Governance of Technology & the Internet

In 2018, German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel appointed a group of nine scholars and practitioners, including BKC’s Urs Gasser, to the

A new video shows Beverly Hills cops playing the Beatles to trigger Instagram's algorithmic copyright filter, raising concerns that some law enforcement are using copyright…

In the wake of the Capitol riots and the deplatforming of Donald Trump, Harvard Law tech expert Jonathan Zittrain explores the clash of free speech and public health online

Urs Gasser shares his remarks from the Launch Event of Colombia’s AI Ethics Framework.

Project researches government transparency and censorship

Harvard students pivot from Governing Digital Technology with reports on the pandemic

The second episode of our new video series asks, do tech companies have a responsibility for false content beyond the impact of that content on the information environment on…

The WSJ collaborated with Lumen, exploring its database of copyright removal notices and uncovering false takedown claims to Google.

Reflections on pivotal moments and gradual shifts in the tech sector

Discussing Facebook’s Oversight Board

VIDEO & PODCAST: Professor Elkin-Koren proposes to address AI-based content moderation by introducing an adversarial procedure.

VIDEO & PODCAST: How different is this technology from what preceded it, and do we need new ways to govern it? If so, how would they come about?

Insight for Attorney Generals into privacy and emerging technologies

The Oracle - Google case. Setting legal norms and a global precedent for software copyrights and infringement. 

VIDEO & PODCAST: Why has the Internet had such a powerful impact? What are the challenges that may cause the Internet of tomorrow to be significantly less revolutionary than the…

VIDEO & PODCAST: Academics and civil society representatives from across the Global South will discuss emerging legal challenges to human rights in digitally networked spaces,…

On the importance of thinking about both the human rights implications and the ethics of AI.

When data from all aspects of our lives can be relevant to our health - from our habits at the grocery store and our Google searches to our FitBit data and our medical records -…

Seeking technologists with diverse skill sets to confront the concrete and constantly emerging problems related to artificial intelligence and governance. Applications are due…

A look at lessons we’ve learned in our work as part of the Ethics and Governance of AI Initiative,

A symposium that brings together scientists, engineers, lawmakers, and car manufacturers to discuss ethical considerations and trust in autonomous vehicles.

Blockchain technology is ultimately a dual-edge technology that can be used to either support or supplant the law. This talk looks at the impact of blockchain technology of a…

COMPAS is a software used across the country to predict who will commit future crimes. It doesn’t perform any better than untrained people who responded to an online survey.

​AI-based systems are “black boxes,” resulting in massive information asymmetries between the developers of such systems and consumers and policymakers.

This open letter — signed by Harvard and MIT-based faculty, staff, and researchers— is directed to the Massachusetts Legislature to inform its consideration of risk assessment…

Join us for a stimulating conversation highlighting different perspectives of the question, "Will Wikipedia exist in 20 years?"

This is a talk in the monthly Digital Health @ Harvard 

As society figures out what is acceptable and what is harmful, can technology play a role in improving online debate?

This collection of short essays and opinion pieces on harmful speech online covers a broad spectrum of thought and ideas from the Berkman Klein community.

Please join us for a timely discussion of the role of data science in public life. All are welcome at this free event open to the public!

With the Berkman Klein Center and  MIT Media Lab as academic anchor institutions, the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund announced today funding for nine…

Global Access in Action: Conversations in Global Health, Innovation, & the Digital World

The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the MIT Media Lab are excited to announce the launch of the …

An introduction to the relatively nascent, but quickly evolving children’s digital rights discourse

Event Description US market regulators offer…

The goals of the symposium include furthering cooperation among various players in the world of podcast creation and distribution and consideration of recommendations on standards…

To apply to Futurecorp, please submit your resume, list of references, and a genetic profile. Once hired, we'll make an appointment for you to receive a sub-dermal tracking…

Can digital technology lead to the extinction of criminal rehabilitation? How should policymakers strike a balance between protecting civil rights and public safety while ensuring…

Join the Berkman Klein Center and the HLS Canadian Law Student Association as Mr. Blais speaks about broadband, internet, and the future of connectivity in Canada and around the…

This is a talk in the monthly Digital Health @ Harvard 

Join some of the worker-owners of the Loomio co-op for an inside look at some of the more mature experiments under the “Platform Cooperativism” umbrella.

Hate shopping? The next generation of e-commerce will be conducted by digital agents, based on algorithms that will not only make purchase recommendations, but will also predict…

The changing market reality is already shifting power into the hands of the few. Join us to explore the resulting risks to competition, our democratic ideals, and our economic and…

A collection of case studies and organizational models for those who manage and participate in open source development initiatives.

What really happened in the Y2K crisis and did it matter? With a growing consensus that the United States is in a state of infrastructural crisis, the Y2K bug and its aftermath…

Those responsible for technical design of the Internet are…

Can we observe the emergence of a new fundamental right that is protecting the Internet? Can such a constitutionalisation process originate from civil society?

Several foundations and funders today announced the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund, which will support interdisciplinary research to ensure that AI develops…

This paper offers reflections and observations on the state of research related to harmful speech online.

