No abstract

On 18 June 2020, the Groner Landstraße 9, a high-rise in the German city of Göttingen, was put under a month-long lockdown after 120 of its residents had tested positive for COVID-19. Two days later, the residents clashed with the police, "throwing stones, tires and a computer," and setting items on fire, "before being forced back with tear gas" (Deutsche Welle 2020). The night of the clash, I received a call for solidarity with the residents of the high-rise. The call was extended by a group called Anarchistiches aus Göttingen, Anarchists from Göttingen, which, to my knowledge, comprises of several anti-fascist and leftist factions in the city, many of whom gather under the banner of Antifaschistische Aktion, or Antifa.

Critical research into the gig economy frequently relies on using platform interfaces, platform mobile applications or websites, as intermediaries to contact and recruit participants. Yet, these methods are accompanied by significant ethical implications that are rarely considered. In this article, we look at the organisational features of platform interfaces for research and explore the ways in which, through their intensive knowledge about their users, they present additional challenges to researchers’ abilities to (a) conduct independent research – for example by influencing the participant recruitment process and (b) establish and maintain respondent anonymity and researcher transparency. Our analysis is based on an international study of platform workers which investigates working conditions and fairness in the gig economy in both geographically tethered gig work and cloudwork. We argue that the ethical boundaries of doing research through platform interfaces are shaped not only by researchers, but also by the platforms whose interfaces researchers use. Establishing and protecting the anonymity of research participants provides an acute example of this, as platforms have the potential to scrutinise the activities of researchers on their interfaces, and capture information shared between researchers and participants. The question of anonymity arises also in the reverse order: when platforms share personal information on workers, at a level not required by researchers. After building our argument, we propose a set of suggestions for promoting ethical research in the study of gig economy platforms.

As the market for Islamically permissible (halal) products expands, so do critical discourses on the production and consumption of halal in Europe. In France, one of Europe’s largest and fast growing halal markets, while some fear a halal takeover of the French foodscape, others question the authenticity of the products stamped with halal signs. This paper writes against both discourses by exploring the meaning halal takes beyond the sign. It examines how halal attains its meaning as a product of a complex relationship of trust. In describing this relationship, it draws on accounts provided by members of the Turkish community in Strasbourg, France and examines the decision-making process through which Muslim Turks navigate the European foodscape and access halal products. Rather than being driven by alarmist calls, the paper urges to revisit and learn from the ways Muslims negotiate halal in a field long shaped by uncertainty and doubt.