07 Jul 2026

CCP Annual Conference 2026

07-08 July | Norwich | Online

Digital platforms have transformed how content is created, distributed, and consumed, with profound implications for consumer policy, competition, and democratic discourse. This two‑day conference brings together scholars in economics, law, business, political science to examine how content and preferences are shaped by platforms, advertisers, and emerging AI systems. The thesis of the conference is that as markets become increasingly personalised, consumer policy is entering a new era, one of stronger enforcement and new principles.

We invite theoretical, empirical, experimental, and policy‑oriented papers, from legal, economic, business and politics, that speak to the broad theme of content and consumer policy in the digital environment, including (but not limited to) the following topics:

Content design, curation, and manipulation

  • Economic models of content manipulation and information design (e.g. platform bias and information flows).
  • How the form and framing of news and information (headlines, visuals, format, narrative structure) influence beliefs, engagement, and behaviour.
  • Platform incentives to promote particular types of content (e.g. outrage, polarising, or sensational material).

Preference formation and manipulation

  • Mechanisms through which platforms, advertisers, and intermediaries shape or manipulate user preferences for commercial, political, or other objectives.
  • How contemporary techniques (micro‑targeting, behavioural profiling, dark patterns, nudges embedded in interfaces) differ from traditional advertising and why they may be more insidious.
  • Welfare, distributional, and competition implications of preference manipulation.

Misinformation, and regulation

  • Regulatory approaches to content moderation across jurisdictions, and their interaction with freedom‑of‑speech guarantees.
  • The role of platforms as gatekeepers of information, and the trade‑offs between content regulation, innovation, and fundamental rights.

Regulatory frameworks: DSA and beyond

  • The Digital Services Act (DSA) and its application to large digital platforms and content‑sharing services.
  • Comparative perspectives on intermediary liability, due diligence obligations, and systemic risk mitigation.
  • Enforcement challenges and institutional design for content and consumer protection in digital markets.

AI recommender systems and chatbots

  • Design and evaluation of recommender systems that personalise content without necessarily serving users’ “true” preferences or welfare.
  • Misalignment between inferred preferences, short‑term engagement, and user long‑term interests.
  • Generative AI and chatbots as intermediaries of information: policy responses and needs considering trade-offs between potential for improved information, but also for bias, manipulation, persuasion.

Digital addiction, engagement, and consumer policy

  • Design choices that maximise engagement (e.g. infinite scroll, push notifications, streaks).
  • Consumer protection, children’s rights, and vulnerable users in the context of addictive or habit‑forming design.
  • Policy tools to address risky design practices and their interaction with competition and innovation.

Multi-disciplinary lens

The conference is explicitly multi-disciplinary. Submissions are welcome from:

  • Economics (industrial organisation, behavioral, information, and political economy).Law (competition law, media law, consumer protection, fundamental rights, constitutional law).
  • Business and management (platform strategy, marketing, information systems).
  • Political science and communication/media studies (political communication, media effects, regulation).

Work‑in‑progress and early‑stage projects that clearly articulate their question and contribution are also welcome.

Submission guidelines

  • Format: Extended abstract (800–1,500 words) or full paper.
  • Content: Clearly state the research question, methodology, main results (if available), and contribution to the themes of the conference.
  • Submission deadline: 30 March 2026
  • Notification of acceptance: 15 April, 2026

Submit your paper

Programme structure

The programme will feature approximately 18 paper presentations organised in parallel and plenary sessions, alongside two keynote lectures. Each paper session will allow ample time for presentation and discussion to encourage substantive feedback and cross‑disciplinary dialogue.

Programme committee (invited, provisional)

Farasat Bokhari (Loughborough Business School)

Sally Broughton Micova (University of East Anglia)

Sean Ennis (University of East Anglia)

Amelia Fletcher (University of East Anglia)

Sara Guidi (University of East Anglia)

Michael Kummer (Nova SBE)

Franco Mariuzzo (University of East Anglia)

Jens Prüfer (Tilburg University and University of East Anglia)

Keynote speaker

Marshall Van Alstyne (Boston University)

Early‑career researchers

The organisers particularly encourage submissions from early‑career researchers.

Contact

For questions about the conference, please contact:

Peter Courridge, Manager, Centre for Competition Policy.

ccp@uea.ac.uk