Pharos - Organization and Governance - Revision history

Mdhagan at 05:23, 6 February 2011

2011-02-06T05:23:59Z

Kbharris at 03:33, 6 February 2011

2011-02-06T03:33:57Z

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	Pharos, via both the Content Team and the Board, will cultivate a network of human rights organizations, journalists and academics worldwide, upon whom it can rely when trying to evaluate a video. If the Content Team needs to learn more about the circumstances in which the video was produced, they can call upon this network for general information about the context. If a video is suspect, they may also contact this network to try to determine more about its reliability.		Pharos, via both the Content Team and the Board, will cultivate a network of human rights organizations, journalists and academics worldwide, upon whom it can rely when trying to evaluate a video. If the Content Team needs to learn more about the circumstances in which the video was produced, they can call upon this network for general information about the context. If a video is suspect, they may also contact this network to try to determine more about its reliability.

	The network will also be useful in soliciting videos. ~~They~~ can distribute ~~their~~ public key via these organizations, which may produce human rights media on their own, or which may be the local contact points for people who are not activists, but have ended up with documentation of abuse on their hardware. These local organizations can instruct people on how to submit their media securely, directing them to Pharos and with guidance on using public keys, Tor, or other methods that will ensure some security.		The network will also be useful in soliciting videos. Pharos can distribute its public key via these organizations, which may produce human rights media on their own, or which may be the local contact points for people who are not activists, but have ended up with documentation of abuse on their hardware. These local organizations can instruct people on how to submit their media securely, directing them to Pharos and with guidance on using public keys, Tor, or other methods that will ensure some security.

	== A Wider Network ==		== A Wider Network ==

Kbharris at 03:32, 6 February 2011

2011-02-06T03:32:28Z

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	The Board of Directors will include a variety of professionals and experts with proven experience in human rights, freedom of expression, human security, and international relations. Like other mission driven organizations, we want to draw members from several different fields to ensure that the principles are written in a rich and thoughtful way.<ref> Amnesty International's structure may be one possible model for Pharos [http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/our-people/international-executive-committee Amnesty's International Executive Committee Structure]</ref> We envision some of the members may be human rights attorneys, former diplomats, professors, journalists, activists, and IT professionals.		The Board of Directors will include a variety of professionals and experts with proven experience in human rights, freedom of expression, human security, and international relations. Like other mission driven organizations, we want to draw members from several different fields to ensure that the principles are written in a rich and thoughtful way.<ref> Amnesty International's structure may be one possible model for Pharos [http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/our-people/international-executive-committee Amnesty's International Executive Committee Structure]</ref> We envision some of the members may be human rights attorneys, former diplomats, professors, journalists, activists, and IT professionals.

	Their initial task will be to draw up a clear mission statement and list of principles, upon which Pharos will accept, process, and distribute content. We envision that the mission statement will be 'To Enable, Protect, and Promote Human Rights Media'. It should provide a clear, but general, vision of why Pharos exists. Ideally, these principles will be sufficient guidelines for how the operations will be carried out day to day. After its initial meetings, the ~~board~~ will only have to meet ~~quarterly~~ to review the operations of Pharos. But in ~~case~~ there are ~~some~~ submissions that are particularly difficult to evaluate, the Board ~~should~~ be on call ~~for~~		Their initial task will be to draw up a clear mission statement and list of principles, upon which Pharos will accept, process, and distribute content. We envision that the mission statement will be 'To Enable, Protect, and Promote Human Rights Media'. It should provide a clear, but general, vision of why Pharos exists. Ideally, these principles will be sufficient guidelines for how the operations will be carried out day to day. After its initial meetings, the Board will only have to meet infrequently to review the operations of Pharos. But in the event that there are submissions that are particularly difficult to evaluate, the Board will need to be on call to make a decision whether or not to publish those submissions according to Pharos’s mission and principles.

