TPP Fellowship: Beyond the Screen

Applications for this fellowship have closed. Check out TPP’s new Fellowship opportunity with Tech Public Policy Press.

The Fellowship will provide up to three graduate students enrolled in a Georgetown University program in the academic year 2023-24 and 2024-25 with the opportunity to work directly with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and her organization Beyond the Screen, in partnership with Project Liberty’s Institute. Fellows will be working on Standard of Care, a project aimed at identifying, and developing strategies to mitigate, social media harm. Unlike every other major industry, social platforms are not currently being compelled to act with a duty of care toward their users. This is intentional — social platforms knew they would not be held accountable as long as users could not see the corners they cut to maximize profits. We can fundamentally change how these platforms operate by building a shared context of accountability. Together, we can reach beyond the screen and truly hold social platforms accountable. 

In this project, we will create a map of online harms and levers to prevent and mitigate them, so that investors, litigators, and civil society actors can compel social platforms to act with a duty of care towards their users. The work will help deepen students’ understanding of social media harms and the ways in which policy and technology might be applied to attenuate those harms.

Fellows will receive a paid research assistantship to work on the Standard of Care project and are expected to read academic research on social media harms and write analyses of the research for a general audience. Students will also be able to participate in special briefings, discussions, and mentorship from policy experts in government, academia, and civil society, totaling approximately 10-20 hours per week over the course of the semester.

Qualifications

Eligible applicants are Georgetown University graduate students enrolled in the academic year 2023-24 and 2024-25. Part-time students and international students are eligible to apply. Awarded fellows will demonstrate strong written communication and knowledge of technology policy, with special preference given to interest in social media’s impact on democracy. Awarded fellows will be expected to work 10-20 hours per week, preferably during business hours (9:00 am-5:00 pm), at an hourly rate of $21.00 during the fall 2023 semester.

Application

See here for the Tech & Public Policy Fellowship application . Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. The last applications are due no later than Friday, August 25, 2023, at 5:00 pm ET. 

Timeline

Friday, August 25, 2023, 5:00 pm ET: Final deadline to submit an application. However, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Tuesday, September 5, 2023: Final date to notify students of receipt of Tech & Public Policy Fellowship award.

Please note: Your application materials will be shared with select members of the Beyond the Screen staff. No other personal and no academic materials will be shared.