THE LATEST

March 2024: Ethics of Internet Research
With support from the NetGain Partnership, researchers J. Nathan Matias and Sarah Gilbert from CAT Lab and Jo Lukito from the Center for Media Engagement at University of Texas Austin produced two reports that detail the challenges faced by independent researchers who conduct platform research, and provide recommendations for how to overcome them. 

The report from CAT Lab focuses on attacks that independent researchers are increasingly facing from platforms and policymakers and how those attacks have weakened the field of internet research, including limiting access to important data, creating a “chilling effect” on researchers, and weaponizing the terminology of ethics to undermine the credibility of public interest research. The report from the University of Texas Austin explores barriers toward developing a shared framework for how to ethically conduct independent research, including the shortcomings associated with over-relying on Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). Both reports were informed by numerous interviews with field-leading researchers and provide actionable recommendations for both the funding community and the community of independent research. 

December 2023: Finance-Focused Strategies

In September 2021, the NetGain Partnership initiated a research process designed to explore finance-focused strategies that would hold leading internet platforms accountable and create a healthier digital public sphere. NetGain commissioned Open MIC and Whistle Stop Capital to produce a series of reports that addressed those issues. Since then, the research teams have conducted interviews with more than 40 practitioners, analysts, and observers of shareholder engagement and finance-focused strategies in the global technology sector.

The research teams have also explored current tactics and strategies employed in the finance-sector globally to check the power and harmful behaviors of Big Tech companies.

The resulting reports summarize key learnings from the research, and provided recommendations for philanthropy’s role in advancing finance-focused strategies.