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Welcome to Difficult Problems in Cyberlaw, a January course taught by Professor Jonathan Zittrain and co-hosted by Stanford Law School and Harvard Law School.

If you are a student, please see the Student Responsibilities section (NOTE: this section is not yet finalized) and Course Logistics.

This map site has a map of the Bay Area, Stanford campus, and visitor parking at Stanford.

The four main difficult problems to be addressed are:

Cross-cutting themes include:


WEEK ONE: DEFINING THE PROBLEMS

Monday, January 4th

LUNCH: 12-2pm SLS (location TBA)

Student introductions

CLASS: 7:20-9:20pm SLS (location TBA)

A brief overview of the course, its goals and expectations, including an introduction to the difficult problems and the cross-cutting themes.
A quiz on Zittrain's book, The Future of the Internet: And How to Stop It will be given.
Brief introduction to the Global Network Initiative

Readings:

Assignments: Before next class, post Day 2 Predictions.


Tuesday, January 5th

CYBERSECURITY BACKGROUND: 2-4pm (location TBA)

Professor Zittrain will interview Professor Jack Goldsmith as an overview of cybersecurity as it has evolved and as it can potentially be addressed.

CLASS: 5:15-7:15pm SLS (location TBA)

Identify the first-order problems regarding corporate responsibility and free expression on the internet. Examine how GNI attempts to address these problems and then evaluate whether GNI is a success and whether better approaches could be taken.
Introduction to ubiquitous human computing.
  • 5 students will have 4 minutes each to introduce themselves at the beginning of class

Guests:

  • Mark Chandler, CISCO
  • Chuck Cosson, Microsoft

Readings:

Assignments: Before next class, post Day 3 Predictions.


Wednesday, January 6th

PANEL:


CLASS: 6:30-8:30pm SLS (location TBA)

Examine the nature of ubiquitous human computing and potential future applications of human computing and the dangers.
Introduction to cybersecurity.
  • 5 students will have 4 minutes each to introduce themselves at the beginning of class

Guests:

Readings:

ASSIGNMENT: Due -- Email Admin with Problem Topic Choice


Thursday, January 7th

CLASS: 11:10am-1:10pm SLS (location TBA)

Cybersecurity has been identified as one of the greatest threats facing the United States today, but it is ill-defined and almost impossible to address. How can we frame this problem to better inspire solutions? How should government, military, businesses, and internet/tech approach the problem from different angles and do these different approaches work together?
Introduction to Future of Wikipedia
  • 5 students will have 4 minutes each to introduce themselves at the beginning of class

Guests:

  • Chuck Cosson, Microsoft

Readings:


Friday, January 8th

FIELD TRIP: eBay office visit (details to follow)

CLASS: 3:00-5:00pm SLS (location TBA) [NOTE CLASS TIME]

Wikipedia has grown quickly and rapidly to become one of if not the largest online content-generating collaboration. Following the 2009 Wikimania, Wikimedia has undertaken a self-review, looking at strategies for the future of Wikipedia. Is it a sustainable model? and if so, to what other fields is it applicable? How can its reception in academia be improved? and what are its applications for education?
Brief introduction of next week's cross-cutting themes
  • 5 students will have 4 minutes each to introduce themselves at the beginning of class

Guests:

Readings:

CLASS SOCIAL: Optional, evening, details TBD


Saturday, January 9th

Tour of San Francisco (Optional); details TBD. To give input and suggestions, visit Tour Ideas.

WEEK TWO: CROSS-CUTTING THEMES

Monday, January 11th

CLASS: 7:20-9:20pm SLS (location TBA)

One potential way to address some of the problems addressed in this course is through innovations and technological solutions. Several solutions have changed the way our browsers work and thereby changed the way we interact with the internet, making life better. In what other areas could a similar approach be applied?
Introduction to cross-cutting theme of privacy, anonymity and liability on the internet

Guests:

  • John M. Agosta, DisputeFinder
  • Tye Rattenbury, DisputeFinder
  • Rob Ennals, DisputeFinder
  • Tad Hersch, DisputeFinder

Readings:


Tuesday, January 12th

WORKSHOP: 1-2pm Faculty Lounge, Stanford law.gov workshop Hosted by Carl Malamud

Some students attend the entire workshop, 10am-3pm


CLASS: 5:15-7:15pm SLS (location TBA)

Privacy and anonymity can raise significant issues for accountability for online actions. Users often believe they are more anonymous than they truly are online - how can we better educate the public about the reality of privacy online?
Introduction to the cross-cutting theme of due process and dispute resolution on the internet.

Guests:

  • Ryan Calo, SLS Fellow
  • Ebele Okobi-Harris, Yahoo! Director of Business and Human Rights
  • Mark Surman, Mozilla

Readings:


Wednesday, January 13th

CLASS: 6:30-8:30pm SLS (location TBA)

How do our due process concerns translate to the internet and online communities? Should due process exist on the internet? Is the internet public or private space and under what terms do we have the privilege or right to access?
Consider, for example, how much due process should be required to remove an account from Facebook, Google or Twitter. How much due process is necessary for a take-down on YouTube and what right of appeal do you have in any of these circumstances?
Introduction to online collaboration and group motivation strategies

Guests:

  • Glenn Brown, Google

Readings:



Thursday, January 14th

CLASS: 11:10am-1:10pm SLS (location TBA)

Online collaboration projects require internet organizations to motivate and coordinate large groups of people. This requires both motivating good actors to participate and motivating bad actors either to not participate or to conform to the rules/standards of the site. How can website hosts face these challenges?

Guests:

Readings:


Friday, January 15th

CLASS: 1:00-3:00pm SLS (location TBA) NOTE CLASS TIME

Group 1 Presentation of proposed solution (60 min)
Discussion of solution's strengths and weaknesses and other approaches to consider

CLASS SOCIAL: Optional, evening, details TBD

WEEK THREE: SOLUTIONS

Monday, January 18th

NO CLASS: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day


Tuesday, January 19th

CLASS: 5:15-7:15pm SLS (location TBA)

Group 2 Presentation of proposed solution (60 min)
Discussion of solution's strengths and weaknesses and other approaches to consider

Wednesday, January 20th

CLASS: 6:30-8:30pm SLS (location TBA)

Group 3 Presentation of proposed solution (60 min)
Discussion of solution's strengths and weaknesses and other approaches to consider

Thursday, January 21th

CLASS: 11:10am-1:10pm SLS (location TBA)

Group 4 Presentation of proposed solution (60 min)
Discussion of solution's strengths and weaknesses and other approaches to consider

Guests:

  • Craig Newmark
  • Edward Wes

WRAP-UP DINNER: 7:20-9:20pm SLS (location TBA)


January 31st

FINAL PROJECTS DUE