Media, Democracy, & Public Discourse

Greg Gondwe studies the role of encrypted messaging apps (primarily WhatsApp) in spreading disinformation during South Africa's 2024 general elections.

Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders look to examples from around the globe to anticipate how the 2026 midterm elections might be shaped by AI.

Affiliates Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders argue that the future of AI's impacts on democratic processes is unwritten, and whether the technology is used to liberate or to…

Faculty Associate Ethan Zuckerman casts a critical eye on OpenAI's Sora, an AI video generator. Owing to public backlash, OpenAI has opened itself up to requests from public…

Affiliates Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders offer an optimistic outlook: AI-generated harms are neither natural nor inevitable, and beneficial uses of the technology are possible.

AI's influence on the 2026 electoral cycle will be greater than what many feared leading to 2024, warn Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders. In a new piece for The American Prospect,…

David Craig and Tanner Mirrlees present a Foucauldian analysis of the creator.

A year out from the 2026 midterm elections, Nathan Sanders and Bruce Schneier expect that AI use will differ along party lines, with Republicans "poised to exploit the technology"…

Jasmine McNealy and coauthor Yewande O. Addie summarize the results of their recent Oxford-published study in which they found that AI-generated health messaging (and traditional…

Faculty Associate Trebor Scholz and Stefano Tortorici ask whether AI can be wielded as tools of solidarity and collective power, despite the technology's extant environmental…

Affiliate Bruce Schneier notes how the average person's personal threat model has shifted from concerns about corporate overreach to ones about government surveillance.

Faculty Associate Allison Stanger argues that technology firms (particularly AI companies) are demonstrating an accelerated replication of past colonization.

Zeve Sanderson and Scott Babwah Brennen write that the persistence of misinformation despite several years' worth of countering efforts begets three novel critiques of the…

AJ Escoffery shares reality TV memories and weighs in on the genre's sociocultural importance.

BKC Director Martha Minow reflects on how community news outlets have been impacted by the Trump administration's cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

RSM Visiting Scholar Noah Giansiracusa's new book explores how non-mathematicians can wield algorithmic tools to reclaim their agency.

Jasmine McNealy and coauthor Yewande Addie explore the ways that AI is shaping public health communications in Africa, focusing on vaccine hesitancy and maternal health.

Ryan Kellett explores resistance to the "labels, markers, and/or pedigree of traditional journalism."

Angela Xiao Wu sheds light on the Chinese government's 1% 'golden shares' in tech companies, and how these shares have ended up limiting companies' ability to capitalize on…

Bruce Schneier and coauthors argue that even attempted cyberattacks on election infrastructure can erode public trust in elections' integrity across party lines.

Jonathan Zittrain sits down with Jon Favreau to discuss how and why human-AI interactions can go wrong.

Manon Revel and coauthor Théophile Pénigaud provide insight into AI-driven democratic transformations intended to optimize collective decision-making processes. "We do not claim…

Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders speak to fears about AI replacing humans' jobs, opining that this will only happen when it outperforms us in terms of speed, scale, scope, and/or…

Affiliate Bruce Schneier testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform concerning DOGE's access to and use of Americans' data, reminding congresspersons…

Sahana Udupa explores the dark side of encrypted messaging apps, exploring how hateful messages (which she dubs "extreme speech") can flourish in such apps because smaller-scale…

Rumman Chowdhury cautions that, no matter how useful AI can be, users shouldn't have it do their thinking for them.

"Trump’s push to 'eliminate silos' is being sold as a modernization drive against fraud and waste, but it is building the architecture of a digital dictatorship." Cyberlaw Clinic…

Faculty Associate Sameer Hinduja's new study finds that all types of cyberbullying, including indirect forms like exclusion or gossip, can cause trauma on par with more explicit…

"Despite unprecedented investments in mobilizing voters, overall trust in electoral health, democratic institutions, and voter satisfaction has significantly declined." Affiliate…

Deb Roy, Larry Lessig, and Audrey Tang coauthored an essay highlighting the need for AI tools that support meaningful civic discourse in the face of rampant polarization and…

"Platform regulation is not just a technical issue. The future of a generation cannot be built on algorithms that reward hate and radicalization." Faculty Associate David Nemer…

Salomé Viljoen warns that the Trump Administration's attempts at monetary efficiency mask its increasing goal over the US's data infrastructure

Can artificial intelligence supplant friendship by providing quality communication?

Faculty Associate David Nemer highlights how platform-driven disinformation disproportionately harms marginalized communities and calls for urgent, systemic regulatory action.

"Open source, decentralized tooling ensures that, if any single company becomes a nation-state target, the communities that rely on its infrastructure can keep operating." ASML…

"Treating AGI as a milestone for the development of transformative AI is seductive but misguided." Faculty Associate Arvind Narayanan and Affiliate Sayash Kapoor argue that AGI is…

Anupam Chander observes that the Trump Administration's seeming warmth toward Big Tech may have been a ruse.

Magda Romanska argues that we're nearing a frightening form of technological totalitarianism.

Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor challenge notions of AI as an existential threat.

Magdalena Greco examines how the fragmentation of international law affects global health law, particularly in the context of the WHO's Pandemic Agreement negotiations. Greco…

BKC Director Mark Wu weighs in on the tensions between the US and Europe in the face of Trump's tariffs.

Affiliate Nathan Sanders and Alex Pascal argue that better AI futures are possible, particularly if the technology is responsibly deployed by states.

Should the NSA be concerned about security flaws in Signal?

