Policy complexity

Online harm practices are associated with multidimensional risks: content (production, distribution, and consumption), contact (a result of online interactions), and conduct (behaviour facilitated by technology) (WEF, 2023). More broadly, sociotechnical harms take into account the micro-, meso-, and macro-level impacts of algorithmic systems such as: representational harms, allocative harms, quality of service harms, interpersonal harms - and social system harms (Shelby et al., 2023).

Policy uncertainty

Consensus from diverse stakeholders about the urgent need to combat online harms has meant more governments are “looking to replace the current patchwork of discrete laws and voluntary initiatives with more holistic regulation” (Linklaters, 2021), p.3). Yet there remains a lack of consensus across jurisdictions about how to regulate online content (ibid).

Policymaking possibilities

There is growing awareness about the need for government, industry, and civil society to tackle online harms via collaboration, education, and legislation (Global Government Forum, 2022). Building a shared understanding about online harms - as well as comparative analyses of regulatory regimes - can inform interdisciplinary communication and multi-stakeholder discussions to richly advance policies and interventions.