solely from the state but is instead carried out by (complex, interactive) constellations of public and private stakeholders. The term has found widespread usage in the context of platforms, which are often seen to play an influential role as… Continue reading Platform Governance

Author: Luca Belli According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the concept of platform generally refers to a plan or design. The Historical Larousse dictionary suggests that the term first appeared in the French language in 1434, to define a “horizontal surface acting as a support”. This original meaning helps to construct a general characterization of the… Continue reading Platform

Author: Courtney Radsch Optimization refers to the practice or process of making something as effective, visible, functional, or efficient as possible. More specifically, search engine optimization refers to the practice of designing your website or page to increase the quantity, quality, or both, of organic, unpaid search results. At the same time, optimization is a… Continue reading Optimization

Author: Vittorio Bertola An open standard is a standard that is developed through open processes and can be used and implemented by every interested party under non-discriminating conditions, and if possible for free. Different standardization organizations adopt different definitions for the term, which generally agree about the fact that the standard must have been developed… Continue reading Open Standard

Author: Vittorio Bertola An online identity is a collection of personal information about a person, associated with credentials that allow the owner of the identity to control the information and to assert their identity towards other parties over the Internet. The identity may represent an actual person (real-world identity), a fictitious person (pseudonymous identity), or an unknown… Continue reading Open Identity

Author: Catalina Goanta Online advertising can be defined as the industry of Internet marketing/advertising, as well as the technologies (AdTech) and practices characterizing this industry. Online advertising has two important features distinguishing it from traditional advertising: measurability and targetability (Goldfarb, Tucker, 2011). Among the main types of online advertising, we can distinguish display advertising, search… Continue reading Online Advertising (Ads)

Author: Nicolo Zingales Nudging refers to the use of choice architecture (the nudge) to influence the behavior of an individual or group of individuals (nudgees) without depriving them of the ability to choose a different course of action. The term was coined by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein with their book ‘Nudge: Improving Decisions About… Continue reading Nudging

Author: Nicolo Zingales ‘Notice-and-staydown (NSD)’ refers to a system of intermediary liability where, following a qualified notice, the intermediary is required not only to remove or disable access to allegedly infringing content but also to prevent further infringements by restricting the upload on the platform of the same or equivalent content. There is some ambiguity… Continue reading Notice-and-Staydown