ECAT was established in 2023 to provide technical and scientific expertise for the implementation and enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Engaging with and learning from the research community is core to our mission, and this year, we are hosting our third annual research workshop on 25 November in Seville. The event will bring together researchers who work on the societal impact of online platforms and search engines.
At the workshop, we are interested in hearing from researchers who are shining a light on systemic risks of online platforms and search engines. Systemic risks in this context refer to Art. 34 of the DSA, which sets out the risks that designated very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) need to assess and mitigate.
This year, we are particularly focusing on how generative AI may introduce, exacerbate or mitigate systemic risks, such as online addiction, or exposure to illegal or harmful content. The research may relate to VLOPs or VLOSEs or other platforms or search engines. It may also address the implications or impact of other regulation than the DSA, such as the EU AI Act or national regulations.
Have you conducted such research, and would you like to present your findings to an audience of policymakers and fellow researchers? Then we would love to hear from you!
The call is open to all research on systemic risks, but we will give priority to contributions that;
- Address the impact of generative AI on online platforms and search engines, including, but not limited to:
- how and why online platforms and search engines are deploying generative AI;
- quantitative and qualitative approaches to examining the impact of generative AI integration on platforms, such as the impact on user behaviour, experience, exposure, and content generated or surfaced to users;
- how generative AI may introduce, exacerbate or mitigate systemic risks, such as online addiction, or exposure to illegal or harmful content;
- how platforms are addressing and mitigating potential risks of generative AI;
- how generative AI integration may impact vulnerable groups, such as children and young people;
- transparency of generative AI on online platforms;
- how the use of generative AI to personalise recommendations may alter the risk profile of recommender systems;
- how the integration of generative AI impacts platform economics, incentives, and business models, for instance in relation to collection, tracking, and retention of user data; and
- how the integration of generative AI on platforms impacts existing safety and security controls, countermeasures, and practices of platforms.
- Have made use of DSA transparency mechanisms. These include: The DSA Transparency Database, transparency reports, DSA Art. 40 data access for researchers and VLOP/VLOSE ad repositories.
You can make a submission through this form. Here you are asked to share information about yourself and your organisation, and to upload an abstract of no more than three pages in single-column layout. Extra pages can be used for references only, and if other content is added in additional pages, it will be disregarded. Please make your submission before 17 August 2026 23:59 (anywhere in the world).
The selection of submissions will be based on factors such as relevance to the workshop topics, clarity, robustness of methodology, maturity of the work, and diversity (in terms of approaches, disciplines and types of platforms and search engines). Published work can be submitted, and we welcome submissions from academia, civil society organisations, NGOs, industry and independent researchers.
Authors of accepted submissions will be invited to join the event with a poster which will be displayed in the networking area to be discussed during long coffee breaks. A selection of authors will also be invited to give a short presentation in front of the workshop audience, which will consist of fellow researchers and policymakers. We expect around 90 attendees in total.
Following the workshop, all authors of accepted abstracts will be offered to publish their contribution in the event’s Book of Abstracts, however this is not mandatory. The 2025 Book of Abstracts is available here.
The number of accepted contributions will depend on the number and quality of submissions, but we expect to invite authors of maximum 15 submissions.
You will hear back from us by 5 October 2026.
The Commission will cover travel expenses (from within the EU) and accommodation for one author per accepted contribution. Co-authors may attend the event at their own expense.