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communication +1 special issue on *Digital Sovereignty* OUT NOW (open access)
by Christoph Borbach 10 Nov '25

10 Nov '25

Dear AoIR fellows, I am pleased to announce that the /communication +1/ special issue on **Digital Sovereignty** is now published (open access). The issue contains nine research papers and one dialogue: https://openpublishing.library.umass.edu/cpo/issue/221/info/ Our introduction to the special issue (“The Digital Leviathan: Medializing Sovereignty for Critical AI and Data Studies”), which also summarizes and discusses all the contributions, can be found here: https://openpublishing.library.umass.edu/cpo/article/id/3521/ Best wishes, and I really hope you enjoy reading the special issue! Christoph _____ /communication +1/ • Volume 11 • Issue 2 • 2025 • *Digital Sovereignty* /edited by Christoph Borbach and Tristan Thielmann / This special issue explores digital sovereignty as one of the defining yet most contested concepts of contemporary digital politics. While sovereignty has traditionally been tied to the nation state, current debates—ranging from platform governance and data capitalism to the discourse on Sovereign AI—demonstrate that power is increasingly mediated by corporate infrastructures and algorithmic systems. Bringing together inter- and transdisciplinary perspectives from Media and Communication Studies, Critical AI and Data Studies, Science and Technology Studies, Political Philosophy, Sociology, and Information Systems Research, the special issue examines how sovereignty is enacted, negotiated, and reconfigured across diverse sociotechnical domains. Rather than treating sovereignty as a stable property—of states, organizations, or individuals—the authors conceptualize it as a relational and transformative concept embedded in design, digital practices, and technologies of datafication. The contributions demonstrate that digital sovereignty is best understood as a multi-layered site where infrastructures, data ethics, and imaginaries intersect, foregrounding how agency and autonomy are redefined within the entangled human–machine ecologies of the digital age. In this way, the special issue positions digital sovereignty as a central object of inquiry for Critical AI and Data Studies, offering conceptual tools to address its practices, ethics, platforms, and theories. *Dialogue:* • Stéphane Couture, Sophie Toupin, and Christoph Borbach: “Sovereign AI, the fragmented internet, data crawlers, and the opacity of consent forms: A dialogue on digital sovereignty” *Contributions:* • Tristan Thielmann and Christoph Borbach: “The Digital Leviathan: Medializing Sovereignty for Critical AI and Data Studies” • Leah Miriam Friedman: “Who is sovereign and how? Informing data sovereignty initiatives beyond borders through analysis of autonomous health movements” • Gwen Lisa Shaffer: “Trust, transparency and technology: Providing digital sovereignty through a Digital Rights Platform” • Renée Ridgway: “Designing digital sovereignty—an open federated EU web index for search” • Anne Mollen: “Struggling with generative AI: Digital self-determination along infrastructures of automation” • Jose Francisco Marichal: “Data rights reconsidered: Reimagining digital freedom through Lefebvre’s Right to the City” • Thomas Wendt: “Understanding digital agency: Digital transformation as an organizational update of subjective sovereignty” • Stephan Packard: “Post-digital, post-human sovereignty: Combined imaginaries in current political communication” • Dennis Lawo, Gunnar Stevens, and Jenny Berkholz: “Three actors, eight models: A relational lens on digital sovereignty”

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Exploring Reddit conversations with ThreadMiner — feedback welcome
by Alessandro Zonin 10 Nov '25

10 Nov '25

Dear researchers, I would like to share a small experimental tool that might be of interest to those studying online conversations and social platforms. ThreadMiner <https://www.threadminer.net> is a web-based application designed to explore and analyze Reddit discussions. It allows users to identify active contributors and extract conversational patterns directly from Reddit threads. The tool is still in development, and I would very much welcome feedback from researchers working on online discourse, community dynamics, or digital ethnography. You can access the tool here: www.threadminer.net There’s also a subreddit dedicated to Q&A and feedback: r/threadminer <https://www.reddit.com/r/threadminer/s/XxlZUXcXfH> I’d be glad to hear whether others in this community are exploring methods for studying Reddit or other conversational platforms. Best, Alessandro Zonin Digital Data Stories <https://digitaldatastories.it> | Nodiux <https://nodiux.net> | Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/alezonin.bsky.social>