	The list of guiding principles will necessarily be more specific. These will determine which videos Pharos will process, publish, and distribute, and which it will not. Other organizations, like CNN's I-Reporter and Witness' The Hub, have formulated content policies that provide useful baselines for Pharos.<ref>[http://hub.witness.org/en/ContentReview Witness' Content Standards]</ref><ref>[http://ireport.cnn.com/guidelines.jspa CNN I-Report's Community Guidelines]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines YouTube's Community Guidelines]</ref>		The list of guiding principles will necessarily be more specific. These will determine which videos Pharos will process, publish, and distribute, and which it will not. Other organizations, like CNN's I-Reporter and Witness' The Hub, have formulated content policies that provide useful baselines for Pharos.<ref>[http://hub.witness.org/en/ContentReview Witness' Content Standards]</ref><ref>[http://ireport.cnn.com/guidelines.jspa CNN I-Report's Community Guidelines]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines YouTube's Community Guidelines]</ref>

Kbharris at 03:30, 6 February 2011

2011-02-06T03:30:39Z

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	The Board of Directors will include a variety of professionals and experts with proven experience in human rights, freedom of expression, human security, and international relations. Like other mission driven organizations, we want to draw members from several different fields to ensure that the principles are written in a rich and thoughtful way.<ref> Amnesty International's structure may be one possible model for Pharos [http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/our-people/international-executive-committee Amnesty's International Executive Committee Structure]</ref> We envision some of the members may be human rights attorneys, former diplomats, professors, journalists, activists, and IT professionals.		The Board of Directors will include a variety of professionals and experts with proven experience in human rights, freedom of expression, human security, and international relations. Like other mission driven organizations, we want to draw members from several different fields to ensure that the principles are written in a rich and thoughtful way.<ref> Amnesty International's structure may be one possible model for Pharos [http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/our-people/international-executive-committee Amnesty's International Executive Committee Structure]</ref> We envision some of the members may be human rights attorneys, former diplomats, professors, journalists, activists, and IT professionals.

	Their initial task will be to draw up a clear mission statement and list of principles, upon which Pharos will accept, process, and distribute content. We envision that the mission statement will be 'To Promote ~~Freedom of Expression and Protect~~ Human Rights'. It should provide a clear, but general, vision of why Pharos exists. Ideally, these principles will be sufficient guidelines for how the operations will be carried out day to day. After its initial meetings, the board will only have to meet quarterly to review the operations of Pharos. But in case there are some submissions that are particularly difficult to evaluate, the Board should be on call for		Their initial task will be to draw up a clear mission statement and list of principles, upon which Pharos will accept, process, and distribute content. We envision that the mission statement will be 'To Enable, Protect, and Promote Human Rights Media'. It should provide a clear, but general, vision of why Pharos exists. Ideally, these principles will be sufficient guidelines for how the operations will be carried out day to day. After its initial meetings, the board will only have to meet quarterly to review the operations of Pharos. But in case there are some submissions that are particularly difficult to evaluate, the Board should be on call for

	The list of guiding principles will necessarily be more specific. These will determine which videos Pharos will process, publish, and distribute, and which it will not. Other organizations, like CNN's I-Reporter and Witness' The Hub, have formulated content policies that provide useful baselines for Pharos.<ref>[http://hub.witness.org/en/ContentReview Witness' Content Standards]</ref><ref>[http://ireport.cnn.com/guidelines.jspa CNN I-Report's Community Guidelines]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines YouTube's Community Guidelines]</ref>		The list of guiding principles will necessarily be more specific. These will determine which videos Pharos will process, publish, and distribute, and which it will not. Other organizations, like CNN's I-Reporter and Witness' The Hub, have formulated content policies that provide useful baselines for Pharos.<ref>[http://hub.witness.org/en/ContentReview Witness' Content Standards]</ref><ref>[http://ireport.cnn.com/guidelines.jspa CNN I-Report's Community Guidelines]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines YouTube's Community Guidelines]</ref>

Kbharris: For consistency: Pharos's not Pharos'

2011-02-04T08:12:43Z

For consistency: Pharos's not Pharos'

Kbharris at 08:10, 4 February 2011

2011-02-04T08:10:38Z

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	Pharos will be built around its core mission: to enable, protect, and promote human rights media. The challenge will be to interpret the mission into clear principles, upon which the organization will be able to function deftly and responsibly.		Pharos will be built around its core mission: to enable, protect, and promote human rights media. The challenge will be to interpret the mission into clear principles, upon which the organization will be able to function deftly and responsibly.