Through interviews with leaders of civil society organizations (CSOs) and a review of existing literature, this study discusses efforts and interventions that CSOs have employed…

This essay seeks to review some of the various attempts to define hate speech, and pull from them a series of traits that can be used to frame hate speech with a higher degree of…

This briefing paper outlines preliminary issues that we noted while conducting a detailed study of hate speech laws in India. It teases out some of the major concerns that arise…

In this paper, Michel Reymond explores the extraterritorial effects of the Google Spain decision rendered in May 2014 by the European Court of Justice. Through a methodology…

A summary of the second “Computers Gone Wild: Impact and Implications of Developments in Artificial Intelligence on Society” workshop, which took place on February 19, 2016 at…

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society hosts a conference to explore the dynamics of hate speech targeted toward Afro-descendent populations in Latin America, and the existing…

The Transparency Reporting Toolkit is a project by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI). Using…

This paper describes how the fractal complexity of cloud computing’s physical geography has fractured the system of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) that arose during the…

The idea of an “Internet Bill of Rights” is by no means a new one: in fact, serious efforts to draft such a document can be traced at least as far back as the mid-1990s. In this…

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multistakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. The Berkman Center and our colleagues from the Network of…

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, together with the Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers (NoC), is pleased to announce the release of a new publication…

The Berkman Center is pleased to announce the publication of a new paper, "Interoperability in the Digital Ecosystem." The paper builds upon our previous interoperability work,…

This project examines the rapidly changing landscape of online intermediary liability at the intersection of law, technology, norms, and markets, and is aimed at informing and…

The project explores existing multistakeholder governance groups with the goal of informing the future evolution of the Internet governance ecosystem. The research effort…

In this paper, Urs Gasser and David O'Brien synthesize findings from a multi-year cloud computing research initiative led by the Berkman Center in close collaboration with the…

“Cloud Innovation and the Law: Issues, Approaches, and Interplay,” authored by Berkman Center Executive Director and Harvard Law School Professor of Practice Urs Gasser, draws…

Following the four primary applications of interoperability theory laid out by Palfrey and Gasser, this paper is organized into five Parts: (1) Part One introduces the topic; (2)…

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

On December 6-8, 2012, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society hosted an international Symposium on Internet-Driven Developments: Structural Changes and Tipping Points (SCTP),…

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser - Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

Whether your interest is in preserving Internet freedom and opportunity, changing the economic power structure, new challenges for cyberlaw, or just turning the tables on privacy…

In Interop, technology experts John Palfrey and Urs Gasser explore the immense importance of interoperability—the standardization and integration of technology—and show how this…

Urs Gasser and John Palfrey have continued to contribute to the World Trade Institute’s NCCR Trade Policy project with a particular focus on the interoperability as an enabler of…

Urs Gasser and John Palfrey have continued to contribute to the World Trade Institute’s NCCR Trade Policy project with a particular focus on the interoperability as an enabler of…

Urs Gasser and John Palfrey have continued to contribute to the World Trade Institute’s NCCR Trade Policy project with a particular focus on the interoperability as an enabler of…

John Palfrey and Urs Gasser discussed their new book on Interoperability book and its themes.

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

This case study is part of an ongoing series developed in support of a larger text on interoperability by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly…

Building upon a process- and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and…

On May 16-17, 2011, the Berkman Center together with Open Knowledge Commons and the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam convened a group of technical and…

In August 2010, selected faculty and researchers at the Berkman Center initiated an independent, exploratory study analyzing ICANN’s decision-making processes and communications…

The first VRM+CRM workshop will take place on 26-27 August, at Harvard Law School. It’s free. The purpose is to get VRM and CRM developers and other interested parties (such as…

This document addresses legal and practical issues related to the practice colloquially known as sexting. It was created by Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, based at the…

This paper's main objectives are: to raise awareness about issues related to digital safety for youth in developing nations; to provide a tentative map of these issues and give…

Statement by danah boyd, Urs Gasser, and John Palfrey, urging consideration of the gap between the intentions of COPPA and how children and their parents perceive its…

The scope of this literature review is to map out what is currently understood about the intersections of youth, reputation, and privacy online, focusing on youth attitudes and…

The response synthesizes current research and data on the media practices of youth, focusing on three main areas -- 1) Risky Behaviors and Online Safety, 2) Privacy, Publicity and…

The FCC announced that the Berkman Center would conduct an independent expert review of existing literature and studies about broadband deployment and usage throughout the world…

As with earlier Vendor Relationship Management (VRM) workshops, this is a free unconference, organized on the open space model. Participants choose the topics, move those topics…

ProjectVRM, an initiative lead by Berkman Fellow Doc Searls, will host its first West Coast Meeting in Palo Alto.

In these dawn years of the Information Age, when individuals have more choice than ever about what they can do with their time and money, big companies still talk about "capturing…

Day 2 of ProjectVRM's first workshop is underway...

This joint report followed the Roadmap to Open ICT Ecosystems released in 2005, as it navigates the nuanced territory of consumer, corporate, and governmental interests in the…

Wendy Seltzer, founder of Chilling Effects, discussed "Sacked by Copyright: DMCA Takedowns and Free Expression."

General Counsel of Microsoft, Brad Smith, discussed ", Interoperability, and IP"

This paper maps out multiple dimensions of interoperability in the emerging digital identity management infrastructure, with a view to promoting openness in this infrastructure…

Berkman Luncheon Series: 12/4/03 - Colin Maclay on ICT and Education in Panama