[Commlist] CFP: Beyond Persuasion: Content, Algorithms and Consumer Protection UEA CCP Annual Conference

**

*Call for Papers*

**

*Beyond Persuasion: Content, Algorithms and Consumer Protection (working 
title)*

**

*CCP Conference 2026*

*July 7-8, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK*

Keynotes:

•             Marshall Van Alstyne, Boston University

Digital platforms have transformed how content is created, distributed, 
and consumed, with profound implications for consumer policy, 
competition, and democratic discourse. This two‑day conference brings 
together scholars in economics, law, business, political science to 
examine how content and preferences are shaped by platforms, 
advertisers, and emerging AI systems. The thesis of the conference is 
that as markets become increasingly personalised, consumer policy is 
entering a new era, one of stronger enforcement and new principles.

We invite theoretical, empirical, experimental, and policy‑oriented 
papers, from legal, economic, business and politics, that speak to the 
broad theme of content and consumer policy in the digital environment, 
including (but not limited to) the following topics:

*Content design, curation, and manipulation*

o            Economic models of content manipulation and information 
design (e.g. platform bias and information flows).

o            How the form and framing of news and information 
(headlines, visuals, format, narrative structure) influence beliefs, 
engagement, and behaviour.

o            Platform incentives to promote particular types of content 
(e.g. outrage, polarising, or sensational material).

*Preference formation and manipulation*

o            Mechanisms through which platforms, advertisers, and 
intermediaries shape or manipulate user preferences for commercial, 
political, or other objectives.

o            How contemporary techniques (micro‑targeting, behavioural 
profiling, dark patterns, nudges embedded in interfaces) differ from 
traditional advertising and why they may be more insidious.

o            Welfare, distributional, and competition implications of 
preference manipulation.

*Misinformation, and regulation*

o            Regulatory approaches to content moderation across 
jurisdictions, and their interaction with freedom‑of‑speech guarantees.

o            The role of platforms as gatekeepers of information, and 
the trade‑offs between content regulation, innovation, and fundamental 
rights.

*Regulatory frameworks: DSA and beyond*

o            The Digital Services Act (DSA) and its application to large 
digital platforms and content‑sharing services.

o            Comparative perspectives on intermediary liability, due 
diligence obligations, and systemic risk mitigation.

o            Enforcement challenges and institutional design for content 
and consumer protection in digital markets.

*AI recommender systems and chatbots*

o            Design and evaluation of recommender systems that 
personalise content without necessarily serving users’ “true” 
preferences or welfare.

o            Misalignment between inferred preferences, short‑term 
engagement, and user long‑term interests.

o            Generative AI and chatbots as intermediaries of 
information: policy responses and needs considering trade-offs between 
potential for improved information, but also for bias, manipulation, 
persuasion.

*Digital addiction, engagement, and consumer policy*

o            Design choices that maximise engagement (e.g. infinite 
scroll, push notifications, streaks).

o            Consumer protection, children’s rights, and vulnerable 
users in the context of addictive or habit‑forming design.

o            Policy tools to address risky design practices and their 
interaction with competition and innovation.

************************************

*Multi-disciplinary lens*

The conference is explicitly multi-disciplinary. Submissions are welcome 
from:

•             Economics (industrial organisation, behavioral, 
information, and political economy).

•             Law (competition law, media law, consumer protection, 
fundamental rights, constitutional law).

•             Business and management (platform strategy, marketing, 
information systems).

•             Political science and communication/media studies 
(political communication, media effects, regulation).

Work‑in‑progress and early‑stage projects that clearly articulate their 
question and contribution are also welcome.

*Submission guidelines*

**

•             Format: Extended abstract (800–1,500 words) or full paper.

•             Content: Clearly state the research question, methodology, 
main results (if available), and contribution to the themes of the 
conference.

•             Submission deadline: 30 March, 2026

•             Notification of acceptance: 15 April, 2026

• */Submission link/* (https://.... web address written fully out in the 
parenthesis)

*Programme structure*

The programme will feature approximately 18 paper presentations 
organised in parallel and plenary sessions, alongside two keynote 
lectures. Each paper session will allow ample time for presentation and 
discussion to encourage substantive feedback and cross‑disciplinary 
dialogue.

*Programme committee (invited, provisional)*

Farasat Bokhari

Sally Broughton Micova

Sean Ennis

Amelia Fletcher

Sara Guidi

Michael Kummer

Franco Mariuzzo

Jens Prufer


---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely. The commlist has no responsibility for any damage caused by its postings. Subscription to the list automatically implies agreement with this rule.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------