• November 2024
    As part of the Comms Policy Collaborative's (CPC) partnership with the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), Jörg Matthes attended the 60th Annual Meeting in Limassol, and gave a presentation on his current project, DigiHate. The presentation provided EPRA members from across Europe a framework for understanding how hate is spread online, and why deplatformization is not an effective solution to curtail this spread.

    The CPC hosted another in its series of local stakeholder meetings on AI – this time to explore the ethical implications for research and academic writing, and safeguarding research integrity as AI technologies continue to evolve.
  • September 2024
    On October 14 the Comms Policy Collaborative (CPC) will host an open panel discussion on AI and Research Integrity. The event, organized through the CPC partnership network, will showcase the work of community stakeholders – RTR, Women in AI, among others – in AI utilization innovation in everything from data analysis to academic writing. If you are interested in joining, please confirm your attendance to the 90 minute discussion (15-16:30 in Kolingasse 14-16, room 6.51) with Jennifer Adams at your earliest convenience. The full agenda can be found here.
  • January 2024
    CPC meeting with KommAustria/RTR
    Jennifer Adams recently met with KommAustria/RTR as a first step ahead of implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which will impact University research that utilises digital platform data. The meeting initiated a process of streamlining applications under Article 40 of the DSA for 'vetted researcher' status. The next meeting will take place in mid-February, and those teams and scholars working with platform data are invited to submit any questions about the process to the CPC. The CPC will also organize an informational session about DSA changes and the vetted researcher process in the coming weeks.
  • November 2023
    On November 22, the Comms Policy Collaborative (CPC) together with the Computational Communication Science Lab (CCL) hosted a stakeholder workshop on Collaborative AI. The event is one of a series, organized through the CPC partnership network, on the utilization of AI – particularly large language models – in academia, as well as implications of EU AI regulation on research, and the effective and sustainable use of machine learning in both academic and regulatory contexts. In addition to colleagues from the CCL, the event included participation of experts from the OSCE, RTR, London School of Economics and Women in AI Austria. A full overview of the event can be found here.
  • October 2023
    On September 29, Sophie Lecheler provided a spotlight presentation for the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities' (EPRA) AI Roundtable meeting. Her presentation From black box to glass box: Understanding the hidden control mechanisms of automated journalism was one in a series of Department contributions to EPRA members, as part of the Comms Policy Collaborative's AI engagement initiative. Through this initiative, media regulators and other regulatory bodies tasked with AI oversight are able to learn from other models of AI usage, implications for AI regulation, and strategies for more inclusive and accessible regulatory policy generally. The next event in the series will be held in November, together with the CCL.
  • July 2023
    On July 13, the Comms Policy Collaborative (CPC) took part in the 8th AI & Regulators roundtable, held by the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA). The EPRA roundtable highlighted the work of the University through a featured presentation, given by Paul Balluff of the Computational Communication Science Lab (CCL). The presentation provided an overview of the methodologies for utilization of AI – particularly large language models – in academia, as well as implications of EU AI regulation on research, and the necessity of transparency and accessibility for the effective and sustainable use of machine learning in both academic and regulatory contexts. The next EPRA AI Roundtable will take place in September, and will also highlight Department research and research findings through the CPC/EPRA partnership framework.
  • June 2023
    57th annual EPRA meeting in Oslo, Norway
    From May 31 to June 2, the Comms Policy Collaborative's Jennifer Adams took part in the 57th annual meeting of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) in Oslo. The event, which focused on the themes The future of content delivery, and Media and information for public good, provided an excellent platform to identify areas for closer collaboration with the CPC. Future plans include upcoming working groups for the exchange of ideas for data-informed regulation of AI.
  • March 2023
    Krisztina Rozgonyi gives keynote speech at Brussels conference
    The Comms Policy Collaborative's Krisztina Rozgonyi gave a keynote speech on Good regulatory decisions, within the framework of European media governance and the draft European Media Freedom Act, at the "Media for the Public Good" conference. The conference was hosted by CPC partner, the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) and Cullen International. The speech covered two specific aspects of effective regulation, namely the independence and accountability of regulators, and the increasing politicization of regulation.

