Walking the infrastructure walk and dancing the frequency dance — You only see it when you get it

This post was written by Jeroen Matthijs de Vos, Niels ten Oever, and Maxigas Dunajcsik. This event is a collaboration between the UvA, the Amsterdam municipality, and the ObA, it was made possible by Global Digital Cultures and IN-SIGHT.it (grant MVI.19.032 as part of the MVI  programme). The IN-SIGHT.it People’s 5G Lab, together with the…

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Podcasts as Public Media: Challenges in the Age of Platforms

This post was written by Emma Breuer, Research Master student in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam To provide the general public with up-to-date and scientifically-backed answers to pressing questions about COVID-19, local German public radio broadcaster NDR launched the daily podcast ‘Das Coronavirus-Update’ with virologist Christian Drosten in February 2020. With 15 millions…

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The Digitalisation of Health in the European Union: Better Healthcare, or New Market?

This post was written by Roxana Varvara Boboc, Research Master student in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam As the EU Digital COVID Certificate enters the application, the digitalisation of health urgently requires critical reflection. In a previous GDC blog post, I have discussed how a public-private alternative to contact tracing solutions has pushed…

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Digital Health Tracking – Private Choice or Public Necessity?

This post was written by Vanessa Richter, Research Master student in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam Since their inception, commercial digital health tracking (DHT) platforms, such as Apple Health and Google-owned Fitbit, pushed towards adoption by public institutions. We’re seeing them reimagine public health today through public-private partnerships. While DHT might still be…

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Negation as the Informed Practice for Action: Exploring the Politics of Refusal in the Context of COVID-19

This post was written by Dieuwertje Luitse, Research Master student in Media Studies (New Media & Digital Culture) at the University of Amsterdam The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the global deployment of data-driven healthcare technologies (e.g., contact tracing apps) to mitigate the spread of the virus (Ada Lovelace Institute, 2021; Chiusi, 2020). However, as a…

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Instagram’s New Guidelines: Their Impact on Freedom and Self-Expression

This post was written by Laura Köpping. There has long been a pattern across social media and membership-based platforms. Initially, platforms profit from the engagement of sex workers and from sex-oriented content, only to turn around and deplatform sex workers and marginalised sexual communities, such as queer- and kink-oriented accounts. Tumblr, Patreon, and OnlyFans, historically…

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