Berkman Buzz: April 27, 2015

Harvard University's Jonathan Zittrain explores the amazing success of Wikipedia, a concept that "works really well in practice, just not in theory." Not only is it a remarkable and unique model of a self-regulating entity, its governors and stakeholders are both members of the public at large. Zittrain examines whether Wikipedia is something that can be sustained long term, whether it will need to adapt or grow in the future, and whether such adaptations and growth could potentially scuttle the entire operation. Finally, Zittrain offers up a suggestion for how to apply Wikipedia in an academic setting: Why not turn Wikipedia articles into long-term research projects?

On Tuesday, the Cyberlaw Clinic filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts on behalf of the New England First Amendment Coalition, Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC (owners of the Boston Globe), Hearst Television, Inc. (owners of WCVB-TV Channel 5 in Boston), the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, the New England Newspaper and Press Association, Inc., and the New England Society of Newspaper Editors in Commonwealth v. Lucas, SJC-11830. The case was brought under the Massachusetts false campaign speech law, M.G.L. ch. 56 § 42 ("Section 42"). The defendant in the case, a treasurer with a political action committee that sent a mailer in the 2014 state election, challenged the constitutionality of the statute under the First Amendment and Article 16 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.

The Cyberlaw Clinic filed an amicus brief this week in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLUM) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in Commonwealth v. Estabrook, SJC-11833. The case concerns location privacy and cell phone technology - specifically, whether law enforcement can gather a large amount of cell phone location information if it only plans to use a small fraction of that information in a prosecution.

These days, all it takes to start a protest is a cell phone, says professor Zeynep Tufekci. But does the ease of social media impede social movements from making big gains?

"Today's protests have become a bit like climbing Mt. Everest with the help of 60 Sherpas, and the Internet is our Sherpa." - Zeynep Tufekci

Ethiopia currently ranks fourth on a list of the world's most censored countries, according to a Committee to Protect Journalists report released this week.

In the run-up to elections in May, the report found that the government had filed lawsuits accusing six publications of "encouraging terrorism," forcing 16 journalists to flee into exile, while the sole internet provider, Ethio Telecom, stand accused of routinely suspending critical news websites.

June 2014 saw a media uproar about Facebook's emotional contagion study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In conjunction with researchers at Cornell, Facebook designed an experiment which altered the Facebook News Feed to explore if emotions can spread through Facebook. These feeds, the primary activty and content list on Facebook, are populated according to a proprietary algorithm. In the experiment, the algorithms for a random subset of users were manipulated to display either proportionately more negative emotional content or proportionately more emotional content; a control group saw content according to the current algorithm.

This study met vocal opposition not solely for manipulating the moods of Facebook users, but also because users neither volunteered nor opted in to such research, and were not informed of their participation in the study. This study is a motivating example of the moral, legal, and technical questions raised when algorithms permeate society.

Imagine students in courses that encourage dialogue, the exchange of ideas, and, yes, metacognition. The act of engaging with others, of seeking different perspectives, of tapping other resources can become part of their modus operandi. If we want to encourage this, we can't expect that it will happen by chance or osmosis. Thousands of students sitting alongside of each other, taking notes, and answering questions, is not the same as students engaged in thinking with their peers. There is a need for a pedagogical vision that deliberately builds a community engaged in intellectual exchange.
 

The Berkman Center occupies a unique position at the intersection of scholarship, business, law, and policy. It is renowned for its convening power and its ability to solicit input from, share information with, and facilitate communications among researchers, companies, government representatives, and public interest advocacy organizations about the subjects of the Center's work....

This confluence of research, teaching, advocacy, and technical development activities in a single institution is unique. That the Center engages in these activities while maintaining such an energetic community - deeply engaged in near-constant dialogue about law and technology business, norms, and policy - is extraordinary.

An overwhelmed Nepali government has declared a state of emergency appealing to the international community following a massive 7.8 earthquake, which struck close to noon on April 25, between Nepal's key cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara, resulting in more than 1,800 deaths.

In the midst of this crisis, people are using tools like Google Person Finder and Facebook Safety Check to find loved ones. Google Person Finder launched in 2010 in response to the earthquake in Haiti and helps people find each other in the aftermath of a disaster, by downloading or uploading data from the site.