	It will have two bodies, the board of directors and the day-to-day team, to establish ~~& to~~ implement these principles. The first will be responsible for formulating a clear statement of Pharos' principles and, in difficult or changing circumstances, interpreting how they should be applied. The implementation team will oversee the functioning of the site, protect the security of the data, and manage relations with other content publishers and users.		It will have two bodies, the board of directors and the day-to-day team, to establish and implement these principles. The first will be responsible for formulating a clear statement of Pharos' principles and, in difficult or changing circumstances, interpreting how they should be applied. The implementation team will oversee the functioning of the site, protect the security of the data, and manage relations with other content publishers and users.

	[[Image:Internal structure.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos's Organizational Chart]]		[[Image:Internal structure.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos's Organizational Chart]]

Kbharris at 08:04, 4 February 2011

2011-02-04T08:04:44Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:04, 4 February 2011
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	Pharos will be built around its core mission: to protect, ~~enable~~ and promote human rights media. The challenge will be to interpret the mission into clear principles, upon which the organization will be able to function deftly and responsibly.		Pharos will be built around its core mission: to enable, protect, and promote human rights media. The challenge will be to interpret the mission into clear principles, upon which the organization will be able to function deftly and responsibly.

	It will have two bodies, the board of directors and the day-to-day team, to establish & to implement these principles. The first will be responsible for formulating a clear statement of Pharos' principles and, in difficult or changing circumstances, interpreting how they should be applied. The implementation team will oversee the functioning of the site, protect the security of the data, and manage relations with other content publishers and users.		It will have two bodies, the board of directors and the day-to-day team, to establish & to implement these principles. The first will be responsible for formulating a clear statement of Pharos' principles and, in difficult or changing circumstances, interpreting how they should be applied. The implementation team will oversee the functioning of the site, protect the security of the data, and manage relations with other content publishers and users.

Mdhagan at 03:31, 4 February 2011

2011-02-04T03:31:03Z

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	[[Image:Internal structure.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos's Organizational Chart]]		[[Image:Internal structure.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos's Organizational Chart]]
	Alongside Pharos' formal organization, we envision a worldwide network that Pharos can promote active and appropriate submissions, as well as providing information to submitters about how to do so securely. The network can also supply Pharos with the necessary contextual information to provide alongside the video. While Pharos does not want to reveal any information about the people in the video, it does want to provide information that will help explain where the event occurred, in what circumstances, and related to what underlying factors.		Alongside Pharos' formal organization, we envision a worldwide network that Pharos can promote active and appropriate submissions, as well as providing information to submitters about how to do so securely. The network can also supply Pharos with the necessary contextual information to provide alongside the video. While Pharos does not want to reveal any information about the people in the video, it does want to provide information that will help explain where the event occurred, in what circumstances, and related to what underlying factors. This context will be crucial in ensuring that the video will not be ignored by news outlets or dismissed as a forgery by state actors.

Mdhagan at 03:29, 4 February 2011

2011-02-04T03:29:48Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:29, 4 February 2011
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	[[Image:Internal structure.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos's Organizational Chart]]		[[Image:Internal structure.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos's Organizational Chart]]
	Alongside Pharos' formal organization, we envision a worldwide network that Pharos can promote active and appropriate submissions, as well as providing information to submitters about to do so securely. The network can also supply Pharos with the necessary contextual information to provide alongside the video. While Pharos does not want to reveal any information about the people in the video, it does want to provide information that will help explain where the event occurred, in what circumstances, and related to what underlying factors.		Alongside Pharos' formal organization, we envision a worldwide network that Pharos can promote active and appropriate submissions, as well as providing information to submitters about how to do so securely. The network can also supply Pharos with the necessary contextual information to provide alongside the video. While Pharos does not want to reveal any information about the people in the video, it does want to provide information that will help explain where the event occurred, in what circumstances, and related to what underlying factors.

