Transparency for what purpose?: Designing outcomes‐focused transparency tactics for digital platforms

Abstract

Transparency has long been held up as the solution to the societal harms caused by digital platforms’ use of algorithms. However, what transparency means, how to create meaningful transparency, and what behaviors can be altered through transparency are all ambiguous legal and policy questions. This paper argues for beginning with clarifying the desired outcome (the “why”) before focusing on transparency processes and tactics (the “how”). Moving beyond analyses of the ways algorithms impact human lives, this research articulates an approach that tests and implements the right set of transparency tactics aligned to specific predefined behavioral outcomes we want to see on digital platforms. To elaborate on this approach, three specific desirable behavioral outcomes are highlighted, to which potential transparency tactics are then mapped. No single set of transparency tactics can solve all the harms possible from digital platforms, making such an outcomes‐focused transparency tactic selection approach the best suited to the constantly‐evolving nature of algorithms, digital platforms, and our societies.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Data sovereignty: The next frontier for internet policy?

“…Most of these factors are related to processes, organisational, or managerial dimensions, rather than being linked to the institutional context or information and communication technologies' (p. 1). Geng (2023) then questions what good platform transparency should look like beyond simply calling for increased transparency when it comes to platforms, in their article Transparency for What Purpose? : Designing Outcomes-Focused Transparency Tactics For Digital Platforms.…”

The Artificial Recruiter: Risks of Discrimination in Employers’ Use of AI and Automated Decision‐Making

“…This is a particularly relevant concern for AI and ADM used in hiring related to the large-scale tech platforms that many depend on in their indirect use of these technologies. Issues related to transparency and accountability are recognised challenges for AI systems and ADM as such (Larsson & Heintz, 2020), which can pose problems both for the governance of AI systems (e.g., Novelli et al, 2023;Taeihagh, 2021), as well as for large digital platforms (Geng, 2023;Kim & Moon, 2021). We return to this in Section 5.…”

“…These concerns around indirect use lead also to a renewed emphasis on the importance of transparency during these processes. Issues related to transparency and accountability are recognised problems, both as governance challenges for AI systems and large digital platforms (e.g., Geng, 2023;Novelli et al, 2023).…”