Case Studies

Want to know how to concretely apply feminist analysis to digital policy agendas?

Here are current examples of how digital policy in Germany, the EU and worldwide can be enriched through intersectional feminist analysis. We will continuously add new case studies to fill the topic with more life.

A future-proof register modernisation

by SUPERRR Lab

The German Register Modernisation Act is at the heart of administrative digitalisation in Germany. It aims to link together 51 public administration registers containing personal data and so form the basis for improved administrative services. It is therefore important, in addition to administrative requirements, to consider the expectations of the public right from the start – ranging from security aspects to availability right up to service orientation. As a wide-ranging, foundational project for long-term administrative digitalisation, it must also be set up for possible future changes. (Full article…)

A just Digitalisation of the healthcare system

by Bianca Kastl, Manuel Hofmann, Vanessa Schaffrath, Katharina Klappheck and Elisa Lindinger

We need more data to obtain better health-related research: This claim became popular within the context of the pandemic. It was clearly obvious that clinical research, administration and society needed to react rapidly to a whole series of new medical challenges. The claim has now been applied to the overall context of healthcare. This is evident in the German Health Data Use Act (GDNG), a legislationaimingto improve use of health data, which has entered into force in March 2024. (Full article…)

Don’t Judge Me – Systems for Age Verification From a Feminist Perspective

by Elisa Lindinger and Elina Eickstädt

Age verification systems (AVS) are used to prevent children and adolescents from accessing websites with allegedly harmful content. Adults have to verify their age to access such services. There are increasing demands for children to be age-verified online as well to protect them against being contacted by adults, to restrict the functional scope of an application, or to prevent adults from accessing digital platforms intended solely for children and trained personnel. (Full article…)

The Digital Services Act from the perspectives of sex workers

by Yigit Aydin and Corinna Vetter

The Digital Services Act (DSA), which was adopted by the European Union (EU) in 2022, introduced new rules for very large online platforms (VLOPs) to tackle illegal content and empower users by pushing online platforms to develop appeal mechanisms against content and account takedowns. One of the many groups that are impacted by this legislation is sex workers, who may suffer from unintended consequences. How technology transforms sex work and the importance of access to safe online spaces for sex workers Sex work is gig work based on the consensual exchange of sexual or erotic services between adults for money, goods, or other services. (Full article…)

A feminist look at the CSA regulation

by Elina Eickstädt and Elisa Lindinger

The EU Commission draft “Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse,” also known as the CSA regulation or the CSAR file, has been massively criticised by civil society since May 2022. The debate shows that there are massive gaps and faulty assumptions in digital policy legislations. The limits of technosolutionism It is clear that the creation and dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) must be actively fought against. (Full article…)