Mdhagan at 03:21, 4 February 2011

2011-02-04T03:21:19Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:21, 4 February 2011
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	Their initial task will be to draw up a clear mission statement and list of principles, upon which Pharos will accept, process, and distribute content. We envision that the mission statement will be 'To Promote Freedom of Expression and Protect Human Rights'. It should provide a clear, but general, vision of why Pharos exists. Ideally, these principles will be sufficient guidelines for how the operations will be carried out day to day. After its initial meetings, the board will only have to meet quarterly to review the operations of Pharos. But in case there are some submissions that are particularly difficult to evaluate, the Board should be on call for		Their initial task will be to draw up a clear mission statement and list of principles, upon which Pharos will accept, process, and distribute content. We envision that the mission statement will be 'To Promote Freedom of Expression and Protect Human Rights'. It should provide a clear, but general, vision of why Pharos exists. Ideally, these principles will be sufficient guidelines for how the operations will be carried out day to day. After its initial meetings, the board will only have to meet quarterly to review the operations of Pharos. But in case there are some submissions that are particularly difficult to evaluate, the Board should be on call for

	The list of guiding principles will necessarily be more specific. These will determine which videos Pharos will process, publish, and distribute, and which it will not. Other organizations, like CNN's I-Reporter and Witness' The Hub, have formulated content policies that provide useful baselines for Pharos.<ref>[http://ireport.cnn.com/guidelines.jspa CNN I-Report's Community Guidelines]</ref>		The list of guiding principles will necessarily be more specific. These will determine which videos Pharos will process, publish, and distribute, and which it will not. Other organizations, like CNN's I-Reporter and Witness' The Hub, have formulated content policies that provide useful baselines for Pharos.<ref>[http://hub.witness.org/en/ContentReview Witness' Content Standards]</ref><ref>[http://ireport.cnn.com/guidelines.jspa CNN I-Report's Community Guidelines]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines YouTube's Community Guidelines]</ref>
	[[Image:Cnn i report.PNG\|200px\|thumb\|left\|CNN I-Report's submission guidelines]]		[[Image:Cnn i report.PNG\|200px\|thumb\|left\|CNN I-Report's submission guidelines]]
	[[Image:The hub2.PNG\|200px\|thumb\|left\|The Hub's submission guidelines]]		[[Image:The hub2.PNG\|200px\|thumb\|left\|The Hub's submission guidelines]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:12, 4 February 2011
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	Pharos will be built around its core mission: to enable, protect, and promote human rights media. The challenge will be to interpret the mission into clear principles, upon which the organization will be able to function deftly and responsibly.		Pharos will be built around its core mission: to enable, protect, and promote human rights media. The challenge will be to interpret the mission into clear principles, upon which the organization will be able to function deftly and responsibly.

	It will have two bodies, the board of directors and the day-to-day team, to establish and implement these principles. The first will be responsible for formulating a clear statement of Pharos' principles and, in difficult or changing circumstances, interpreting how they should be applied. The implementation team will oversee the functioning of the site, protect the security of the data, and manage relations with other content publishers and users.		It will have two bodies, the board of directors and the day-to-day team, to establish and implement these principles. The first will be responsible for formulating a clear statement of Pharos's principles and, in difficult or changing circumstances, interpreting how they should be applied. The implementation team will oversee the functioning of the site, protect the security of the data, and manage relations with other content publishers and users.

