Transparency for what purpose

Designing outcomes‐focused transparency tactics for digital platforms

Bibliographic Data

ID21837552
AuthorsYinuo Geng (0009-0009-8217-2757, Center for Strategic and International Studies, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume16
Issue1
Pages83-103
Publication date2024-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy & Internet (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1944-2866 • E-ISSN: 1944-2866
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/poi3.362
OpenAlexW4385837663
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited35

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

Computer security · Data science · Economics · Internet privacy · Microeconomics · Blockchain Technology Applications and Security · Computer Science · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI · Privacy, Security, and Data Protection

Tools

Open DOI