Law Section - Call for Proposals 2023

The Law Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites proposals for IAMCR 2023, to be held in Lyon, France, from 9 to 13 July (Lyon23) with an Online Conference Papers (OCP23) component from 26 June to 5 July.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 9 February 2023 at 23h59 UTC.

See the CfPs of all sections and working groups >

Conference themes

IAMCR conferences have a main conference theme that is explored from multiple perspectives throughout the conference in plenaries and other moments, including the programmes of the thematic sections and working groups. Additionally, each section and working group also defines some of its own themes, which are described in their individual calls for proposals. Proposals for contributions to the conference are submitted to the sections and working groups and may focus on an aspect of the main conference theme as it relates to the concerns of the section or working group, or address a theme identified by the section or working group.

Main theme – Inhabiting the planet: Challenges for media, communication and beyond

The main theme for IAMCR 2023, “Inhabiting the planet: Challenges for media, communication and beyond”, is concerned with possibilities for rethinking communication research agendas at a time when the irreversible effects of climate change are compounded by stark geopolitical, sociocultural, and religious tensions in human communities. At this juncture, urgent reflection and research are needed on how we can hope to flourish today and in the future, and also how media and communication tools and environments can be positive forces and spaces for change.

Consult a detailed description of the main theme and its sub-themes

IAMCR’s Law Section invites proposals for panels and presentations related to any area of the law in the field of media and communications that are of interest to the Law Section, including but not limited to the five interconnected topics proposed for the IAMCR 2023 conference as long as they are analyzed from a legal perspective:

Humanity and progress | Keywords: Commons - Paradigm of cooperation - Big social data - Inclusive creativity - Digital health - Progress vs innovation - Technology and society - Ethics of technology and progress – Privacy, online sociability, digital self - Trends, fashion and social networks - Future, Imaginaries, Representations - Human dignity.
Democracy | Keywords: Public action - Citizen action - Digital populism - Digital Activism - Digital citizenship and social movement - Citizen participation/consultation.
Media, information, and communication | Keywords: Media and cultural industries, platforms - Data journalism, fact-checking, automated journalism - Regime of truth, post-truth - Audience, public, reception practices –Professional and amateur practices - Advertising, PR, data-marketing - Ethics of algorithms.
Cities and territories | Keywords: Smart and sustainable cities - Urban regeneration and urbanization - Open data- Local territories and communities - Short cycle - Urban re-vegetation - Mobilities.
Environmental accountability | Keywords: Digital and energy sobriety - Social practices and low-tech - Smart/connected objects and everyday life - Public discourses and ecological transition.

More broadly, as suggested by IAMCR’s 2023 main theme, the IAMCR Law Section also invites abstracts and panel proposals that center around questions of media and communication in sustainability, fighting climate change, and navigating other challenges related to ensuring a just, safe, and healthy life on planet earth. This will necessarily include works dealing with regulatory and policy responses to fighting disinformation, particularly as it interferes with scientific assessments about the state of our planet and our environment and political goals aligned with planetary wellbeing, and the delicate equilibrium between moderating content that goes against these goals and preserving the rights of freedom of expression and communication.

Beyond that, and since IAMCR will happen in a country inside the European Union and since the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act regulatory packages have been formally approved by the EU, legislation that promises to drastically address the online regulatory landscape, we invite contributions that directly address all aspects of both legislation packages and that cover topics such as content moderation rules and regulations; regulatory responses to disinformation; algorithmic regulation and the law; transparency requirements for media companies and internet platforms; the regulation of online political advertising; media and e-commerce regulatory authorities; fighting online harms; among others.

Contributing to the conference: Lyon23 and OCP23

There will be two ways of joining IAMCR2023:

If you are not able to or don’t want to join the face-to-face conference in Lyon but do want to submit an online-only paper, submit your abstract to OCP23 only. If accepted, you’ll later submit your full paper to the online platform, which will be open for discussion from 26 June to 5 July.
If you do want to join the face-to-face event, submit your abstract to Lyon23 and OCP23. If accepted you’ll submit your paper to the online platform and present it at the face-to-face conference.

Guidelines for abstracts

Abstracts submitted to the Law Section should have between 300 and 500 words and must be submitted online here. Abstracts submitted by email will not be accepted.

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

It is expected that authors will submit only one (1) abstract. Under no circumstances should an author submit more than two abstracts as a single author or as the lead author of a co-authored paper and no author will submit more than one abstract to the Law Section. 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.

Proposals for panels can only be submitted to Lyon23 and OCP23. Panel submissions must include an abstract for each paper submitted here and a description & supplemental information submitted via this form on the conference website

See important dates and deadlines to keep in mind