#IAMCR2025 Day 1 – International Association of Media and Communication Research Conference Continues…

CPT – Governing content and user behaviour on platforms: regulation, policy and practices

“Weapons of the Weak”: Daily Resistance and Collusion of Platform Content Moderators
» Prof. Enqiang Guo (China)1, Dr. Jiebing Liang (China)2 (1. East China University of Political Science and Law, 2. School of Media and Communication, Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

• Content moderators utilising the form of adaption in the application of moderation
• Data from Bilibili, Dounyin, Weibo, also used digital ethnography of moderators, users and creators
• Timing is important, compliance risks due to overwhelming or working overtime
• China is positioned between complex workgin conditions and platform content moderation. The moderators develop strategic and flexible practices to address stringent assmenet metrics imposed by platforms
• Q: how does this compare with Western moderation practices?

Connecting Policies and Algorithms: A New Governance Framework for Cyberbullying
» Prof. Wei Li (China)1, Ms. Qingxuan Cheng (China)1, Prof. Hao Xu (China)1 (1. School of New Media, Peking University)

• Cyberbullying: abusive, insulting, slanderous, invasive information (what does the literature say/could this be extended further?)
• AI engaging in cyberbullying: “ChatGPT/4Chan is the worst model on the internet”
• What are the new trends? What are the governing frameworks? develop new governance models;
• New trends: rise of intelligent user networks. intellignet nodes become the centre of the network becoming the most significant ‘users’ in the network (how do we know this?)
• Existing governance frameworks: Policy docs from Meta, WeChat, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp. Categories include Supportive Tools, Coercive Measures with minimal guidance, Weak connection to law enforcement in accountability
• Dilemmas: High cost, Imbalance between control and guidance, Difficulty in pursuing and obtaining evidence
• New dilemmas: AI can ‘crack the keyword audit system’ quickly
• Integrating LoveGPT (?) (chat with victims), GPT-4Chan (speed of fake content)
• By allowing bad content, this can help to train models (wow, contentious)
• Looking for collaborators
• Q: What about civic dissent/deviant practices (legitimate)?

Negotiating state-led governance policies: how self-regulation operates on Weibo
» Mr. Wenhao Zhou (China)1 (1. School of Journalism and Communication, Wuhan University)

• Instructuralization on platfomrs – Weibo has 587m users, state-led regulatory model
• RQ: How has China state-led platfrom governance policies evolved? RQ2: How can Weibo interact with state-led policies of regulation
• “Negotiative Governance”
• Platform governance, policy debates in platform governance, platform self regulation – the integration of these approaches is the background for negotiative governance
• Doc analysis (regulatory papers), case study of Weibo, Platform biography
• Evolution of regulation in China – content governance (health), market governance (fair), data governance (user rights)
• The role of intermediary – can you unpack this further? Is this the role of Weibo?
• The user participation and global collaboration (ordinary users and global platforms) Digital sovereignty (Shi & Yu, 2023)

Communicating the Climate Crisis: Translating Science into Policy and Practice

Audrey Tan (Assistant News Editor (Environment), The Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings Kong)

• Straits Times – National newspaper covering national events, has a Singapore focus,
• Keen interest in environmental reporting, weather reports have lots of engagement, people can see the relevance
• Raising awareness, serving as a bridge, galvanising action, spotlight on SEA

Man Jing (Co-founder, Science and Environment, Channel “Just Keep Thinking”)

• #edutok – Instagram, YouTube
• Science translation channel for young people

Adam Douglas Switzer (Director, CIFAL @ NTU, Asian School of the Environment, Professor, Asian School of the Environment, Assistant Dean (Development), College of Science, Director of CIFAL@NTU, Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University)

• $57Million funded project that brings science and humanities together – science project that brings communicaiton in at the foundation level
• “Climate Change and Misinformation in the Media”
• How do we do communication when the science is real and effects are visible
• Leaders and their misinformation (i.e. Trump and Abbott)

Janil Puthucheary (Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, Singapore)

• How does the lessons from Singapore inform the world and vice-versa?

CPT – Digital geopolitics, sovereignty and technological interdependence

The European Third Way: the EU’s strategic narrative of a valuebased digital order and its global impact
» Dr. Julia Pohle (Germany)1, Mr. Leo Thüer (Germany)1, Mr. Milan Schröder (Germany)1, Prof. Christian Rauh (Germany)1 (1. WZB Berlin Social Science Center)

• European values are framed as a way of European governance – promote as an alternative to the Chinese restrictive and the US liberal model

Towards a “federated sovereignty”? Mobilizations of decentralized platforms for (European) digital autonomy
» Dr. Ksenia Ermoshina (France)1, Prof. Francesca Musiani (France)2 (1. Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Centre Internet et Société, 2. Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), France)

• The Fediverse is the central focus of this research, requires a high level of technical knowledge
• Federation sits between digital sovereignty and federation networks – less technical knowledge is required
• This is relevant in a post Twitter world where users are lookign for new forms of communication (i.e. Mastodon, Matrix, Delta Chat)
• RQ: How are ‘alternative projects’ adopted by European public institutions
• Federation and sovereignty – encourages interoperability between services beyond proprietary silos
• 4 Cs of Federation: Compatibility, Community, Customization, Care
• Moving from platform sovereignty towards protocol sovereignty
• Q: how has PSM as a particular kind of European public institution adopted (or not) federation sovereignty?

Politics, Privacy or Soft Power: TikTok Ban in the U.S. at the State Level
» Dr. wenhong chen (United States)1 (1. University of Texas at Austin)

• US Federal policy tools that can be used to implement a TikTok ban: Legislative, Executive, Judiciary
• CFIUS – the Committee for Foreign Trade in the US – these talks have been going on for several years and it has shifted from Federal to State level politics

Informational Ethos and Digital Sovereignty: Technologies, Neoliberalism, and Coloniality
» Dr. José Cláudio Castanheira (Brazil)1 (1. Fluminense Federal University (UFF))

• Brazilian Liberal (Right Wing) Conference – hoihgly attended by Googel, Meta and CapCut who presented practical tutorials on how to produce automated videos and content.
• Zuckerberg et al. was supporting the activities of this party
• There is an environment of ‘congress is the enemy of the people’
• AI politics in Brazil – They do not meet the needs of Brazilians (Barros; Vaz 2023)

CPT – Emerging Digital Technologies Policies and Laws in South Asia Beyond Geopolitical Approach

Policy Rhetoric to Practice: The Case of Streaming Services in India
» Ms. Shubhangi Heda (Australia)1 (1. Queensland University of Technology)

• Viewing experience as a regulatory variable is ignored
• State intervention is inevetiable

Dynamics of Elite Capture on Media Regulation: Policies and Practices in Pakistan
» Dr. Mahnoor Farooq (Pakistan)1, Dr. Shabana Naveed (Pakistan)2 (1. University of Haripur, 2. Lahore Garrison University)

• Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority

Secretive Digital State: Hidden Policy Documents and the Issues of Transparency and Accountability of the National Identification System in Nepal
» Dr. Harsha Man Maharjan (Qatar)1 (1. Northwestern University in
Qatar)

• Critical Policy Ethnography: beyond document analysis, formal and informal processes, autoethnography

Communication Policies of a Digital Authoritarian Regime in Bangladesh
» Dr. Anis Rahman (United States)1 (1. University of Washington)

• The fleeing of the Bangladesh Prime Minister is the context for this work
• No journalists voices were heard in the new policy design
• Black-boxing strategies were applied to policy construction