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Bi-Weekly Discussion - Internet Freedom, Privacy & Net Neutrality

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Brian B.
Bi-Weekly Discussion - Internet Freedom, Privacy & Net Neutrality

Details

We're currently hosting our discussions at Café Walnut, not too far from our summer meeting spot in Washington Square Park. The cafe is near the corner of 7th & Walnut in Olde City. The cafe's entrance is below street level down some stairs, which can be confusing if it's your first time. Our group meets in the large room upstairs.

Since we're using the cafe's space, they ask that each person attending the meetup at least purchase a drink or snack. Please don't bring any food or drinks from outside. If you're hungry enough to eat a meal, they have more substantial fare such as salads, soups & sandwiches which are pretty good and their prices are reasonable.

The cafe is fairly easy to get to if you're using public transit. With SEPTA, take the Market-Frankford Line & get off at the 5th Street Station (corner of 5th & Market), and walk 2 blocks south on 5th and then turn right on Walnut Street and walk 2 blocks west. With PATCO, just get off at the 9th-10th & Locust stop and walk 3 blocks east & 1 block north. For those who are driving, parking in the neighborhood can be tough to find. If you can't find a spot on the street, I'd suggest parking in the Washington Square parking deck at 249 S 6th Street which is just a half block away.

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OUR CONFLICTING CYBER-VISIONS: INTERNET FREEDOM, INTERNET PRIVACY & THE NET NEUTRALITY DEBATE

This meetup will look at the role of the internet in a democratic society. A good place to start one's analysis is by looking at the Freedom House's annual "Freedom on the Net" report, along with a large survey of tech experts by Pew Research Center on threats to internet freedom back in 2014. As you can see, both Freedom House and the experts surveyed by Pew Research express concerns that tend to cluster into 3 areas: free speech online, internet privacy, and economic aspects of internet access.

We'll start our discussion by looking at the way different political ideologies create different perspectives on the internet. In the second section, we'll look at free speech issues on the internet, and the third section will deal with privacy issues online. In the fourth section, we'll try to get a sense of the expert consensus on Net Neutrality, and we'll also look at how internet cost, speed & connectivity vary by locale and what factors underlie these differences, as well as trends in tech innovation.

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DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR OUR DISCUSSION:
The videos & articles you see linked below are intended to give you a basic overview of some of the major debates over internet policy. As usual, I certainly don't expect you to read all the articles & watch all the videos prior to attending our discussion. The easiest way to prepare for our discussion is to just watch ONE video linked under each section. If you watch one video under each section, it should take about 40 minutes. (Watching all of the videos would take about 80 minutes - don't do that unless you really want to.) The articles marked with asterisks are just there to supply additional details. You can browse and look at whichever ones you want, but don't worry - we'll cover the stuff you missed in our discussion. In terms of the discussion format, my general idea is that we'll address the topics in the order presented here. I figure we'll spend about 30 minutes on each section.

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I. OUR CONFLICTING CYBER-VISIONS: CYBER-UTOPIANS VS CYBER-SKEPTICS, CYBER LIBERTARIANS VS DIGITAL SOCIALISTS

  • WHAT ASPECTS OF THE INTERNET INCLINE IT TO BE AN DEMOCRATIZING TECHNOLOGY THAT GIVES GREATER POWER TO CITIZENS?
  • WHAT ASPECTS OF THE INTERNET INCLINE IT TO BE AN AUTHORITARIAN TECHNOLOGY OF GOVERNMENT CONTROL?
  • HOW DO “CYBER-LIBERTARIANS” (ADAM THIERER, BEN SZOKA) DIFFER FROM “OPENNESS EVANGELISTS” (LARRY LESSIG, TIM WU, JONATHAN ZITTRAIN) IN THEIR VIEW OF MARKET FAILURES & “CODE FAILURES”?
  • HOW DO THE POLICIES CYBER LIBERTARIANS WANT DIFFER FROM THOSE THAT NEOCONS & TRADITIONAL CONSERVATIVES FAVOR?
  • HOW DO THE POLICIES THE “OPENNESS EVANGELISTS” FAVOR DIFFER FROM THOSE OF “DIGITAL SOCIALISTS”?
  • HOW CAN WE BEST CHARACTERIZE THE POLITICAL VIEWS OF SILICON VALLEY'S TECH FOUNDERS? IS IT DIFFERENT FROM THE RANK & FILE AT TECH COMPANIES?