    More information on the event is available here.
  • February 2023
    CPC contributes to EPRA work program
    The Comms Policy Collaborative (CPC) contributed to the design of the 2023 work program for a partner, the European Platform for Regulatory Authorities (EPRA). With the adoption of the work plan, including CPC recommendations on thematic foci – "Media as a public good" and "The future of content delivery" – the CPC is well-placed to provide state-of-the-art research data and continue to facilitate collaboration with Department expertise on these issues for more holistic and sustainable media regulation for all EPRA members.
  • November 2022
    Tobias Dienlin gives presentation at EPRA's 9th EMIL meeting
    On 18 November, Tobias Dienlin gave a presentation entitled "How can we evaluate the social impact of media literacy programmes" at the 9th EMIL meeting held by the European Platform for Regulatory Authorities (EPRA). His contribution to the international debate on effective regulation of media and information literacy was organised within the strategic partnership framework of the Department's Comms Policy Collaborative (CPC) and EPRA.
  • October 2022
    CPC expands EPRA Partnership

    From 12-14 October, the European Platform of Parliamentary Authorities (EPRA) convened for its 56th Annual Meeting in Antalya. The meeting showcased the unique partnership forged between EPRA and the Comms Policy Collaborative (CPC) in the Department of Communication. Jennifer Adams, from the CPC, presented an overview of partnership achievements, future plans, and extended an invitation for closer collaboration to the 140 delegates present from more than 50 of EPRA's member countries at the opening Agora session. The Department's Professor Sophie Lecheler gave the keynote address during the first thematic session on Dis/misinformation, Plurality and Trust – focusing on the supply side of disinformation.

    This is only the most recent outcome of the year-long CPC and EPRA partnership, that has resulted in a number of policy outputs, and engagement opportunities, valorizing University scholarship, and streamlining cooperation between key stakeholders on media regulation and policy.
  • September 2022
    CPC engages NORFACE participants
    Reassessing Impact: The CPC at NORFACE Governance mid-term conference

    On 23 September Krisztina Rozgonyi and Jennifer Adams of the Comms Policy Collaborative (CPC) held a stakeholder workshop, Translating Research into Sustainable Policy Products, at the NORFACE Governance mid-term conference. The workshop was designed to utilise the experiences of participants to the conference, organised by Professor Sophie Lecheler (Governance Programme Coordination) and the Political Communication Research Group, to highlight opportunities for increased stakeholder engagement, challenge traditional notions of research impact, and generate innovation in the creation of policy-relevant products. The workshop was attended by 30 participants from a number of universities, media development and other policy-focused organisations.

    The NORFACE Research Programme is a transnational programme on democratic governance in a turbulent age providing an opportunity for investigation of and solutioning to bolster democratic governance in Europe.
  • September 2022
    Press Release: Partnership initiative EPRA-CPC
    EPRA just published a press release about the partnership initiative which was launched in February 2022. All information on the extensive ground work done so far is available here.
  • September 2022
    Background paper on Minor & Advertising published
    The European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) recently published a background document on "Minors & Advertising", including a summary of the session held in Antwerp, Belgium, in May 2022. The paper can be accessed here.
  • May 2022
    55th EPRA Meeting in Antwerp, Belgium
    Department Chair Jörg Matthes and Krisztina Rozgonyi were invited to join the 55th EPRA Meeting in Antwerp, Belgium. More information on their involvement and keynote talks can be found here.
  • March 2022
    European Media Freedom Act: A coordinated response by the department's CPC
    The CPC has submitted a coordinated response on behalf of our department to the public consultation for an European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), launched by the European Commission.

    Further details can be found here.
  • February 2022
    EPRA & the CPC launch partnership initiative
    The European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) and the Comms Policy Collaborative (CPC) in the Department of Communication at the University of Vienna are excited to announce their new partnership initiative.

    The initiative, the first of its kind for both EPRA and the newly-established CPC, started as a means to bolster capacities of both parties, and build closer connections between research and policy making stakeholders, for more inclusive and sustainable media governance.

    More information can be accessed here.
  • January 2022
    CPC to consult on Austrian media policy processes
    The Comms Policy Collaborative (CPC) has been bestowed the status of official academic policy stakeholder. The status provides the CPC opportunities to consult government representatives (Bundeskanzleramt) on issues related to media and communication legislation as of January 2022.

    The CPC will engage in public consultation processes and contribute inputs, based on department research and scholarship, to policy and legislative proposals, as part of the University of Vienna's Third Mission commitments. The CPC is the first academic institution ever to be selected, a status that indicates the significant value and expertise the Department of Communication can contribute to these processes.

    All submissions (Gutachten) will be fully transparent, and openly accessible: to be published here.
  • January 2022
    Policy innovation and feminist advocacy: International student collaboration for gender justice
    To honor the 16-day campaign surrounding the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25), the Comms Policy Collaborative's Krisztina Rozgonyi, led a training program on policy advocacy for students. The initiative, part of a collaboration with the University of Padova, Newcastle University, and Complutense University of Madrid, 'Learning and doing for gender advocacy: A UniTWIN European teaching partnership, focused on countering gender-based violence in and through the media.

    The students created an impressive range of projects, empowering themselves through engagement, and learning from a range of experts on feminist advocacy (including the CPC's Jennifer Adams) for sustainable change and policy innovation.