UMB Data & Society Lab (UMB DSL) is the first multidisciplinary center in Slovakia, focused on research, education, and policy in the field of internet and society. The lab was founded in 2018 thanks to an international grant from IBM, and is jointly housed by the Institute for Demoracy and Matej Bel University’s Faculty of Political Science and International Relations. The lab strives to create an innovative environment based on multidisciplinarity, openness, integrity, and innovation. UMB DSL’s activities are currently concentrated in two pillars: Digital Media and Society, and Cybersecurity and Society. As part of these programs, the lab has, among others, been active in exploring digital infrastructural governance, researching computational propaganda on Twitter, developing media and digital literacy study modules, as well as providing policy feedback at national and EU levels. Since 2019, the lab has been a member center of the Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers, which brings together more than 90 internet and society centers headed by the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University.

UMB DSL’s research programs:

• Digital Media and Society – As part of this program, we examine the digital infrastructure of digital platforms, their influence on social movements and policy around the globe and the shared principles, norms and decision-making procedures that shape the use of these platforms worldwide.

• Cybersecurity and Society — Cyber threats are a global risk that government, the private sector, non-governmental organisations – and the global community as a whole – must deal with. In our work, we examine the consequences of cyber technology on political and social affairs.

Launch Website →