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Brainbox worked with the University of Otago and the Global Partnership on AI's responsible AI working group. GPAI was proposing collaborative study of how social media recommendation systems deal with terrorist content. < Back Transparency-based approaches to social media regulation Past Project November 2021 and ongoing Transparency and social media for the Global Partnership on AI Brainbox worked with the University of Otago and the Global Partnership on AI's responsible AI working group. GPAI was proposing collaborative study of how social media recommendation systems deal with terrorist content. This work is continuing in 2022 and Brainbox has participated in a range of meetings hosted by the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism and others working within the wider Christchurch Call. GPAI aims to conduct research within one or more social media companies to observe the effect of “recommender systems” on platform user behaviour. In particular, whether such systems have the effect increasing user consumption of Terrorist Violent Extremist Content. It outlined its proposed study in a separate technical report.Brainbox provided an analysis of the legal and policy issues relevant to conducting research of this kind. Our analysis was grounded by reference to human rights principles and frameworks, to ensure that any research partnership was broadly appealing, fair, and respectful of due process for all parties. It drew on previous work by Brainbox to an investor coalition led by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund on its engagement with Facebook, Alphabet and Twitter on the companies’ responses to the Christchurch terror attacks of 15 March 2019. It also drew on Brainbox's reports on automated decision making and legislation as code . Brainbox's report for GPAI GPAI's technical report Previous Next

Brainbox has published work on dispute resolution systems and access to justice: in medico-legal disputes; and in an online safety context. See our submission on the proposed New Zealand voluntary code on online harms and safety. < Back Dispute resolution systems and access to justice Past Project 2014 onward Dispute resolution systems, justice policy and access to justice Brainbox has published work on dispute resolution systems and access to justice in two areas: medico-legal disputes; online safety. Tom Barraclough has co-authored a number of publications on access to justice in New Zealand's medico-legal systems. These consist of a range of reports on access to justice for ACC claimants and articles in peer-reviewed journals. These insights have been applied in submissions to the Justice Committee and have been recognised in Parliamentary debates and independent ministerial inquiries . In 2021, Brainbox made a submission on a proposed voluntary online safety code for New Zealand . The Code was drafted by industry signatories such as Meta, YouTube and Twitter and led by Netsafe. The submission drew on other Brainbox investigations into platform content moderation systems for responding to terrorist incidents and global regulatory trends , and transparency-based approaches to social media regulation . The submission is available below. Submission on voluntary online safety code Back to Projects Previous Next

Brainbox is the project lead for the Action Coalition on Meaningful Transparency (ACT), a global multi-stakeholder coalition pushing for effective tech transparency that promotes human rights. The coalition includes tech companies, regulators, civil society organisations, and academics. < Back Project lead, the Action Coalition on Meaningful Transparency (ACT) Current Project April 2022 - present Brainbox commenced as the inaugural project lead for the Action Coalition on Meaningful Transparency in April 2022 following a competitive tender process. The ACT was launched in February 2022 under the auspices of the Danish Government's Tech for Democracy Initiative and the corresponding year of action. It is governed by a Steering Group of civil society organisations around the world, engaging with an Advisory Group of public and private sector representatives. The ACT aims to foster a broad set of participants in a multistakeholder advisory coalition. Current members include social media platform companies, international bodies, regulators, academics, and globally influential civil society organisations. You can follow the work of the Action Coalition through its dedicated project website below. Visit the Action Coalition Website Back to Projects Previous Next

COVID-19 policy is moving rapidly, cutting across a range of policy areas and fundamental human rights. We worked with Antistatic to prepare a series of briefings to support the Commission to fulfil its statutory role. < Back Assisting the Human Rights Commission on responding to COVID-19 Past Project December 2021 COVID-19 policy is moving rapidly, cutting across a range of policy areas and fundamental human rights. Brainbox worked with partners at Antistatic to prepare a series of briefings on key COVID-19 policy issues, as well as compiling frequent current events round-ups. Brainbox's work supported Commission staff and Commissioners in formulating public positions and fulfilling statutory obligations. Get in Touch Back to Projects Previous Next

Following the publication of our report about the legal implications of deepfake technology and synthetic media, we organised and hosted a forum of around 13 government agencies and regulators to share our findings. < Back Presentation and discussion to government agencies about deepfakes Past Project October 2019 Following the publication of Perception Inception - our report about the legal implications of deepfakes and synthetic media - we organised and hosted a forum of around 13 government agencies and regulators to share our findings. While scheduled for an hour, attendees stayed for a further hour simply to continue the discussion. The meeting was hosted by InternetNZ. Attendees included staff from: the Ministry of Defence, the Office of Film and Literature Classification, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Electoral Commission, ESR, the Media Council, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Netsafe, the New Zealand Police, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, the Broadcasting Standards Authority, the Department of Internal Affairs, the Advertising Standards Authority, the Human Rights Commission. Access the discussion paper Read our 'Perception Inception' report Previous Next

