DATAGOV Lab Kick-Off: Governance by Data Infrastructure in the Post-Pandemic Democracy

Data infrastructures such as digital identity systems and biometric technologies increasingly decide who is seen, sorted and served, while remaining largely out of public view. On 27 March 2026, DATAGOV Lab, a project initiated by the University of Amsterdam, invites audiences to pull these systems into the open and join a cross-sector conversation on how data-driven regulation is reshaping democracy, rights and inequality worldwide.

DATAGOV investigates the impact and social costs of regulatory data infrastructures: data-grabbing systems that actively shape the polity, from monitoring and automated decision-making to mediating access to public services, rights, and welfare.

The project takes a comparative approach, examining the European Union, Brazil, India, and South Africa to understand how these infrastructures transform governance and what they mean for the future of democracy in an era of pervasive datafication. The initial empirical focus is on four technology families: biometrics, digital identity, health technologies, and education technologies, and how these reconfigure citizenship, sovereignty and inequality.

Speakers

The event features conversations and presentations by:
Louise Amoore (Durham University),
Fernando Filgueiras (Brazilian Ministry of Education),
Mirca Madianou (Goldsmiths, University of London),
Rocco Bellanova (Vrije Universiteit Brussel),
Cecilia Passanti (Université Paris Cité),
Rob van Kranenburg (IEEE Standards Association), among others.

Please register here.

ProgrammeInfo & Credits

This event is in English. Admission is free, pay what you can. Do you also think art should be free and accessible? Please consider supporting us with a donation when registering or by becoming a Framer Framed Friend!

The event may be photographed and filmed. Kindly let us know in advance if you prefer not to have your picture taken. For seated programmes, places are always made available for wheelchair users. Please speak to the host before the programme begins.

DATAGOV Lab is funded by the European Research Council (ERC). Framer Framed is supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; Amsterdam Fund for the Arts; Municipality of Amsterdam; and VriendenLoterij Fonds.