Trust and Power in Platform Auditing

For years, Big Tech has benefited from a lack of regulatory oversight. The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) is a significant step toward holding platforms more accountable by requiring them to assess and reduce the risks they pose to society by introducing the algorithmic auditor. These private firms audit platforms’ annual risk assessments. But how consistent are their conclusions? What roles do business interests play? And how much trust can we place in this new layer of oversight?

This newly emerging industry of algorithmic auditing comes with a growing responsibility: to translate public values like fairness, transparency, and accountability into measurable, tangible audit steps. But just like in the world of finance, audits can become box-ticking exercises. With powerful clients, tight timelines, and fragmented oversight, there is an obvious risk: audit culture may end up diluting the DSA’s promise instead of enforcing it.

This evening, we’ll explore the promises, challenges, and power dynamics of algorithmic auditing. As part of the ongoing research project Trust in Digital Markets – Keeping Tabs on Systemic Risks, this panel discusses: Who really holds power in this system? Is it even possible to create an oversight infrastructure we can genuinely trust? We’ll explore how both traditional audit firms and AI auditing start-ups, each with their own histories, challenges, and incentives, are moving into the industry of platform auditing.

About the speakers

Petros Terzis is an incoming Lecturer in Digital Law at King’s College London. His work focuses on the regulation, governance, and political economy of computational infrastructures, while also exploring early developments in the field of quantum technologies.

Marie-Therese Sekwenz is a PhD candidate at TU Delft’s Institute of Technology, Policy and Management and a member of the AI Futures Lab of the university. Her research focuses on content moderation, platform governance and regulation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and socio-technical and legal system design.

Emre Kazim is the co-founder and co-CEO of Holistic AI with a tenured background in AI ethics and governance, publishing peer-reviewed articles and working with state and industry leaders. Emre is also involved with NIST and OECD, and holds an MSci in Chemistry, MA, and Ph.D. in Philosophy from UCL and King’s College London.

Linda Weigl (moderator) is a political scientist and Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on the political economy of digital trust and risk.