A global and national movement has led progress toward enforceable rights for disabled people. Brainbox collaborated to design legislation that would enforce Accessibility for all New Zealanders. < Back Designing legislation from outside government Past Project 2020-2021 A global and national movement has led progress toward enforceable rights for disabled people. Brainbox collaborated to design legislation that would enforce Accessibility in all areas for all New Zealanders. Consultants from Brainbox collaborated with research partners, with the Access Alliance, and with the Ministry of Social Development. Using our knowledge of the legislative process and of experience with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities , we drew on the PCO's legislation guidelines to flesh out the Access Alliance vision into a more developed legislative scheme. In 2021, the New Zealand Government announced plans to implement enforceable accessibility regulation, attributable to the advocacy by the Access Alliance and by research partner Warren Forster. Much of our legislative design was adopted in substance. Brainbox strongly supports policy leadership outside of government. We are actively seeking opportunities to apply our insights to novel proposals for legislation from industry and community groups. Link to research report Link to accessible formats Previous Next

In 2020, Brainbox authored a chapter about disinformation in a book edited by Andrew Chen. < Back Chapter in 'Shouting Zeros and Ones' (Bridget Williams Books) Past Project August 2020 Brainbox's founding directors, Curtis Barnes and Tom Barraclough, submitted a chapter to Dr Andrew Chen's edited text, Shouting Zeros and Ones: Digital Technology, Ethics and Policy in New Zealand . The chapter, entitled "Digitised Lies", anchored readers in the topic of disinformation and called policymakers' attention to New Zealand in its geopolitical context. It also outlined the difficulties of regulation. Buy a copy of the book See our current work on disinformation Previous Next

Governments increasingly perceive analysis of social media activity as an operational necessity, and not always in a law enforcement context. But if such analysis is to be performed, it must be done transparently, accountably, and with adequate safeguards to protect human rights, justify public trust, and preserve the public good. This report prepared for New Zealand's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet lays out the challenges to doing so and makes the case that any systematic social media analysis should be performed by an independent entity that sits outside of government. < Back Appropriate frameworks for social media analysis: Report for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (NZ) Past Project June 2022 Recent years have seen growing demand from some members of the New Zealand public and media for increased government capture and analysis of internet-based communications occurring via social media websites and apps. These demands began in earnest in the wake of the 15 March 2019 Christchurch Terror Attacks and were reinvigorated throughout the Covid-19 pandemic period, peaking in proximity to the prolonged occupation of the lawn outside Parliament. In this report prepared for New Zealand's Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, we argue that government faces unique ethical, legal, and practical challenges in monitoring and responding to mis- and disinformation. As such, we make the case for the establishment and support of a diverse, multidisciplinary civil society-led institution to conduct ongoing independent analysis of social media-based communications for the purpose of monitoring and analysing potential disinformation and misinformation. Access the report Back to Projects Previous Next

Institutional investors representing $13 trillion issued an ultimatum after the Christchurch attacks: platform companies must do better. Two years on, how have they performed? What is the trend of global regulation? < Back Assessing Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet for institutional investors Past Project August, October 2021 Advising a coalition of institutional investors on content moderation and terrorist content Institutional investors representing $13 trillion issued an ultimatum after the Christchurch attacks: platform companies must do better. Two years on, how have the companies performed? What is the trend of global regulation? Brainbox prepared an independent assessment of the changes made by social media companies to mitigate the impact of incidents like the attacks in Christchurch on 15 March 2019. It also drew on insights gained from participating in tabletop exercises to test emergency response protocols held in Wellington in 2019. We assessed Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet for the investor group. The investors also sought an analysis of what good regulation looks like when it comes to content moderation by social media companies. Our analysis was grounded by reference to human rights principles and frameworks. The analysis was funded by an investor coalition led by the Guardians of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, with contributory funding from Neuberger Berman and Northern Trust. In our report for the investor coalition, we concluded that transparency-based approaches to social media regulation deserved further investigation. We had the opportunity to investigate such approaches in our report to the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence’s responsible AI working group, available here. NZ Super Fund media materials Report to the investor coalition Previous Next

To conduct its work programme for 2021, the Digital Council of Aotearoa needed to understand trust and automated decision-making. Brainbox collated research insights to inform scenario design for a series of workshops and bring clarity to a complex set of topics. < Back Trust in automated systems used by Government Past Project 2020 To conduct its work programme for 2020, the Digital Council of Aotearoa needed to understand the complex concepts that underpinned its topic: trust and automated decision-making. Brainbox collated research insights from academic and technical literature. Those insights and Brainbox's participation in the Council's work were used to inform scenario design for a series of workshops and bring clarity to a complex set of topics. Among other things, Brainbox advised the council to conduct a separate literature review on indigenous data sovereignty, which was led by Te Kotahi Research Institute. The work was a natural complement to Brainbox's work on legislation as code and the use of coded models of the law in decision-making systems. Digital Council's mid-year update Digital Council's published reports Previous Next

Following our work on social media regulation for the investor coalition and for GPAI, we were asked to present our findings by New Zealand's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, responsible for online safety and the Christchurch Call. < Back Presentation to the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (legal frameworks working group) Past Project December 2022 Following our work on social media regulation for the investor coalition and for GPAI, we were asked to present our findings by New Zealand's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, responsible for online safety and the Christchurch Call. Access the slides Back to Projects Previous Next

Brainbox submitted to the Government Administration Committee on a proposed national internet filter, drawing on our research and consulting in related areas. < Back Submission on proposed national internet filter Past Project October 2021 Brainbox submitted to the Government Administration Committee on a proposed national internet filter, drawing on our research and consulting in related areas, including for the Digital Council on Automated Decision-Making , and on Legislation as Code . The proposal for the internet filter was abandoned in late 2021. Access submission on Parliament website Back to Projects Previous Next