Legitimate Influence or Unlawful Manipulation?

About the Series

In our rapidly evolving digital landscape, technology is more than just a tool — it is a powerful force influencing our deepest thoughts and choices. From big data’s manipulation of elections to the prospect of brain implants reading our minds, technology’s impacts are far-reaching. The now widely publicized instances of how targeted advertising and content incite risky behaviours and distort self-perceptions among teenagers are particularly alarming. This all underscores the urgent need to address the threat that technology can pose to our autonomy, to our relationships and to societal cohesion.

The Legitimate Influence or Unlawful Manipulation? project, led by Susie Alegre and Aaron Shull, brings together experts in internet governance and human rights. The policy briefs in this series provide insight into the issues facing modern-day freedom of thought and propose strategies to protect our inner thoughts and opinions from technological intrusion.

In the Series