LAW SECTION - CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2022

The Law Section (LAW) of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites the submission of proposals for papers and panels for IAMCR 2022, which will be held online from 11 to 15 July 2022. The conference will also have a national hub at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The deadline for submission is 9 February 2022, at 23.59 UTC.

See the CfPs of all sections and working groups >

Conference Themes

IAMCR conferences have a main conference theme (with several sub-themes) that is explored from multiple perspectives throughout the conference in plenaries, in the programmes of our sections and working groups, and in the Flow34 virtual cinema and podcasts stream. They also have many themes defined by our 33 thematic sections and working groups. Proposals submitted to sections and working groups may be centered on an aspect of the main conference theme as it relates to the central concerns of the section or working group, or they may address the additional themes identified by the section or working group in their individual calls for proposals.

The main theme for IAMCR 2022, “Communication Research in the Era of Neo-Globalisation: Reorientations, Challenges and Changing Contexts,” is concerned with possibilities for rethinking communication research agendas in the post-pandemic world, which has seen dramatic shifts in the way we interact and understand our physical, social, cultural, political and material environments.

Eight sub-themes of this central theme have been identified: Reorienting Media and Communication Research in the Era of Neo-Globalisation; Artificial Intelligence in Global Communication Contexts; Cultural Identities and Dis-Identities in the Era of Neo-Globalisation; Communication for Sustainability: Climate Change, Environment, and Health; Media Ethics and Principles in the Digital Age; Media, Communication, and the Construction of Global Public Health; Data/Digital Science and Intercultural Communication; Digital Platforms and Public Service: Science, Technology and Sustainability. See the complete theme description and rationale here.

The IAMCR Law Section focuses on communication law, policy and governance. Section members are interested in a broad range of key areas of communication law, policy and governance, including, but not limited to: access to information / freedom of information, journalism law and freedom of the press, internet governance, human rights and international communication law, including the right to communicate and its history, privacy and surveillance, intellectual property, databases and big data, broadcasting and telecommunications, including network neutrality, free speech, hate speech, and censorship, libel and slander, open government and transparency, computer and internet law.

One of the strengths of the section continues to be its mix of legal and communication scholars, drawing on a range of approaches to the field to explore issues related to communication rights, law, policy, governance and even ethics. The section is interested in multiple approaches to the study of communication law, policy and governance, including critical, legal, theoretical, interdisciplinary, comparative, and historical approaches.

For the IAMCR 2022 conference, we invite papers that explore the general theme “Communication Research in the Era of Neo-Globalization: Reorientations, Challenges and Changing Contexts” in relation to communications rights, law and policy. This year, we are particularly interested in papers that explore the tensions between local laws and jurisdictions and the challenges presented by globalized information and communication technologies, including questions related to the key challenges of the Internet age, such as who gets to make the substantive rules for regulating online content and what are the jurisdictional demarcations of such rules; the role of governments, social media services and other entities that work either in tension or towards federated or networked governance that is then intended to be applied locally, regionally or even globally; or the challenges that internet companies that operate globally pose for nation-states and their and their constitutional systems.

Other topics we seek to explore at the 2022 conference include the global and local implications that the spread of disinformation and misinformation, online censorship, the moderation of harmful speech or media concentration, have for communication rights and freedom of expression and for democratic institutions and processes. For example, disinformation and misinformation can negatively affect different areas of life related to fundamental rights, such as electoral processes or public health and safety, as we have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While we encourage submissions related to the above-mentioned topics, not all submissions have to address it or even the conference´s central theme. The Law section welcomes submissions on any topic, and any other panels or proposals, whether related to the conference theme or not, from any theoretical perspective and using any methodological approach as long as it is related to issues in communication law and policy and media law.

Here are examples of other topics covered in submissions that the section has been receiving in recent years:

Human rights in the context of networks and technology.
Federated Platform Governance.
Digital due process and digital transparency.
The need for a redefinition of communication rights and constitutional law in the face of contemporary challenges.
Legal responses to disinformation and misinformation challenges related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The role of social networks in political polarization and democratic delegitimization as well as the role and influence of disinformation and misinformation in such processes.
The role of traditional media and the press in protecting democratic institutions, spreading or curtailing disinformation and in enabling or discouraging political polarization.
Election law, including issues related to cybersecurity, the use of bots, political communication and campaigns through social media and targeted advertising,
Algorithmic governance, including the governance of algorithms, and governance by algorithms; the use of algorithms in democratic decision-making; the role of algorithms in spreading and combatting disinformation; the use of algorithms in political and legal decision-making; algorithmic discrimination.
Artificial intelligence and intellectual property, including copyright; and
The right to be forgotten, privacy, and data protection law.
Advertising law, including laws aimed at protecting minors online.

Guidelines for abstracts

Abstracts are requested for the Online Conference Papers component. Abstracts submitted to the Law Section should have between 300 and 500 words in line with the conference and Law section themes, and must be submitted online at https://iamcr2022.exordo.com. Abstracts submitted by email will not be accepted.

Abstracts should contain a title, main question or research problem, brief descriptions of the theoretical framework and method(s) used and summarise the findings and their policy relevance. Abstracts should also include, when possible, a list of references.

The deadline to submit abstracts is 9 February 2022 at 23h59 UTC.

See important dates and deadlines to keep in mind

It is expected that authors will submit only one (1) abstract. However, under no circumstances should there be more than two (2) abstracts bearing the name of the same author, either individually or as first author. No more than one 1 abstract can be submitted by an author to the Law section. Please note also that the same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to more than one section or working group. Any such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected.

Also keep in mind that abstracts or other versions with minor variations in title, topic or content submitted in the last two previous years may not be accepted.

Proposals are accepted for both single Papers and for Panels with several papers (in which you propose multiple papers that address a single theme). Please note that there are special procedures for submitting panel proposals. You can find the detailed procedures when submitting your abstract online in the abstract submission system.

Within the Law section, the review is conducted this way: after a first screening by the section chairs, submitted abstracts fitting the scope on the section and fulfilling the necessary requirements will be evaluated by a double-blind review on the basis of (1) theoretical contribution, (2) methods, (3) quality of writing, (4) literature review, (5) relevance of the submission to the work of the Law section, and (6) originality and/or significance of the work.

If a proposal is accepted, the presenter must confirm and register for the conference. Only registered participants will be included in the final conference programme.

Languages

The Law section accepts abstracts in English, French, and Spanish.

For further information about the conference contact beijing2022 [at] iamcr.org

For further information about the Law section, its themes, submissions, and panels please contact the Head of the section:

Co-Chair: Rodrigo Cetina Presuel (Harvard University) - rodrigo.cetina [at] gmail.com
Co-Chair: Loreto Corredoira (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) - loreto.corredoira [at] gmail.com
Vice chair: Fernando Gutiérrez-Atala (Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción) - fgutierrez [at] ucsc.cl
Vice chair: Lucas Logan (University of Houston – Downtown) - loganp [at] uhd.edu