Facebook has provided only a generic comment noting that the gay-kiss image was removed in error. But many unanswered questions remain. Critical questions, indeed, considering the cruel dichotomy of Facebook's mission to "[Give] people the power to share and make the world more open and connected" and its unquestioned power to control the platform, and thus the conditions under which people are allowed to share.
Category: Information Ethics
Facebook’s Censorship Problem
Facebook recently removed a photo of two men kissing from a user's Wall due to an apparent violation of the site's terms of service. This act of censorship has received considerable attention, and while it is reasonable for Facebook to try to control some of the content shared on its platform, there are some fundamental concerns with this case that point to a growing censorship problem within Facebook, especially when considered against the backdrop of Facebook's potential entry into China.
UWM Homepage Feature: Promoting an ethical compass for the information age
My research in the ethical dimensions of Internet and social technologies is featured on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's homepage this week. The new article, "Promoting an ethical compass for the information age", highlights some of my recent work on the…
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2011 ALISE Information Ethics SIG CFP: Innovations in Teaching Information Ethics Across Contexts
I have been charged with convening a panel for the Information Ethics special interest group of ALISE (Association for Library and Information Science Education), to be held at its 2011 annual conference.I've decided to focus on how LIS scholars and…
Brill’s Much Ado About Zittrain
The Daily Beast's Emily Brill criticizes Jonathan Zittrain for publishing an op-ed critical of Apple, without specific disclosure of the fact that his academic home, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, receives funding from some of Apple's competitors, such as Google and Microsoft. Brill seems determined to explore (and accuse) whether Zittrain -- and the Berkman Center generally -- succumbs to the pressures of funding sources in forming research conclusions and policy opinions. Of course he doesn't.
Anthony Hoffmann on the Twitter-Library of Congress Deal: Privacy, Representation, Culture, Research Ethics
Anthony Hoffmann, a UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies PhD student, has posted an excellent analysis of the Twitter-Library of Congress deal, in 4 parts, at his blog: Part I: Intro and Privacy Roundup: Hoffmann discusses how the LoC acquisition of…
Conference: Teaching Information Ethics in Africa (Botswana, Sept. 2010)
If you have an interest in information ethics, access to knowledge, capacity building, and the African continent, please join us for the “Teaching Information Ethics in Africa – Current Status, Opportunities, and Challenges” conference at the University of Botswana on…
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Event: Emerging Privacy and Ethical Challenges for Libraries in the 2.0 Era
From May 2 through May 8, 2010, libraries across the nation will celebrate Choose Privacy Week for the first time. This American Library Association campaign invites library professionals, users, and friends into a national conversation about privacy rights in a…
Read More Event: Emerging Privacy and Ethical Challenges for Libraries in the 2.0 Era
A2K4 Workshop on “Identifying Challenges and Opportunities for an African Information Ethics”
This weekend I'm attending the 4th Access to Knowledge conference, A2K4: Access to Knowledge and Human Rights, hosted by the Yale Information Society Project (see my original post on the conference here). With the help of the UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies, I organized a workshop on "Identifying Challenges and Opportunities for an African Information Ethics", featuring Johannes Britz (School of Information Studies, UW-Milwaukee), Rafael Capurro (International Center for Information Ethics, and School of Information Studies, UW-Milwaukee) and Dennis Ocholla (University of Zululand), along with a very engaged group of conference participants.
A2K4: Conference on Access to Knowledge and Human Rights
The Yale Information Society Project has announced the 4th Access to Knowledge conference: A2K4: Access to Knowledge and Human Rights. The event will be held at Yale Law School on February 12-13, 2010, hosted by the Information Society Project, in collaboration with an extensive list of organizing partners, including UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies. The two-day conference will feature plenary panels as well as breakout sessions of working groups organized around specific issue areas, including a workshop I have organized on "Identifying Challenges and Opportunities for an African Information Ethics".
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