Researchers and affiliates of the Carolina’s Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP) will join other experts from around the world for the first annual conference of the Platform Governance Research Network, March 24-26.

The full conference program is available online and you can register now for this free virtual event.

CITAP Senior Faculty Researcher Shannon McGregor will chair a panel on governing advertising and microtargeting on March 24. CITAP Principal Researcher Daniel Kreiss will chair a panel titled “Breaking Into the Black Box: Methods and Research,” and Principal Researcher Alice Marwick will be part of a panel discussing content moderation and online communities, both scheduled for March 25.

McGregor and Kreiss recently published a column in Wired expanding on CITAP’s public comment to the Facebook Oversight Board regarding the company’s decision to ban Donald Trump from the platform. They consider Facebook’s stated commitments to free expression and electoral integrity, the company’s own community standards, and conclude that Facebook must draw the line at attempts to undermine democratic processes.

“Banning Trump from the platform permanently would follow the company’s history of suspending users who repeatedly violate policies,” they write. “More importantly, it would affirm Facebook’s responsibility to protect democracies around the world by taking a strong stance against expression that undermines democratic accountability, especially free and fair elections.”

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