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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20251202T124227Z
DTSTART:20250129T140000Z
DTEND:20250129T160000Z
SUMMARY:Digital Trust and Security Seminar Series: Dr. Ben Collier
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DESCRIPTION:UK police forces are increasingly adopting 'influence policin
 g'\, a form of digital influence campaign that uses internet technologie
 s and behavioural psychology to prevent crime. Initially developed for c
 ounter-radicalization\, it now targets a range of areas\, including onli
 ne child abuse\, knife crime\, and cybercrime\, raising ethical and theo
 retical concerns. Don’t miss the chance to hear from field expert Dr. Be
 n Collier\, Lecturer in Digital Methods at the University of Edinburgh.\
 n\nThis event invites participants from all disciplines and backgrounds 
 to come together\, fostering interdisciplinary connections and discussio
 ns.\n\nTalk Abstract: Influence policing: Law enforcement domestic digit
 al influence campaigns in the UK\n\nIn a context of multiple overlapping
  crises\, novel and emerging forms of harm\, and the legacy of more than
  a decade of austerity\, UK police forces are turning to an emerging mod
 e of law enforcement\, which we call influence policing. This uses the t
 echnologies of the Internet platforms to conduct digital influence campa
 igns within the UK in the name of crime prevention. These campaigns use 
 sophisticated targeting of messages to directly ‘nudge’ behaviour and sh
 ape the culture of particular groups. They began in counter-radicalisati
 on as part of the UK’s Prevent programme\, but have since moved into a r
 ange of other policing areas\, from online child abuse to domestic viole
 nce\, knife crime\, and cybercrime. By targeting people based on the wor
 ds they use on Twitter\, interests picked up from browsing and purchasin
 g behaviour\, fine-detail location\, or Google searches\, these police c
 ampaigns aim to use behavioural psychology to prevent crime. Examples in
 clude: adverts for drug counselling services appearing on the mobile pho
 nes of young men from deprived areas in their own dialect and accent whe
 n they walk near a hospital\; fear-based adverts from the UK Home Office
  using detailed behavioural profiles to deter asylum seekers in Calais f
 rom attempting a Channel crossing\; NCA nudge ads deterring children usi
 ng Google to search for illegal services\; and counter-terror adverts di
 splaying on the phones of people walking within a set radius of high-sec
 urity buildings\; among a wide range of others. We discuss the ethical a
 nd theoretical implications of this new mode of algorithmically-enabled 
 policing using analysis of a dataset of more than 12\,000 adverts and in
 -depth fieldwork with Police Scotland’s dedicated strategic communicatio
 ns team.\n\nBiography: Dr. Ben Collier is a Lecturer in Digital Methods 
 at the Department of Science\, Technology\, and Innovation Studies at th
 e University of Edinburgh. Ben’s research looks at digital technologies 
 and infrastructures as sites of power\, harm\, and resistance\, using fr
 ameworks from Science and Technology Studies and Criminology. Ben’s work
  includes studies of online harm and cybercrime communities\, police int
 erventions in online spaces\, battles over online anonymity and privacy 
 technologies\, and the use of digital influence interventions by law enf
 orcement and security services. Ben has recently published a cultural hi
 story of the Tor Project - Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Priva
 cy with MIT Press.\n\nPhotography will take place at this event. If you 
 do not wish to be photographed\, please speak to an event organiser upon
  event registration.\n\nConnect with the Centre for Digital Trust and So
 ciety\n\nThe Centre for Digital Trust and Society organises the DTS Gues
 t Seminar Series and is a focal point for research across the University
  of Manchester that explores aspects of trust and security in our digita
 l world. The Centre is part of Digital Futures\, a highly interdisciplin
 ary network which operates across the whole range of the University of M
 anchester's digital research.\n\nAbout Digital Futures:\n\nDigital Futur
 es is a highly interdisciplinary network that operates across the whole 
 range of the University’s digital research. We aim to present a coherent
  overview of The University of Manchester's digital research activity to
  external stakeholders and bring together research communities to explor
 e new research areas and address strategic opportunities.\n\nConnect wit
 h us:\n\nX: twitter.com/DigitalUoM\n\nLinkedin: linkedin.com/showcase/di
 gital-futures-at-the-university-of-manchester\n\nWebsite: digitalfutures
 .manchester.ac.uk\n\nNewsletter: tinyurl.com/digitalfuturesuom
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