This weekend I have the great privilege of sharing my research and perspectives on Internet research ethics at the 2011 "Advancing Ethical Research" conference held by Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R). On the opening morning of the conference,…
Read More Presentations at PRIM&R 2011 “Adancing Ethical Research”
I'm very pleased to announce that the second book in the MIT Press "Information Society Series" I am co-editing with Laura DeNardis has been released: Opening Standards: The Global Politics of Interoperability Edited by Laura DeNardisSeptember 2011 Openness is not…
The Chronicle of Higher Education has published an article featuring my critique of the privacy protections and research methods related to the “Taste, Ties, and Time” (T3) Facebook research study conducted by a set of Harvard sociologists. Written by Marc…
I am currently in New Orleans for the American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition, where I will be speaking on the program “Promoting Ethical Literacy in Youth: How Librarians Can Partner with Parents and Teachers”, hosted by the ALA’s…
A few months ago Mozilla released Firefox 4, which featured an important "Do Not Track" function which informs websites and advertisers whether you wish to have your activity monitored and collected for behavioral targeting purposes. The problem, however, was that…
Read More Firefox 5 Adds Cross-Platform “Do Not Track”, and Puts it in Privacy Tab
Last week, the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC) passed a budget omnibus motion that affects the entire University of Wisconsin system. Sections 23-26 of the budget measure includes new telecommunication rules that would have extraordinarily negative ramifications, particularly for…
Read More In Opposition to Defunding WISCNET and other Internet Connectivity Programs
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.
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.
In preparation for Choose Privacy Week, the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom and American Libraries magazine hosted a webinar today, featuring the following panel of contributors: Angela Maycock, assistant director, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy…
Read More ALA Choose Privacy Week Webinar: Youth Privacy Attitudes
In December 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed Twitter for information on several people associated with WikiLeaks, seeking the users' full contact details (phone numbers and addresses), account payment method if any (credit card and bank account number), IP…
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