Duty of care and platform regulation

Read about research on duty of care and the regulation of digital platforms.

About the research

Dr is the Principal Investigator of the project . This project investigates the 'duty of care' concept as a regulatory framework for digital platforms, now essential communication and information infrastructure.

Funded by the British Academy’s ODA Challenge-Oriented Research Grants 2024 Programme (supported by the UK Government’s International Science Partnerships Fund), the project is a collaboration between the 亚洲情色 (with co-investigator Professor ) and , a higher education and research institution in Brazil (led by Dr , Associate Professor of Law).

While the ‘duty of care’ approach—enshrined in the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA) and proposed in Brazil’s Bill No. 2630/2020—aims to hold platforms accountable for user safety and balance the mitigation of online harms with fundamental rights, translating these principles into practical rules for platform design and operation remains a key challenge.

This project seeks to address this gap by providing analysis that will inform Brazil’s approach to developing and implementing a ‘duty of care’ framework and contribute to the OSA’s implementation and inform future UK regulatory efforts.

Building on this work, the team has actively engaged in governmental policymaking and regulatory debates in both Brazil and the UK, including the following activities:

Policy briefs

  • In January 2025, Dr Kira, Dr Hartmann and Dr Francisco Brito Cruz (a digital policy expert in Brazil) published the policy brief: 

Duty of care and regulation of digital platforms: a Brazilian perspective (English) [PDF 369.81KB]

Duty of care and regulation of digital platforms: a Brazilian perspective (Portuguese) [PDF 441.42KB].

This brief reflects key points discussed at a November 2024 workshop in São Paulo, Brazil, with 28 experts from the public sector, academia, the private sector, and civil society. It outlines areas of consensus and proposes ways forward to support the advancement of the regulatory debate in Brazil.

Evidence to lawmaking and policymaking

  • In January 2025, Dr Kira and Dr Hartmann (in Portuguese) at a held by Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office to discuss content moderation policies adopted by digital platforms. Experts were invited to discuss the effectiveness of these policies in tackling disinformation and promoting and protecting fundamental rights. In her five-minute contribution, Dr Kira focused on the impact of content moderation policies on gender issues, how regulation can incentivise the protection of women and girls online, and the insights the UK’ Online Safety Act 2023 offers for informing regulation in Brazil.
  • In December 2024, Dr Kira, Professor Li, Professor Julie Weeds and Research Associate Zoe Asser to the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee into the links between algorithms used by social media and search engines, generative AI, and the spread of harmful or false content online. Their submission focused on the role and functioning of recommendation algorithms, the risks they pose in amplifying harmful content, and legislative gaps in holding them accountable.

Media engagement

The project’s team has engaged in public debate and policy discussions concerning legislation regulating digital platforms and court decisions on intermediary liability. Dr Kira and Dr Hartmann have shared the project’s research findings through interviews and op-eds published in international and Brazilian news outlets, including Wired, Folha de S. Paulo and O Globo.