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CFP: New Media Division of Cultural Studies Association 2026 Online Conference
by Reed VS 10 Nov '25

10 Nov '25

Hello everyone, Passing along a CFP that should be of interest for the Cultural Studies Association's conference. See attached. The theme is "Oppositions." *Submissions due 19 December *for a conference held 28-30 May. Find full information about the conference and registration at their website here <https://www.culturalstudiesassociation.org/conference.html>. This is a great conference for folks working in the critical-cultural realm of internet studies. It's online this year, and the folks at CSA have lots of experience running an engaging, generative, online conference. Additionally, the New Media and Digital Cultures working group (of which I am co-chair) will hold a meeting on November 24th at 1pm EST/7pm CET to constitute panels for this conference. Please backchannel me if you are interested in attending -- first timers, students, and non-U.S. scholars are particularly welcome! Best, Dr. Reed Van Schenck IE University, Spain rvanschenck.github.io

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Fwd: CFP: Statecraft, Sovereignty, and Digital Government (April 16-17 2026, Goldsmiths, UoL)
by nathaniel tkacz 10 Nov '25

10 Nov '25

Hello AoIR community! This is a call for presentations. Come and spend two days with us in London to discuss the rising interest in digital sovereignty, new forms of digital statecraft and emerging themes in digital government. We're seeking short abstracts, which you can submit via the website URL below. The full CFP is also on the website. *Statecraft, Sovereignty, and Digital Government* A two-day symposium, 16-17 April, 2026, Goldsmiths, University of London (Submission deadline: 12 December, 2025) https://www.gold.ac.uk/media-communications/research/statecraft-sovereignty… organised by Nate Tkacz, Irina Papazu <https://www.linkedin.com/feed/#> and Jessamy Perriam <https://www.linkedin.com/feed/#> as part of the DIGI-FRONT project. Some great keynotes will be announced soon! Nate Tkacz

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The 25th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS 2026): Last Call for the AAAI Track
by Announce 09 Nov '25

09 Nov '25

*** Last Call for the AAAI Track *** The 25th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS 2026) May 25-29, 2026, 5* Coral Beach Hotel & Resort, Paphos, Cyprus https://cyprusconferences.org/aamas2026/<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> AAMAS 2026 received 1455 full paper submissions for the Main Track, after an initial submission of 1800 abstracts. This is by far the highest number of submissions (around 50% more than the previous highest number) in the 25 years of AAMAS. AAMAS 2026 invites submissions to its AAAI track. We are looking for AAAI-26 submissions rejected from the main AAAI track that are relevant to the AAMAS research community and received no reject review recommendations (all review scores are weak reject or above). Authors are expected to update their manuscripts to address the comments of the AAAI reviewers and reformat them using the AAMAS style. All submitted material will be checked for correctness with AAAI and reviewed by members of the AAMAS program committee. We expect to accept only a fraction of the submitted manuscripts and will provide only short meta-reviews to explain the accept/reject decisions. The AAMAS submission must be based on a rejected AAAI-26 submission • that was submitted to the main AAAI track; and • that did not receive any reject review (all review scores are 5 or above); and • that is relevant to the AAMAS research community. The submission guidelines for the AAMAS 2026 Main Technical Track, available here: https://cyprusconferences.org/aamas2026/submission-instructions/<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> , apply to the AAAI track with the exceptions given below: Authors must submit in one PDF document: • their original AAAI submission; • all AAAI review scores and reviews (including the meta-review); • the AAMAS submission (that is, the updated AAAI submission), in the format required for the AAMAS 2026 Main Technical Track and with the same restrictions; • in addition, all changes made should be highlighted in color (for example, red text or text highlighted in yellow); • at most a two-page long document that describes how the AAMAS submission addresses the comments of the AAAI reviewers; and • a short statement of why the submission is relevant for the AAMAS research community, together with one of the areas of interest listed on the Call for Papers (Main Technical Track, see the conference website) that describes the AAMAS submission. The publication of the 2-page extended abstracts is not an option for this track. For questions, please contact the AAAI Track Chair Bo An, Nanyang Technological University, at boan AT ntu.edu.sg. Submission Link: https://easychair.org/my2/conference?conf=aamas2026aaaitrack<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> Important Dates (AoE) • Submission Deadline: November 17, 2025 • Decision Notification: February 15, 2026 • Camera-ready Submission: February 21, 2026 Organizing Committee AAMAS 2026 General Chairs • Viviana Mascardi, University of Genova, Italy • John Thangarajah, RMIT University, Australia AAMAS 2026 Program Chairs • Chris Amato, Northeastern University, United States of America • Louise Dennis, University of Manchester, United Kingdom AAMAS 2026 Local Chairs • George A. Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus (Chair) • Panayiotis Kolios, University of Cyprus, Cyprus (Vice Chair)