	[[Image:Internal structure.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos's Organizational Chart]]		[[Image:Internal structure.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos's Organizational Chart]]
	Alongside Pharos' formal organization, we envision a worldwide network that Pharos can promote active and appropriate submissions, as well as providing information to submitters about how to do so securely. The network can also supply Pharos with the necessary contextual information to provide alongside the video. While Pharos does not want to reveal any information about the people in the video, it does want to provide information that will help explain where the event occurred, in what circumstances, and related to what underlying factors. This context will be crucial in ensuring that the video will not be ignored by news outlets or dismissed as a forgery by state actors.		Alongside Pharos's formal organization, we envision a worldwide network that Pharos can promote active and appropriate submissions, as well as providing information to submitters about how to do so securely. The network can also supply Pharos with the necessary contextual information to provide alongside the video. While Pharos does not want to reveal any information about the people in the video, it does want to provide information that will help explain where the event occurred, in what circumstances, and related to what underlying factors. This context will be crucial in ensuring that the video will not be ignored by news outlets or dismissed as a forgery by state actors.


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	[[Image:Cnn i report.PNG\|200px\|thumb\|left\|CNN I-Report's submission guidelines]]		[[Image:Cnn i report.PNG\|200px\|thumb\|left\|CNN I-Report's submission guidelines]]
	[[Image:The hub2.PNG\|200px\|thumb\|left\|The Hub's submission guidelines]]		[[Image:The hub2.PNG\|200px\|thumb\|left\|The Hub's submission guidelines]]
	We envision Pharos' list may be similar. It may contain prohibitions against which types of content will not be allowed, unless justifiable to the message -- like on the grounds of extreme violence, cruelty to animals, or explicit sexuality. But because of Pharos' concern for human rights abuses, it must expect that many legitimate videos may include violence, foul language, and sexuality in the context of abuse. The Board will draw up a general rule upon which legitimate versus illegitimate content can be distinguished. Their public guidelines about submissions may resemble CNN I-Report's -- general and user-friendly -- but privately they can hold detailed discussions about particular videos that may walk the line between appropriate and obscene.		We envision Pharos's list may be similar. It may contain prohibitions against which types of content will not be allowed, unless justifiable to the message -- like on the grounds of extreme violence, cruelty to animals, or explicit sexuality. But because of Pharos's concern for human rights abuses, it must expect that many legitimate videos may include violence, foul language, and sexuality in the context of abuse. The Board will draw up a general rule upon which legitimate versus illegitimate content can be distinguished. Their public guidelines about submissions may resemble CNN I-Report's -- general and user-friendly -- but privately they can hold detailed discussions about particular videos that may walk the line between appropriate and obscene.

	In its guiding principles, the Board must also spell out how to approach videos that have been sent anonymously and cannot be verified. Pharos' general policy is that it will accept any content sent to it, and will only publish content related to human rights. The goal is to have a quick turn-around, so that all submissions, after being evaluated and scrubbed clean, will be posted and distributed immediately. Pharos can have a badge system (like CNN's I-Report) that declares whether the video has been verified as accurate and reliable by Pharos standards.<ref>[http://ireport.cnn.com/faq.jspa#vetted CNN I-Report's Vetting Policy]</ref> A video without a badge will be understood as not necessarily real or trustworthy.		In its guiding principles, the Board must also spell out how to approach videos that have been sent anonymously and cannot be verified. Pharos's general policy is that it will accept any content sent to it, and will only publish content related to human rights. The goal is to have a quick turn-around, so that all submissions, after being evaluated and scrubbed clean, will be posted and distributed immediately. Pharos can have a badge system (like CNN's I-Report) that declares whether the video has been verified as accurate and reliable by Pharos standards.<ref>[http://ireport.cnn.com/faq.jspa#vetted CNN I-Report's Vetting Policy]</ref> A video without a badge will be understood as not necessarily real or trustworthy.

