Part-Time Osgoode Research Assistant: Laws on Lobbying and Transparency in the EU

Refugee Law Lab × Migration Technology Monitor

The Refugee Law Lab (RLL) is hiring a part-time Osgoode research assistant to work with the Migration Technology Monitor (MTM). The RA will analyze EU laws on lobbying, transparency and astroturfing, with a focus on corporate influence over border surveillance and migration management policy.

About the Refugee Law Lab

The Refugee Law Lab is based at York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies and Osgoode Hall Law School. It researches and advocates on new legal technologies and their impact on refugees, other displaced communities and people on the move. We build datasets and legal analytics that make refugee law processes more transparent. We critique the use of artificial intelligence and other technologies in the migration field. We also build open-source legal technology to advance the rights and interests of marginalized communities.

Background

Big Tech is lobbying for deregulation in Brussels, including through “astroturfing” on border surveillance and migration management. Astroturfing means creating or orchestrating the appearance of independent grassroots support for a policy position while hiding who is really behind it, such as companies, industry groups or lobbyists. It can involve funding or coordinating citizen groups, NGOs, associations, petitions, public campaigns, events, expert initiatives or social-media activity that look independent. Corporate funding alone does not make something astroturfing. The defining feature is hiding or misrepresenting who organizes, pays for or directs the advocacy, so that an organized lobbying effort looks like spontaneous public or civil-society pressure.

No single EU statute bans astroturfing by name. Whether a campaign is lawful depends on:

• what the campaign does
• who is behind it
• what is concealed
• whether it falls under lobbying, political advertising, consumer protection, platform or national rules

Two frameworks are central:

• The EU Transparency Register. Its Code of Conduct requires registered interest representatives to say whom they represent, declare the interests and objectives they promote, and name their clients or members. It also prohibits obtaining decisions or information dishonestly. A lobbyist who presents a corporate-funded group to EU officials as an independent citizens’ initiative could therefore breach Register obligations, depending on how the group is structured and what was said. However, the Register is mainly a transparency and access regime. It does not create a general prohibition on astroturfing.
• Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. It defines political advertising broadly. Paid messages can qualify if they are “liable and designed to influence” a legislative or regulatory process, not just elections or voting behaviour. This makes it particularly relevant to corporate astroturfing around EU regulation.

Position Overview

The successful candidate will:

• Analyze the EU legal landscape on astroturfing, including existing and draft legislation, regulatory instruments and memoranda of understanding
• Identify key private-sector players involved in these practices
• Identify legal limits on hiding the identity, interests or intentions of the actors behind such activities
• Analyze conflicts between EU-wide regulation, member state regulation and international legal principles on business and human rights, corporate social responsibility and open procurement
• Write a 5–10 page memo (point form is acceptable) setting out these findings, which will inform an international investigation into astroturfing in the EU related to border surveillance and other supra-legal practices

The supervisor will provide two or three case studies that show the practices in more detail. Substantive support will be provided throughout.

Qualifications and Competencies

• Upper-year Osgoode JD student or Osgoode LLM student
• Interest and/or experience in corporate social responsibility and business and human rights frameworks
• Interest in corporate overreach and accountability
• Familiarity with border technologies is an asset but not required
• Strong legal research and writing skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Knowledge of EU law and/or European languages (particularly French, German or Spanish) is an asset
• Lived experience with forced migration or membership in equity-seeking communities is an asset

Terms and Conditions

• Place of work: Remote
• Salary: $30/hr (inclusive of vacation pay, less statutory deductions)
• Time commitment: About 5 hours per week for 6 to 8 weeks (30–40 hours total). Hours are flexible.

What You’ll Gain

• Deeper knowledge of EU lobbying, transparency and political advertising law
• Experience applying business and human rights frameworks to corporate influence on migration policy
• A direct contribution to an international investigation into corporate lobbying practices

Supervisors: Petra Molnar, RLL Associate Director; Jessica Turje, MTM Administrator

Application Deadline: 30 October 2026 (5:00pmET)

How to Apply: Send your CV and a one-page cover letter describing your interests to admin@migrationtechmonitor.com