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WEBCAST NOV 13 – EFFecting Change: This Title Was Written by a Human
by Joly MacFie 08 Nov '25

08 Nov '25

[image: ISOC LIVE] <https://isoc.live/19842>*YOUTUBE <https://youtu.be/G1ozY1xNE5c> *| *REGISTER <https://www.eff.org/pages/effecting-change-livestream-title-was-written-hum…>* | *ADD TO CALENDAR <https://addcal.io/e/gcvc6dw76lfx> *| *PERMALINK <https://isoc.live/19842>* On *Thursday November 13, 2025* at *10:00-11:00 PST* (18:00-19:00 UTC) the *Electronic Frontier Foundation <https://www.eff.org/>* (EFF) hosts the 9th event in its *EFFecting Change <https://www.eff.org/pages/effecting-change>* livestream series, with the theme ‘*This Title Was Written by a Human <https://www.eff.org/event/effecting-change-title-was-written-human>*‘. Generative AI is like a Rorschach test for anxieties about technology–be they privacy, replacement of workers, bias and discrimination, surveillance, or intellectual property. Panelists discuss how to address complex questions and risks in AI while protecting civil liberties and human rights online. *SPEAKERS* *Katharine Trendacosta* – Director of Policy and Advocacy at EFF *Tori Noble* – Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation *Pamela Samuelson* – Professor of Law , University of California at Berkeley *Şerife (Sherry) Wong* – Principal Artist, Icarus Salon -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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AI Summary - The World’s Growing Information Black Box: Inequity in Platform Research
by Joly MacFie 08 Nov '25

