Sara Gonzalo

Biography Dr. Sara Suárez-Gonzalo holds a PhD in Communication from Universitat Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona (UPF), a Master's Degree in Social Communication Research (UPF), and a Bachelor's Degree in Advertising and Public Relations from Universidade de Vigo. At present, she is postdoctoral researcher at the Chaire Hoover d'éthique économique et sociale - UCLouvain. She has been awarded a Juan de la Cierva-Formación postdoctoral fellowship, granted by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, to join the Communication Networks & Social Change Research Group (CNSC) of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) in May 2022. ► She is ACCREDITED Lecturer by ANECA (SP: Profesora Ayudante Doctora / CAT: Professora Lectora).

Sara is trained as an interdisciplinary researcher in the field of the social and political implications of big data technologies, mainly at the European level. Her doctoral thesis "Big Data, Power and Freedom. On the Social and Political impact of Massive Surveillance" has been awarded the XXXI CAC Research Award, a competitive award granted by the Catalan Audiovisual Council (the independent authority that regulates Audiovisual Communication sector in Catalonia). It consists of a compendium of five articles published in peer-reviewed impact journals and a report that contextualizes and discusses the main contributions of all of them. These analyse the main technological, business, media discourse, social and legal factors that shape the context of big data exploitation in Europe. This includes a conceptual analysis of the liberal ideals of privacy and freedom that underpin the European General Data Protection Regulation. The main conclusion of the thesis is that, all this scenario gives rise to a growing inequality of power, which makes compliance with the fundamental rights to privacy and personal data protection dependent on the "goodwill" of digital giants.

As for her research experience, she has been a full-time postdoctoral researcher at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (member of the POLCOM-GRP research group) with the Irla Postdoctoral Fellowship for Social Analysis and Thought (2020-2021, only 1 fellowship per year is granted, competitive, national level). She is also adjunct professor at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and ESIC Business & Marketing School. Suárez-Gonzalo has presented the main results of her research at several international conferences and seminars in the fields of Social Sciences and Political Philosophy. In 2019 she received the European YERUN Research Mobility Award, that allowed her to do a research stay at the Science, Technology and Society Studies Group (Department of Philosophy) of Maastricht University. Moreover, Suárez-Gonzalo is or has been part of several competitive research projects funded by the Spanish Government and the European Comission.

She also has a relevant professional experience in her research field, especially in algorithmic auditing and digital public policy consulting in both public and private institutions, including the following: Universidade de Vigo Foundation; Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona; Universitat Pompeu Fabra Foundation; ESADE Business and Law School; Catalan Audiovisual Council; Eticas Research and Consulting.

Suárez Gonzalo's main research line is halfway between Information and Communication Sciences and Political Theory. It mainly focuses on (but is not restricted to) the social and political implications of big data exploitation and the growing use of data-driven technologies (such as ML algorithms and AI techniques) both by private and public institutions, with special interest in how they affect democracy, republican freedom and fundamental rights such as privacy and personal data protection.