With increasing regulatory scrutiny—such as Meta’s evolving moderation policies and the UK’s Online Safety Act—understanding how to prevent online violence is more urgent than ever. This masterclass will equip attendees with the knowledge and tools to bui
How We Can Protect Users from Online Violence - With Professor Kristine de ValckParticipate
In this Reskill Masterclass, Professor Kristine de Valck explores the often-overlooked underpinnings of online violence and strategies to create safer, healthier digital spaces. This session is timely, given the new popular moderation policies at Meta and the rigorous demands of the EU’s Digital Services Act.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the leading experts in digital communities and online consumer behavior. Whether you manage an online brand, moderate a social media space, or study digital ethics, this session will offer actionable insights that can transform how you approach online safety.
Who Should Attend This Masterclass?
This session is designed for professionals across industries who are grappling with the challenges of online community management, digital reputation, and platform governance:
- Community Managers & Moderators – Learn why banning users isn't enough and explore new strategies for fostering healthy discussions.
- Brand Managers & Crisis Communication Experts – Discover how online toxicity can escalate into brand crises and what proactive steps can be taken.
- Tech & Digital Policy Leaders – Understand why regulatory frameworks such as the EU Digital Services Act alone won't solve online violence, and what complementary measures are needed.
- Academic & Research Professionals – Gain insights into how consumer behavior, social psychology, and digital ethics shape the evolution of online violence.
What You Will Learn
- Why even well-intentioned communities can turn toxic
- How individual disputes escalate into collective harassment
- Why moderation alone isn’t enough—and what actually works
- How brands and organizations can prevent reputational risks
- How new regulatory policies impact digital spaces
What You Will Learn
Development of Online Violence: Understand how seemingly benign online communities can turn toxic. Mechanisms of Digital Harm: Learn about the roles of direct, structural, and cultural violence in online spaces. Preventing Online Aggression: Gain practical skills to identify and address triggers of online aggression, mitigating risks before they escalate into severe issues.
Speaker Bio
Kristine de Valck is Professor of Marketing and Dean of Degree Programs. Her research and teaching focus on how the Internet and social media have changed consumer behavior, organizations, and marketing practice.
About the Research
Kristine de Valck's work has been published in Administrative Science Quaterly, British Journal of Management, Decision Support Systems, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing and Psychology & Marketing, as well as in various edited books. She has won multiple awards for her research including the prestigious ‘Citations of Excellence Award 2013’ for her dissertation-based article that is among the 50 most-cited publications among 13,000 articles published in the top international academic journals. Her Journal of Marketing Research article “The Effect of Electronic Word of Mouth on Sales; a Meta-Analytic Review of Platform, Product, and Metric Factors" was finalist of the 2021 Weitz-Winer-O'Dell Award of the American Marketing Association.
Kristine has developed numerous courses about marketing through social media, including a freely available course on iTunesU (2010) and a course as part of a degree-awarding HEC Master's program on Coursera (2017). Kristine regularly collaborates with companies, including Air France-KLM, Balenciaga, BNP-Paribas, Canson, Carrefour, Disneyland Paris, Etam Group, Gucci, Orange Business Service, Renault, Saint Laurent, SEB, and SFR. She serves as board member of the International Schools in Business Management consortium and Vlerick Business School.
Kristine has a PhD in Marketing Management from RSM Erasmus University (2005). She has been a faculty member at HEC Paris since 2004 where she has held various positions including Marketing PhD Director (2010-2013), Marketing Department Chair (2015-2017), Associate Dean & Director of the PhD Program (2018-2021) and Academic Director of the Kering Luxury Chair (since 2016).
Pre-Event Reading
Why Online Consumption Communities Brutalize, Journal of Consumer Research, April 2024 How Online Violence Grows: Clan Abuse and Popular Justice, Knowledge@HEC Why Moderators Can't Protect Online Communities on Their Own, Harvard Business Review Can the UK's Online Safety Act Tame the Hidden Violence in Leisure Communities?, The Conversation