08 Nov '25

https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ… “The World’s Growing Information Black Box: Inequity in Platform Research” by Rachelle Faust & Daniel Arnaudo (Nov 7 2025, TechPolicy.Press). ------------------------------ Context and overall thesis The authors argue that we are entering—or have already entered—a phase in which studying large digital platforms is becoming much harder, especially for researchers and civil society organisations outside the US/Europe. Whereas access to social-platform data used to be more open (what they call the “golden era” of platform access), that era is over. With rising restrictions, high cost of access and shrinking tool sets, the ability to conduct independent, public interest research into how platforms work (and how they can harm) is shrinking. In effect, the “information black box” is growing. They emphasise that this matters because platforms are central to public discourse, election integrity, human rights, online harms, and yet the richest data and tools are accessible mostly to well-resourced actors in Europe/North America. ------------------------------ Evidence from the field The article draws on a survey (28 responses) of “frontline defenders” (fact-checkers, human-rights activists, civil society researchers) from around the world. Key findings: - 75 % of respondents said it has become more difficult to conduct public-interest research on platforms. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - Over 85 % cited X (formerly Twitter) as a platform whose changes negatively impacted their work; 75 % cited Facebook; over 50 % cited Instagram. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - Example: A civic-tech organisation in Iraq had previously had 10 employees with comprehensive access via CrowdTangle; under the new system (Meta’s Content Library) only one employee was approved, greatly limiting capacity. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - Smaller platforms (and languages, regions) are especially under-studied and under-resourced. - Research access isn’t only about tools/fees: the institutions of many civil-society actors (vs university academics) don’t have IRBs, may lack standing to apply, or may face heavy application burdens. For example, Meta’s Content Library (MCL) requires a formal proposal, IRB approval, etc. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - Platforms’ data-access and “trusted partner” programmes have been scaled back, and prioritised for well-resourced countries/languages. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - Regional/regulatory gaps: Many places outside the EU/US lack regulatory regimes (for example, rights to petition for platform data access) that permit researchers to access non-public platform data. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - Although online harms (such as foreign interference via platforms, targeted abuse) remain substantial, the tools and data to study them are less accessible. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) ------------------------------ How platform practices deepen inequity - Platforms have increasingly shifted from open/sharing postures to a more closed, cost-centric model: sharing data is framed as risk, cost, potentially brand-damage. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - The article points out a bias: most resources, content, and data-access support is in English and targeted at Europe/North America; this disadvantages many Global South researchers and languages. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - Example: TikTok restricts its research API to “qualifying researchers” in the US/Europe — meaning many researchers in other geographies (even those facing serious platform-harm threats) cannot obtain access. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - Platforms still monetise huge amounts of user data and train AI systems, while restricting independent access to that data for public-interest research. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) ------------------------------ Proposed framework for improved access The authors outline a newly developed framework (by the Knight‑Georgetown Institute) that aims to lower barriers to meaningful public-interest research on platform data, while still respecting privacy. Key points: - The framework recognises the difference in needs between academic researchers (long-term, large-scale studies) and civil society/fact-checkers/human-rights actors (rapid, contextual, localised real-time harms). (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - It proposes “free access” to high-influence public platform data for public interest actors (to relieve financial burdens). (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - It defines “highly disseminated content” using two thresholds: an absolute threshold of 10,000 unique views/listens/downloads, and/or content in the top 2 % of weekly views in a given information environment (language/geography). (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - The framework is intended as a baseline — it is not perfect, not all-encompassing—but a foundation upon which platforms, regulators, research consortia can build. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) - The authors emphasise that future work must include voices from different geographies, languages, capacities so that the framework remains inclusive. (Tech Policy Press <https://www.techpolicy.press/the-worlds-growing-information-black-box-inequ…> ) ------------------------------ Significance & closing arguments - The article suggests that transparency in platform operations is vital to democratic health, human rights protection, and understanding online harms. - Without meaningful access to platform data — especially in the Global South or in non-English contexts — large swaths of digital life become “black boxes.” - The authors call on platforms, regulators and research actors to strive for greater transparency and inclusive access regimes so that we don’t end up with a world where only well-resourced actors in privileged geographies can study these powerful platforms. - In their framing: When everyday life and public debate increasingly happen online, enabling research into how platforms operate — in all contexts — is critical. ------------------------------ -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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The 33rd IEEE International Conference on Software Analysis, Evolution and Reengineering (SANER 2026): Third Combo Call for Workshop Papers
by Announce 07 Nov '25

07 Nov '25

*** Third Combo Call for Workshop Papers *** The 33rd IEEE International Conference on Software Analysis, Evolution and Reengineering (SANER 2026) 17 March, 2026, 5* St. Raphael Resort and Marina, Limassol, Cyprus https://conf.researchr.org/home/saner-2026<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> SANER 2026 attracted 213 full paper submissions, the third highest in the 33 years of running. The conference will feature the following workshops with open calls for submission. Please visit the workshops' websites and/or contact their organisers for more details. SQA4AI – Software Quality Assurance for Artificial Intelligence https://sqa4ai-ws.github.io<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> Greenvolve – The Green Software Evolution Workshop https://greenvolve.github.io<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> Fairness 2026 – 2nd International Workshop on Fairness in Software Systems https://fairnessworkshop.github.io<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> F-TRANSFER – Facilitating Continuous Education and Training Through AI in SE https://www.cs.ubbcluj.ro/~avescan/f-transfer-2026/<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> IWBOSE 2026 – Ninth International Workshop on Blockchain Oriented Software Engineering https://www.agile-group.org/iwbose2026/<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> VST 2026 – 9th Workshop on Validation, Analysis and Evolution of Software Tests https://vstworkshop.github.io/vst2026/<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> MSR4P&S 2026 – 4th International Workshop on Mining Software Repositories Applications for Privacy and Security https://msr4ps.github.io<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> SUBMISSION LINK https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=saner2026<http://www.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~george/GPLists_2021/lm.php?tk=YWlyLWwJCQlhaXItbEBs…> IMPORTANT DATES • Abstract Submission: 12 December, 2025 • Paper Submission: 18 December, 2025 • Notification: January 14, 2026 • Camera-Ready: 20 January, 2026 All dates are 23:59h AoE (anywhere on Earth). ORGANISATION General Chair • Georgia Kapitsaki, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Local Organizing Chair • George Angelos Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Workshops and Tutorials Co-Chairs • Marcelo De Almeida Maia, Federal University of Uberlandia, Brazil • Juri Di Rocco, University of L'Aquila, Italy

