Law and the Emerging Political Economy of Algorithmic Audits

TL;DR

This paper reviews the evolving legal and political landscape of algorithmic audits, analyzing how recent regulations like the DSA and OSA shape industry practices and highlight tensions between innovation and regulation.

Contribution

It provides a systematic analysis of the regulatory provisions in DSA and OSA, exploring the political economy and potential tensions in the emerging field of algorithmic auditing.

Findings

Regulations are shaping the practice of algorithmic auditing.

Traditional auditors may influence or hinder innovative auditing practices.

Legal mandates could be diluted by industry practices and contractual complexities.

Abstract

For almost a decade now, scholarship in and beyond the ACM FAccT community has been focusing on novel and innovative ways and methodologies to audit the functioning of algorithmic systems. Over the years, this research idea and technical project has matured enough to become a regulatory mandate. Today, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Online Safety Act (OSA) have established the framework within which technology corporations and (traditional) auditors will develop the `practice' of algorithmic auditing thereby presaging how this `ecosystem' will develop. In this paper, we systematically review the auditing provisions in the DSA and the OSA in light of observations from the emerging industry of algorithmic auditing. Who is likely to occupy this space? What are some political and ethical tensions that are likely to arise? How are the mandates of `independent auditing' or `the evaluation of the societal context of an algorithmic function' likely to play out in practice? By shaping the picture of the emerging political economy of algorithmic auditing, we draw attention to strategies and cultures of traditional auditors that risk eroding important regulatory pillars of the DSA and the OSA. Importantly, we warn that ambitious research ideas and technical projects of/for algorithmic auditing may end up crashed by the standardising grip of traditional auditors and/or diluted within a complex web of (sub-)contractual arrangements, diverse portfolios, and tight timelines.