CLA Amsterdam edition
University of Amsterdam, 6 – 8 May 2026
The 8th Edition of the Consumer Leadership Academy (CLA) took place from May 6 to 8, 2026, at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), The Netherlands, under the title: ‘Fairness by design: generating trust and empowering consumers’.
Program
As the EU moves beyond the Digital Services Act toward a potential Digital Fairness Act, we find ourselves at a critical juncture where compliance is no longer merely a legal hurdle, but a complex communicative and design challenge. This edition’s theme invited us to explore the architecture of influence. By drawing on communication science, behavioral research, and human-centered design, we brought together legal, design, and technical perspectives to investigate how persuasion can be designed responsibly, rather than treated only as a risk to be mitigated.
6 – 8 May 2026
DAY 1 | THE ARCHITECTURE OF INFLUENCE/PERSUASION
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01// WELCOME ADDRESS / INSTITUTIONAL REMARKS
Opening Greetings
– Christa Boer, Dean, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, UvAIntroduction to CEP and Consumer Leadership Academy
– Marco Scialdone, Director, Consumer Empowerment Project
– Sebastian Sposito, Public Affairs Manager for Europe, Google -
02// Digital Fairness Compass: Navigating the Future of Consumer Protection
– Isabelle Pérignon, Director for Consumer policy, European Commission
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03// Algorithmic persuasion & the attention economy
– Guda van Noort, Professor of Persuasion & New Media Technologies, UvA
– Yajing Wang, PhD Candidate, UvA -
04// Translating rules into digital environments: Fair design
– Iris van Buggenum, Enforcement Official, Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets
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05// The Trust Crisis
– Theo Araujo, Professor of Media, Organizations and Society, UvA
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06// Workshop | Persuasive Architecture Audit
– Merel Walraven, UvA and Researcher, Dutch Gambling Authority
– Eva van den Broek, Founder, Behavioural Insights Nederland
DAY 2 | THE LEGAL DESIGN LABORATORY
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01// From legal text to persuasive environments
– Amit Zac, Assistant Professor, UvA
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02// Interdisciplinary perspectives on dark patterns and law
– Johanna Gunawan, Assistant Professor, Maastricht University
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03// Unpacking deceptive design: A user-centric framework for assessing dark patterns
– Esra Ozkan, UX Research and Insights Lead, Google
– Zuhal Ayar, Legal Counsel, Regulatory Affairs, Google -
04// The Fair Interface Principles Lab
– Alain Starke, Assistant Professor, UvA
DAY 3 | CONSUMER EMPOWERMENT & THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL PERSUASION
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01// Defining new view on “digital vulnerability”
– Joanna Strycharz, Assistant Professor, UvA
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02// Co-created Personalization: Architecting AI Memory for Agency and Trust
– Nava Zokaei, UX Researcher – Personalized AI Experiences, Google
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03// The Road to the Digital Fairness Act: Regulating Persuasive Systems
– Marco Scialdone, Head of Litigation and Academic Outreach, Euroconsumers
Faculty
Our speakers
