Dr. Rébecca Suzanne Franco is a researcher at the Department of Media and Culture at Utrecht University. Her research examines how the regulation of sex, intimacy, and sexual labor creates material inequalities. Currently, she leads the NWO Veni-funded project "Working the Platform: Migrant Women's Domestic and Sex Work in the Digital Age." Her work bridges platform studies, migration studies, gender and sexuality studies, and socio-legal research.

Franco's current research centers on platform labor, with a particular focus on gendered, reproductive work performed by migrant women. Her NWO Veni project conducts a joint examination of sex work and domestic work to investigate how digital platforms interact with sector-specific policies and immigration governance to both enhance and deteriorate labor conditions for domestic and sex workers.

Before joining Utrecht University, Rébecca Franco was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam, investigating the regulation of platformized sex work in the research project "The platformization of the global sex industry: Markets, morals, and mass intimacy". Her work shows how the political economy of platform capitalism and moral politics intersect in shaping the working conditions of online sex workers. She has particularly showcased how financial service providers shape platform governance, demonstrating that companies like Mastercard and Visa exercise disproportionate regulatory power over sexual content and sexual labour online.

Rébecca Franco completed her PhD at VU University, examining the historical regulation of interracialized intimacies and (post)colonial migration in France, resulting in a monograph entitled "Between Problematisation and Invisibilisation: The Regulation of Interracialised Intimacies and (Post)Colonial Migration in France." This historical work laid the foundation for her ongoing interest in how states regulate intimate and sexual relations, particularly for marginalized populations.

Franco's research has been published in journals including New Media & Society, Porn Studies, Sexualities, and Social & Legal Studies.

Beyond academia, Franco actively engages with policy makers, industry stakeholders, and community organizations. She has, for example, served as a digital rights research consultant for the European Sex Workers Alliance, producing the report "Labour Rights, Safety and Privacy: How to Centre Sex Workers' Needs on Advertising Platforms". She also co-produced a policy report on how adult platforms can improve labour conditions for webcam performers.

Her research has been featured in national and international media outlets on radio, written press, and tv, including NRC, BNNVARA, Omroep MAX, Omroep Zwart, Het Parool, and Le Monde.