1a) Clay Shirky, "How The Internet Will (One Day) Transform Government" (18:32 minutes)
https://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_the_internet_will_one_day_transform_government
1b) Evgeny Morozov, "RSA ANIMATE: The Internet in Society: Empowering or Censoring Citizens?" (10:58 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk8x3V-sUgU

II. FREE SPEECH, THE INTERNET AS A "PUBLIC SPACE" & GOV'T/CORPORATE CENSORSHIP:

  • WHO IS A GREATER THREAT TO FREE SPEECH ONLINE, GOVERNMENT OR THE PRIVATE SECTOR?
  • ARE SOCIAL MEDIA SITES MORE OR LESS INCLINED TO LIMIT ONLINE SPEECH THAN I.S.P.S?
  • SHOULD SOME AREAS OF THE INTERNET (E.G. SOCIAL MEDIA) BE CONSIDERED PUBLIC SPACES WHERE FREE SPEECH IS PROTECTED?
  • SHOULD SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES BE HELD LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES (COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS, DRUG SALES, SEX TRAFFICKING, ILLEGAL PORN, ETC.) ON THEIR SITES, IF THEY DONT PROACTIVELY POLICE THEIR SITES & CENSOR/REPORT IT?
  • SHOULD SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES PROACTIVELY POLICE THEIR SITES FOR “HATE SPEECH” AND “FAKE NEWS” AND CENSOR IT?

2a) Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, "How Internet Censorship Works" (video - 7:09 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfS_2oXVch0
2b) Mike Rugnetta @ PBS Ideas Channel, "Comment Responses: Is The Internet a Public Place?" (video - 12:33 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNB7OolxKAY

III. INTERNET PRIVACY, GOV'T/CORPORATE SURVEILLANCE & TRANSPARENCY:

  • IS GOVERNMENT OR THE PRIVATE SECTOR A GREATER THREAT TO OUR ONLINE PRIVACY? AND WHEN PRIVACY IS LOST, DOES UNJUST PUNISHMENT OR COVERT MANIPULATION POSE THE GREATER THREAT?
  • IS BULK COLLECTION OF METADATA LESS INVASIVE OF OUR PRIVACY THAN DIRECT INTERCEPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS?
  • SHOULD PRIVATE CITIZENS HAVE A “RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN” THAT WOULD REQUIRE WEBSITES TO REMOVE THEIR NAMES, OR IS THIS AN INFRINGEMENT ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH?
  • TO PROMOTE PRIVACY, SHOULD WE MOVE FROM A MODEL OF “FREE” SOCIAL MEDIA THAT HARVESTS & SELLS USER DATA TO SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES THAT CHARGE A MONTHLY FEE? SHOULD THIS SHIFT ALSO APPLY TO SEARCH ENGINES?
  • SHOULD MOST OR ALL TRANSMISSIONS OVER THE INTERNET BE ENCRYPTED TO ENSURE A HIGH LEVEL OF ANONYMITY ONLINE, AS THE E.F.F. SUGGESTS?
  • IS DAVID BRIN RIGHT THAT GOV’T & CORPORATE SURVEILLANCE SHOULDN'T CONCERN US TOO MUCH PROVIDED WE CAN BALANCE THIS WITH “SOUSVEILLANCE”?
  • WOULD BRIN’S “TRANSPARENT SOCIETY” BE SAFER THAN THE “PRIVATE SOCIETY” STRONG ENCRYPTION ADVOCATES FAVOR WITHOUT SACRIFICING ANY ESSENTIAL FREEDOMS?

3a) Karisma Foundation, "Internet Surveillance Explained" (video - 6:52 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NnB03JBCKk
3b) David Brin, "The Transparent Society: Secrecy vs. Privacy, Part 2" (video - 9:52 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oz2CZgrm8k

IV. THE ECONOMICS OF INTERNET ACCESS & THE NET NEUTRALITY DEBATE:

  • SHOULD INTERNET SERVICE BE CONSIDERED A “RIGHT”? IF SO, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
  • ARE THE CABLES & CONDUITS THAT MAKE UP TIER 1 & TIER 2 NETWORKS “NATURAL MONOPOLIES”? HOW ABOUT THE “LAST MILE” AND TIER 3 NETWORKS?
  • SHOULD I.S.P.S BE SUBJECT TO COMMON CARRIER REGULATIONS? OR SHOULD WE GO A STEP FURTHER AND NATIONALIZE THE I.S.P.S and MAKE THEM PUBLIC UTILITIES?
  • DO CELLULAR NETWORKS REPRESENT A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO THE I.S.P.S?
  • IS INTERNET SERVICE A “RIVALROUS GOOD” THAT NECESSITATES AN EQUITY-EFFICIENCY TRADEOFF?
  • WHY DO YOU THINK THE IGM ECONOMISTS APPEAR TO FAVOR NET NEUTRALITY IN THEIR 1ST POLL BUT OPPOSE IT IN THEIR 2ND POLL?

4a) Mike Rugnetta @ PBS Ideas Channel, "Net Neutrality: Is the Internet a Public Utility?" (video - 14:18 min, listen to 8:20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ft-bU9tn5c
4b) Adam Thierer, "Network economics and 'net neutrality' regulation" (video - 6:53 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj-dXz4XdII

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Cafe Walnut
703 Walnut Street · Philadelphia, PA
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