The 2022 Digital Services Act (DSA) establishes a new comprehensive regulatory framework for online intermediaries in the EU. Importantly, the largest intermediaries - VLOPs and VLSEs - are obliged to assess and evaluate ‘systemic risks’ in specified areas (e.g. fundamental rights, polarisation, public health and security); reasonably and proportionately mitigate these risks; and report to the Commission on their mitigation measures. Additionally, Article 40 introduces mechanisms for vetted researchers to access platforms’ internal data “for the sole purpose of conducting research that contributes to the detection, identification and understanding of systemic risks in the Union”. Policymakers envisage that independent scrutiny from academic researchers and civil society organisations will play an essential role in identifying and defining systemic risks associated with social media, as well as holding VLOPs accountable for effectively mitigating them.

The project “Putting the DSA into Practice,” brings together a team of researchers from Sciences Po’s Law School and Médialab with the aim to monitor and critically evaluate how the systemic risk framework is being implemented, to access and analyze data, and to position itself as a key resource for regulators implementing and enforcing the DSA. It seeks to provide actionable guidance and resources for regulators, civil society and researchers on how to utilize this framework to strengthen the governance of online media platforms.  

We are looking for someone who is both a rigorous thinker and researcher, but also who will enjoy engaging with audiences that go beyond academia and who likes to “build things.”  We are part of an exciting ecosystem of researchers in Europe and the US, are connected to European projects and have ongoing conversations with regulators. Indeed, a significant part of your work will consist in building and strengthening those bridges amongst legal academia, computational social scientists at the Medialab and the European Polarisation Observatory and regulators. This interdisciplinary collaboration is a unique position to develop risk assessment and mitigation frameworks in a policy language suited for the European context but also to develop impactful scholarship in law and/or associated disciplines. Additionally you will be expected to help us coordinate events, the work of research assistants, and follow closely the DSA implementation process. 

You are also welcomed to develop your own research project, so far as this is connected to the topic of the overall DSA enforcement and implementation project.

Centre de recherche de l'Ecole de droit / Sciences Po Law School

We are looking for someone who has a strong academic background and who is interested in interdisciplinarity. You should feel at least somewhat comfortable in both legal and technical conversations about social media governance. So long as this is the case, your PhD can be in law, policy, computational sciences or other associated disciplines. 

Your previous experience must, in any case, have focused on digital governance issues and, preferably, social media governance. 

You must have working proficiency in English. Ideally you also feel comfortable speaking in French.