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Early-Career Work-In-Progress Workshop in Digital Sociology
by Zenkl, Thomas (thomas.zenkl＠uni-graz.at) 07 Nov '25

07 Nov '25

3rd Work-In-Progress Workshop in Digital Sociology March 18 & 19, 2026, online Are you an Early-Stage Researcher (PhD student, Postdoc, or someone who received their PhD within the last 5 years) seeking feedback on your paper in Digital Sociology and comments on how to enhance it? The Work-In-Progress Workshop of the Digital Sociology Working Group (WG10) in the International Sociological Association (ISA) is an opportunity to discuss your work-in-progress ideas with experts and peers. Important Dates: - Extended Abstracts (500-700 words): January 1st, 2026 - Notifications of acceptance: January 9th, 2026 - Advanced draft submission (4,000-8,000 words): February 23rd, 2026 Full Call & Submission: https://forms.gle/niZ3Ex2KKgtLGG5cA Join the "Digital Sociology Early Career" Mailing List: https://groups.google.com/g/digital-sociology-ec For questions please contact digital.sociology.ec(a)gmail.com _____________________ Thomas Zenkl, MA MSc (er/ihm) | (he/him) Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter | Research Assistant Institut für Soziologie | Department of Sociology Universität Graz | University of Graz

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New book on how to fix a broken internet
by Rodney Jones 06 Nov '25

06 Nov '25

My new book on digital literacies is now available open access from Routledge: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9780429328480/innovatio… Innovations and Challenges in Digital Literacies: Literacies of Repair Innovations and Challenges in Digital Literacies questions whether the current theoretical frameworks and pedagogical practices around digital literacies are sufficient to confront the technological, social, and political crises around digital media that we are experiencing today. Drawing on extensive research in digital literacies, discourse analysis, and sociotechnical systems, Jones reimagines digital literacies not simply as skills for making meaning and navigating information but as a more holistic project of figuring out how to ‘fix’ what is ‘broken’ about the internet and our broader societies. The book focuses on seven key ‘sites of repair’―action, attention, affect, affinity, visibility, truth, and humanity―each site offering insights into how agency, emotions, relationships, knowledge, and ‘intelligence’ emerge through our entanglements with digital technologies. The text aims to provoke debate about how we define digital literacies in an age of political polarisation and rapid technological change. It provides powerful tools for teaching, learning, and living more ethically with digital media. With this book, Jones invites readers to see themselves not just as users of digital technology, but as fixers of broken systems―and caretakers of our increasingly fragile world. This approach provides a framework for educators, students, and researchers to collaboratively develop practical strategies to challenge the logics of technological and social systems, cultivating new literacies for an age of online misinformation, algorithmic governance, and generative AI. Open Access for this book was funded by the University of Reading, UK. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license. Reviews "Rodney Jones has written the book our moment needs. Literacies of Repair refuses the easy story that ‘the internet broke us’ and instead offers a humane, systemic way to mend―beginning with how people actually live, feel, learn, and act together. Jones moves beyond checklist ‘digital skills’ to show how action, attention, affect, affinity, visibility, truth, and humanity intertwine in real practices. This is not a cynical autopsy of platforms; it’s a design manual for communities who want to reclaim agency―what he calls agencing―and cultivate cultures of care." James Paul Gee, Regents’ Professor, Emeritus, Arizona State University "Rodney Jones offers a bold, pathbreaking vision of digital literacies as practices not just of critique but of repair. Urging us to confront the brokenness of the internet, and reorienting literacy towards care, agency, and collective action, this book is a powerful call to rediscover what truly matters in a digitally mediated, fractured world." Ron Darvin Associate Professor, The University of British Columbia About the Author Rodney H. Jones is Professor of Sociolinguistics and Digital Media in the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics at the University of Reading, UK. He has published widely in the fields of digital literacies, health communication, and language and creativity. Rodney H. Jones FAcSS Professor of Sociolinguistics Director of Postgraduate Research Department of English Language & Applied Linguistics University of Reading

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