Trisha Meyer is a doctoral researcher at the Institute for European Studies in Brussels. She has an MA degree in Communication Studies from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and has been pursuing doctoral studies since October 2009.

In her PhD research, Trisha examines EU policies concerning the enforcement of copyright on the Internet, focusing on the processes of policy making and the implications for Internet governance. She approaches the topic from the perspective of the Political Economy of Communication.



Trisha has chosen two examples of graduated response in policy, namely France and the United Kingdom, as the main cases of her empirical research. Graduated response is a means of enforcing copyright by monitoring the Internet, followed by warnings and sanctions (such as Internet filtering and suspension of Internet access) related to copyright infringement. Her analysis of these online copyright enforcement policies is qualitative and focuses on the policy making processes. The rationales of the policies, arguments of the stakeholders, and economic and institutional context of France and the United Kingdom are studied to understand how and why these graduated response policies came about.

Graduated response is the result of choices made about the type of society, communication, and technology we wish to promote. Stakeholders compete to define the current problem and solution of the losses in the creative industries. Copyright, piracy and the Internet are given a particular articulation throughout the discourses surrounding the copyright enforcement debate. This approach to investigating graduated response is valuable, because it raises questions about the construction and role of information and technology in society. 

Trisha also investigates how and why online copyright enforcement policies are used in debates on the regulation of the Internet. Information and communication are central in our economy and society. Manuel Castells (2009, Communication Power) argues that control over communication and its infrastructure gives power. Being able to shape what kind of information is produced, what is made available and through which communication channels, means being able to determine the agenda and direction of our society.

The Internet allows users to 'broadcast' their ideas and interests, and raised hopes of being the ultimate equalizing communication medium. Parts of the governance of the Internet have historically also been multi-stakeholder endeavors. However, technology is shaped by its uses and policies, and Internet governance is currently shifting towards tighter governmental control of Internet communication and infrastructure. Trisha questions this trend and studies the particular role that graduated response plays in the process.

Her topics of interest include EU politics, copyright, Internet governance, political economy, discourse analysis and surveillance. 

Meyer, T. (2012), "Graduated response in France: the clash of copyright and Internet", in: Journal of Information Policy, Vol 2, pp.107-127. http://jip.vmhost.psu.edu/ojs/index.php/jip/article/view/71

Lorrain, A.-C., Meyer, T., & Ranaivoson, H. (2012), "Graduated response beyond the copyright balance. How the will to control the Internet increases uncertainty in the information society", paper presented at: EuroCPR 2012, Policies for the future Internet, Ghent, 25-27 March 2011. 

Meyer, T. (2011), "Political economies of copyright, droit dʼauteur and the Internet: convergence or clash", paper presented at: Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (TPRC), The 39th research conference on communication, information, and Internet policy, Arlington, 23-25 September 2011.

Meyer, T. & Van Audenhove, L. (2011), "The Internet: an open communication network? Studying online copyright enforcement policy from a communication science perspective", paper presented at: International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), Cities, creativity and connectivity, Istanbul, 13-17 July 2011.

Meyer, T. & Van Audenhove, L. (2011), "Surveillance and regulating code: an analysis of graduated response in France", paper presented at: Cyber-surveillance in everyday life: an international workshop, Toronto, 12-15 May 2011.

Meyer, T. & Van Audenhove, L. (2010), "Graduated response and the emergence of a European surveillance society", in: info, Vol 12(6), pp.69-79. DOI: 0.1108/14636691011086053

Meyer, T. & Van Audenhove, L. (2010),"Towards a European surveillance society? Combating copyright infringement through graduated response initiatives in France and the United Kingdom", paper presented at: EuroCPR 2010, Policies for a digital Europe: lessons learned and challenges ahead, Brussels, 28-30 March 2010.

Van Audenhove, L., Morganti, L. & Meyer, T. (2009), "Graduated response in Europe. An analysis of initiatives and stakeholder discourses", paper presented at: Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (TPRC), The 37th research conference on communication, information, and Internet policy, Arlington, 25-27 September 2009. 

Van Audenhove, L., Morganti, L., Ramírez, G. & Meyer, T. (2009), "An assumptional analysis of the Creative Content Online public consultation by the European Commission", abstract for: Global Internet Governance Academic Network Workshop (GigaNet), Internet governance: an interdisciplinary research field in construction, Brussels, 11 May 2009.