Assistant Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy
Senior Lecturing Fellow in the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
Robyn Caplan is an Assistant Professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and a Senior Lecturing Fellow in the Center for Science & Society at Duke University. She is also a Researcher Affiliate at Data & Society Research Institute, where she worked as a Senior Researcher, an Affiliate at the Center for Information Technology and Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, and a founding member of the Platform Governance Research Network. She received her PhD from the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. She conducts research at the intersection of platform governance and media policy. Her research examines the impact of inter-and-intra-organizational behavior on platform governance and content moderation. Her most recent work examines the history of the verified badge (the blue checkmark) at platforms.
Caplan’s work has been published in journals such as the International Journal of Communications, Social Media + Society, First Monday, Big Data & Society, and Feminist Media Studies. Her work has been featured by publications like The Washington Post, The New York Times, Wired, NBC, and Al Jazeera.
Ph.D. Communications & Media Studies
Rutgers University, 2021
M.A. Media Culture and Communication, Technology, and Society
New York University, 2012
B.Sc. Psychology, Philosophy
University of Toronto, 2008
BIOETHIC 606: Communicating Science Policy
SCISOC 690: Special Topics in Science & Ethics
PUBPOL 792: Special Readings in Public Policy Studies
PUBPOL 590S: Advanced Topics in Public Policy
A Working History of the Verified Internet, Data & Society
Child Online Safety Legislation (COSL) – A Primer, The Bulletin of Technology & Public Life
Facebook has an invisible system that shelters powerful rule-breakers. So do other online platforms, Washington Post
ABSTRACT: This article explores three genres of TikTok content in which creators and users collaborate to re(direct) the value they create on-platform toward specific needs, people, and causes.
Drawing from literatures on platform economies, user and creator labor, algorithmic imaginaries and resistance, and mutual aid, we used algorithmic ethnography to identify and define major genres of content, eventually creating a sample of 192 TikTok videos (including comments and metadata) and conducting a thematic analysis. The videos and practices shared the following themes: realizations of on-platform value, tactics oriented against platform logics and monetization programs, shared theories of value, and digital collaboration for a cause. We argue the genres constitute forms of algorithmic mutual aid, a practice unfolding in platform economies that demonstrates people’s increased recognition of the value of their digital labor, and efforts to reorient platform logics of value, visibility, and compensation to care for one another.
My journey into ethics and policy work is long and winding, most likely beginning with my education in Canada, which tends to emphasize deliberation and inquiry-based learning, making moral/policy debates a regular classroom exercise. That initial exposure informed many aspects of my life, from joining the philosophy club in high school, to doing a double major in psychology and philosophy at the University of Toronto, where I saw how definitions of ‘normal’ are not fixed, but are shaped by culture and power. That curiosity led me towards a master’s in media, culture, and communication at NYU, where I could explore how technology and public discourse shapes those boundaries.
During my masters (2010s), interning at Gawker Media while TA’ing a Business of Media class gave me a front-row seat to the rise of digital platforms. Taking Ted Magder’s Global Media Policy course helped me connect those experiences to broader questions of regulation and power. I continued exploring these questions during my PhD, where I examined how power and norms play out in media and technology. At the same time, I worked with think tanks like The GovLab at NYU and Data & Society under my mentor, Danah Boyd, which showed me how the questions I was studying often had real-world takes. Those experiences taught me that ethics and policy are not abstract debates, but practical frameworks for shaping how technologies and institutions govern people’s lives.
I would say my teaching philosophy could be described as integrative – I like to weave history, theory, and contemporary examples throughout my courses, pulling connections between time periods and thinkers to help students see how much (or more often, how little) debates about media and technology have changed over time. I combine inquiry with activities and in-class exercises that help put these theories into practice.
The students! Seems like a cop-out answer, but it’s truly the best part.
My belief, instilled into me by my parents, that learning should be a life-long practice.
One of the most pressing issues on my radar this year is the push for age verification systems online, which raises deep questions about identity, privacy, and access. On the surface, these policies are intended to protect children from unknown (and often undefined) harms. However, in practice, they often require people of all ages to hand over sensitive personal data or undergo invasive identity checks for everyday uses of the internet, creating new forms of surveillance, exclusion, and power imbalances between users, governments, and companies.
I’m particularly interested in how these proposals interact with broader questions of digital identity (i.e. who gets to decide what forms of proof ‘count,’ how those systems might be used, and what they mean for freedom of expression and participation in public life).
“Those experiences taught me that ethics and policy are not abstract debates, but practical frameworks for shaping how technologies and institutions govern people’s lives.”
– Robyn Caplan
Among my students, I’d say I’m best known for sneaking theory in where they will least expect it. Among my friends, I’m known for knowing all the memes/references weeks (or more accurately, months) before they see them. And among my colleagues, I’m probably best (or worst) known for being bad at email (I’m working on it).
You’ll find me hanging out with my husband and son – we’re active and adventurous, so you’ll find us at whatever (even remotely) kid-friendly event that is going on in the Triangle. I’ve been learning piano, and like learning new languages, though I wouldn’t say I’m truly fluent in anything other than English and (maybe) French (depending on the week…).
“Every new communication technology has been greeted with a mixture of utopian hopes and profound anxieties about its effects on minds, morals, and society.”
– From Susan Douglas in Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination (1999)
I’m currently working on a book on the history and politics of the verified badge, which traces how a small design feature evolved into a symbol of identity, authenticity, and status across platforms (and how this evolution reflected broader ethical debates in internet and social media history). As part of that, I’m tracking the rise of age verification policies in the U.S. and abroad, examining not just the legislation, but how these systems are being implemented in practice. Together, these projects examine the infrastructures of online identity; how platforms, governments, and third-party providers decide who counts, who gets access, and the balances we must strike between privacy, speech, and protecting users.
The FLUNCH (faculty + lunch) program is designed to encourage student-faculty interaction outside the classroom. Through the program, undergraduates can invite their faculty and/or course instructors to a free lunch at one of many dining locations across campus.