Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Joint of Posters, Demos, Workshops, and Tutorials of the 21st International Conference on Semantic Systems, SEMANTiCS-PDWT 2025, Vienna, Avusturya, 3 - 05 Eylül 2025, cilt.4064, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
The Digital Services Act (DSA) introduces a paradigm shift in platform governance, placing transparency at the heart of regulatory efforts. Yet despite its promise to rebalance power asymmetries between users and platforms, this paper argues that the DSA’s transparency obligations may create an unintended “transparency paradox,” where the excessive volume and technical nature of disclosures risk reinforcing, rather than reducing, digital vulnerability. Drawing on legal theory and empirical insights, this paper critically assesses the DSA’s transparency regime, specifically considering users’ cognitive constraints, interface design patterns, and informational inequality It argues that formal compliance with transparency norms does not necessarily yield meaningful understanding or foster true user empowerment. Instead, it may inadvertently obscure the structural power dynamics embedded in platform design and data governance. Building on interdisciplinary research, the paper proposes a shift from mere data-dump transparency toward contextual, user-tested, and layered communication strategies. By reframing transparency as a substantive, user-centric principle, this study offers normative and practical recommendations for European Union (EU) digital regulation to better address digitally enhanced power asymmetries and thereby promote democratic information environments.