	If the content arrives from an unknown source, Pharos must be concerned that it has been edited to misrepresent reality or is an outright forgery. We recognize that there has been a history of forged abuses, including with videos of abuses that have been manufactured to give the appearance of an abuse when there has not been one. We are aware that competing groups, particularly in long-standing conflicts, use allegations of human rights abuse as tools to promote their political agenda, rather than strictly to protect human rights principles. The possibility of a video being used to spur on violence must also be a concern.<ref>For example, France 24's 09/17/10 report on an amateur video showing abuse in Kashmir -- which may or may not be a forgery--inciting violence in the region [http://observers.france24.com/content/20100917-kashmir-video-human-rights-violations-adds-fuel-deadly-protests-india-army "Kashmir video showing human rights violations adds fuel to deadly protests"]</ref> We do not want Pharos to be drawn into such disputes, or be used to facilitate the escalation of violence, if it is possible.		If the content arrives from an unknown source, Pharos must be concerned that it has been edited to misrepresent reality or is an outright forgery. We recognize that there has been a history of forged abuses, including with videos of abuses that have been manufactured to give the appearance of an abuse when there has not been one. We are aware that competing groups, particularly in long-standing conflicts, use allegations of human rights abuse as tools to promote their political agenda, rather than strictly to protect human rights principles. The possibility of a video being used to spur on violence must also be a concern.<ref>For example, France 24's 09/17/10 report on an amateur video showing abuse in Kashmir -- which may or may not be a forgery--inciting violence in the region [http://observers.france24.com/content/20100917-kashmir-video-human-rights-violations-adds-fuel-deadly-protests-india-army "Kashmir video showing human rights violations adds fuel to deadly protests"]</ref> We do not want Pharos to be drawn into such disputes, or be used to facilitate the escalation of violence, if it is possible.
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	Security of the content must also be a priority of the Tech Team. If Pharos retains unscrubbed versions of the content it receives -- the videos with distinguishing features still visible, or with metadata attached -- they must be protected from any possible intrusion. Pharos must be able to guarantee its promise to uploaders that no one will ever be able to trace the video back to them. If Pharos keeps any logs of the videos have been submitted, like how they arrived or when they did, these logs should receive similarly high levels of security. We expect that Pharos may want to preserve logs and unscrubbed media for the sake of future investigations or historical documentation. If, for instance, the author and the subject of the video decide to go on the record, and wish to be identified in the video, Pharos should be able to provide them a copy of their media that has not been obscured. The original, untouched media could be useful to them as evidence, and Pharos can act as the media's safekeeper when the user's own hardware may be taken or wiped clean.		Security of the content must also be a priority of the Tech Team. If Pharos retains unscrubbed versions of the content it receives -- the videos with distinguishing features still visible, or with metadata attached -- they must be protected from any possible intrusion. Pharos must be able to guarantee its promise to uploaders that no one will ever be able to trace the video back to them. If Pharos keeps any logs of the videos have been submitted, like how they arrived or when they did, these logs should receive similarly high levels of security. We expect that Pharos may want to preserve logs and unscrubbed media for the sake of future investigations or historical documentation. If, for instance, the author and the subject of the video decide to go on the record, and wish to be identified in the video, Pharos should be able to provide them a copy of their media that has not been obscured. The original, untouched media could be useful to them as evidence, and Pharos can act as the media's safekeeper when the user's own hardware may be taken or wiped clean.

	[[Image:Pharos_Slide_-_Encryption_Key_Distribution.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos' public key encryption]]		[[Image:Pharos_Slide_-_Encryption_Key_Distribution.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Pharos's public key encryption]]

	If Pharos decides to offer uploaders a public key encryption service, then the Tech Team will have to ensure the absolute security of its encryption process. The private key it uses to decrypt the submitted files will have to be guarded so that no technological or human infiltration is possible. We expect the Tech team to hire out a private security firm that can ensure the utmost security is possible.		If Pharos decides to offer uploaders a public key encryption service, then the Tech Team will have to ensure the absolute security of its encryption process. The private key it uses to decrypt the submitted files will have to be guarded so that no technological or human infiltration is possible. We expect the Tech team to hire out a private security firm that can ensure the utmost security is possible.