AlgorithmWatch
Algorithmic decision-making, transparency & accountability of platforms' automated systems (recommendation, moderation, ranking algorithms). Public interest audits of how platforms deploy AI/algorithms.
- Type
- Nonprofit NGO / Algorithmic Accountability Research Org
- Based in
- Berlin, Germany
- Focus region
- Europe (strong Germany/EU focus) with analysis of global platforms
Notable projects
Automating Society reports; investigations into Instagram/TikTok recommendation & moderation systems; platform data access advocacy; research on opaque algorithmic governance.
Pioneering civil society research on algorithmic systems used by platforms. Frequently faces platform pushback (e.g., Instagram research blocks). Key voice in EU DSA discussions on researcher access.
Reports (8)
Full database- Jan 2026· X/Twitter, Meta, Telegram, Cross-platform, Other
Sexualized images on X: what we are doing to stop them and what we expect from the EU
Documented networks of X accounts openly promoting non-consensual 'nudify' tools; a reported post was deemed non-violating, and X refused a DSA Art. 40.12 data request, blocking research (context to the EU's DSA fine on X).
- Oct 2025· TikTok
For politicians, TikTok's algorithm is a handy bogeyman
Critiques a French parliamentary report on TikTok, arguing European politicians invoke platform algorithms as a scapegoat while sidestepping harder evidentiary and regulatory work.
- Jan 2025· Meta
Statement on Meta's Announcement to Gut Moderation and Fact-checking
Argues Meta's end of third-party fact-checking and relocation of moderation teams will increase harm and disinformation; assesses the Commission's limited DSA options.
- Jun 2024· Meta
Meta's elections dashboard: A very disappointing sign
Technical critique of Meta's EU election-monitoring dashboard: keyword lists mis-copied across countries, Instagram lacking location filters, and Facebook filters cutting ~50% of relevant material, calling it a 'PR distraction.'
- Nov 2023· Meta
Not a solution: Meta's new AI system to contain discriminatory ads
Meta's 'Variance Reduction System' for biased US housing-ad delivery is 'more band-aid than AI fairness solution'; reporting gaps make it impossible to verify.
- Aug 2023· Meta
Social media algorithms are harmless, or are they?
Critiques the Meta-partnered 2020-election studies, arguing behavioral data showed the algorithms increased uncivil-content exposure, removed cross-cutting content, and boosted time-on-platform.
- Mar 2023· Meta
Reels of Fortune: Instagram-shaped memories for a bigger reach
Qualitative story on how Instagram's pivot to Reels/video pushes users to curate memories 'for the algorithm,' generating training data that teaches the platform to rank memories automatically.
- Jan 2023· TikTok
What does TikTok know about you? Data donations deliver answers!
Launch of the DataSkop TikTok data-donation campaign, detailing TikTok's extensive data collection and the opacity of the 'For You' feed.