Course:Legal Constraints on Digital Creativity/Course Notes/11. The Net
INTERNET GOVERNANCE & SURVEILLANCE
A. LEGAL/STATE JURISDICTION OF VIRTUAL WORLDS: Does The Internet need to be a Legal Jurisdiction?
- Not for romantic reasons, or reasons of freedom, but for practical commercial logic. SCC decision that jurisdiction can exist wherever actionable event can be seen, if widely adopted means multiple jurisdictions for any claim, which in turn creates paralyzing commercial uncertainty.
- Also, the digital universe is actually not a metaphor (like space; like the sea – it does not easily accommodate nation/state jurisdiction, nor do we necessarily want it to): http://edge.org/conversation/a-universe-of-self-replicating-code
- But who controls, how & why? Is current multi-stakeholders approach sufficient to protect freedom?
- Forbes: “Does the Internet Need a Global Regulator?” http://t.co/iNir75BH
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamthierer/2012/05/06/does-the-internet-need-a-global-regulator/
- @Techmeme: “U.N. takeover of the Internet must be stopped, U.S. warns” (@declanm / CNET) http://t.co/YJduyE90 http://t.co/ud2YLAka
- By way of example of why; there are different decisions in various jurisdictions on same issue: “Google wins YouTube copyright battle in French court” – CNET Mobile
- OpenNet Initiative (ONI) Year in Review 2011 | Omnibus review | Berkman Center
- @arstechnica: Iran publishes “Request for Information” for “halal” Internet: http://t.co/QRV2OJ1S
- Defamation takes place in Canada when the content is downloaded in Canada says Supreme Court in Black case http://t.co/lwGbtBUH
- Some Users In China Reporting Access To Facebook, Despite Ban [Update: Looks Like It's Blocked Again] – TechCrunch
- China deletes accounts on Twitter-like service as part of social media crackdown
- China’s Sina Weibo ‘Smothering’ User Updates – Government technique of not showing other discussion while not actually preventing user speech; version of “talking into the wind”.
- @suffolkmedialaw: Iran’s Web Censorship Filters Supreme Leader’s Own Statement | Ars Technica http://t.co/tQvggggB
- “Khamenei, according to a translation by RFE, replied: “In general, the use of antifiltering software is subject to the laws and regulations of the Islamic republic, and it is not permissible to violate the law.” However, his own use of the word “antifiltering” apparently triggered Iran’s own filtering system, making Khamenei’s words inaccessible to most Iranians.”
- @TheNextWeb: Pakistan’s Prime Minister has ordered Twitter access be restored:
- U.N. could tax U.S.-based Web sites, leaked docs show – CNET Mobile
- “U.S. Lawmakers Issa and Wyden Unveil Digital Bill of Rights” – June 12, 2012
- “The ten key rights are:
- 1) The right to a free and uncensored Internet.
- 2) The right to an open, unobstructed Internet. *:# 3) The right to equality on the Internet. *:# 4) The right to gather and participate in online activities. *:# 5) The right to create and collaborate on the Internet. *:# 6) The right to freely share their ideas. *:# 7) The right to access the Internet equally, regardless of who they are or where they are. *:# 8) The right to freely associate on the Internet. *:# 9) The right to privacy on the Internet. *:# 10) The right to benefit from what they create.”
- http://www.gamepolitics.com/2012/06/12/us-lawmakers-issa-and-wyden-unveil-digital-bill-rights
- “The ten key rights are:
- “Data sovereignty issues still weigh on cloud adoption” – Barb Darrow June 12, 2012: “Large enterprises that embrace cloud computing for many tasks still refuse to use public cloud infrastructure for key jobs because of what they see as restrictive data sovereignty regulations.These laws, which are proliferating in countries around the world, according to attendees of this week’s Forecast 2012 event in New York, mandate that a company keep a customer’s data in that customer’s home country. One oft-cited reason is to prevent that data from being subpoenaed by a foreign power (read: the U.S.)”
B. DIGITAL PROTEST, DIGITAL DEMOCRACY, DIGITAL GOVERNMENT
- @smgrimes: new study on the role of SNS in political revolutions: http://t.co/KdMbbZyV
- China’s censorship can never defeat the internet | Ai Weiwei | Comment is free | The Guardian
- @techdirt: Tim Berners-Lee Says UK’s Net Spying Plans Would Be ‘Destruction Of Human Rights:
- ““The idea that we should routinely record information about people is obviously very dangerous. It means that there will be information around which could be stolen, which can be acquired through corrupt officials or corrupt operators, and [could be] used, for example, to blackmail people in the government or people in the military. We open ourselves out, if we store this information, to it being abused.”
- http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120418/04052718541/tim-berners-lee-says-uks-net-spying-plans-would-be-destruction-human-rights.shtml?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
- Related to Berner-Lee above: “Get rid of ‘digital handcuffs’, says European Commission vice-president” - http://t.co/L9jgv6kU via @zite
- China Cracks Down on Online Code Words for Blind Human Rights Activist http://mashable.com/2012/04/30/china-dissident-search/
- China’s web censors are playing a game of “whack-a-mole” against online search terms being used to spread information about Chen Guangcheng, a blind Chinese human rights advocate who has reportedly escaped house arrest and taken refuge in a U.S. embassy.
- “Is Social Media Playing a Role in a Global Power Revolution?”
- http://mashable.com/2012/05/08/social-media-power-shift/
- “This was a change in mindsets more than handsets…. Catalyzed by new media but driven by new expectations about power.” – Henry Timms
- Twitter Users Employ WWII Hashtag to Skirt French Election Law
- The role of the corporate sector in a checks and balances democracy: @berkmancenter: Twitter Defense Of Occupy Protester’s Tweets Is Landmark Case, Experts Say http://t.co/tN1EodWC (Comments from @zittrain)
- @mashable: Watch Egypt’s Historic 2012 Election Unfold on Social Media – http://t.co/Wkn0nFZK
- @mashable: “Facebook Election Is a Bust: 0.00038% of Users Voted on Privacy Change” – http://t.co/5780ueMe