Ethan Zuckerman uses the recent "Signalgate" scandal to reflect on how modern political discourse creates divergent realities. He proposes the "post-post-truth" era - wherein we…

Jack Cushman gives readers a primer on Signal's privacy capabilities in light of the Atlantic's editor in chief being added to a group chat used by American leaders to plan…

ASML Fellow and Blacksky founder Rudy Fraser presents a vision for community-led digital spaces centered on mutual aid, self-governance, and decentralization.

Ethan Zuckerman and Evelyn Douek discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the TikTok ban

Martha Minow argues that local media is essential for the maintenance of democracy, and outlines ways that individuals can support local news.

“Platforms’ content moderation of terrorism-related content currently sits at a troubling equilibrium,” writes Faculty Associate Evelyn Douek. She examines how the Supreme Court's…

Faculty Associate David Nemer examines the rise of technofeudalism in Brazil and its impact on democracy, labor rights, and digital sovereignty.

ASML Fellow Rudy Fraser discusses building Blacksky, decentralizing social media, and creating safer online spaces.

In a new study, Faculty Associate Gregory Gondwe explores trends in African audiences' engagement with AI-generated news, illustrating demographic differences.

Faculty Associate Ryan Kellett is quoted in a GBH story about local news outlets using AI to generate news highlights.

Faculty Associate David Nemer breaks down how digital monopolies erode democracy in Brazil, fueling inequality, precarious labor, and disinformation.

In an essay for the Florida Law Review, Jon Penney and Danielle Citron explore the ways that the Dobbs decision spurred a level of "corporate surveillance of intimate life [that]…

Fellow Ryan Kellett comments on Dave Jorgenson's new weekly news skit show.

"The history of love and the history of technology have always been intertwined."

Nick Couldry and Ulises Mejías warn against “data colonialism” and call for grassroots resistance to Musk's interference in the US Government.

"The evolution of digital commons represents more than just a technological shift; it embodies a fundamental reimagining of how we create, share, and govern our collective…

"Social media networks have amplified the reach of social and political movements, but most research focuses on mainstream platforms such as X, Reddit, and Facebook, overlooking…

"Instead of pulling up the drawbridge, the U.S. should commit to ensuring that powerful models remain openly available."

Moira Weigel discusses the roles of algorithms and chatbots in understanding the past, present, and future of dating.

“Firms have set out to quantify or reduce all elements of workers’ experience to data.”

Bruce Schneier and Davi Ottenheimer argue that “the U.S. government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history.”

RSM Visiting Scholar Allison Stanger believes that Elon Musk’s new involvement with government is unlikely to be altruistic.

Mark Esposito and coauthor Eduardo Araral explore how blockchain technology can enhance the governance of digital commons by providing transparent, secure, and decentralized…

Fellow Ben Brooks comments on responses to DeepSeek’s open-source R1 model.

Faculty Associate Virgilio Almeida and coauthors analyzed over 30 million political messages on Discord during the 2024 US election.

Ben Reininga weighs in on how media outlets can responsibly use AI.

Bruce Schneier and coauthor Barath Raghavan argue that all talking AIs and robots should use ring modulators to make themselves distinguishable from human speech.

Affiliate Jack Cushman works to archive datasets that have disappeared from data.gov in the days since Trump's inauguration.

Faculty Associate Jon Penny argues that the law banning TikTok has failed.

In a journal article about storytelling, Faculty Associate Vasilis Kostakis and his coauthors ask what kinds of writing can contribute to meaningful change.

Faculty Associate Kate Klonick discusses the Supreme Court's ruling on TikTok.

Rebecca Rinkevich offers insight into the shifting media landscape in the wake of TikTok's short-lived ban.

Susan Benesch weighs in on the political implications of Meta's recent change in speech policies.

Faculty Associate Leah Plunkett tackles the unregulated world of child influencers.

Nieman Lab's Predictions for Journalism 2025 enlists "some of the smartest people in journalism and media" to anticipate what's coming next year.

Anupam Chandler and G.S. Hans argue that the Supreme Court should hear TikTok's appeal, arguing that attempts to ban the app violate the First Amendment.

Jeffrey Hall surveys the extant literature on the relationship between social media use and loneliness.

Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders join Jennifer Smith to discuss ways to wield AI toward pro-democratic ends.

Mark Esposito examines how governments around the world are beginning to deploy AI.

Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders suggest that AI's history is not its destiny.

Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders observe that AI's role in 2024 elections wasn't as disastrous as some had feared.

Juan Carlos De Martin proposes "the computerization of the world" as a new way of capturing the sentiment of "the Digital Revolution," and suggests three goals that today's…

Kate Klonick and coauthors test the hypothesis that misinformation exploits outrage to gain traction online.

Petra Molnar highlights how surveillance technology firms profit from harsh anti-immigration policies in the US, Canada, and the EU.

Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders offer a potentially optimistic outlook on AI and politics.

BKC affiliates and alumni are among the co-authors of a paper that envisions the future of the data economy.

BKC-Nieman Fellow Ben Reininga and Nieman Fellow Jesselyn Cook share their insights on how platforms navigate the spread of conspiracy theories, and the impact they have on…

ASML's Jonathan Bellack weighs in on the uptick in Twitter/X users migrating to Bluesky.

Jasmine McNealy moderates a conversation exploring how technology can be a tool - though not a wholesale solution - in combatting the climate crisis.

Ben Green and colleagues note disciplinary divides in the ways that computer scientists and legal experts translate law into code.

Marshall Van Alstyne raises concerns about platforms enabling election conspiracies.

Tom Zick weighs in on the utility of personhood credentials for combatting AI in higher education.

Can American politics reckon with the age of AI? Larry Lessig raises a warning flag.

We must rethink Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to both protect free speech and curtail harassment.

Anne Washington and Joanne Cheung call for technologists to clarify what the "public interest" consists of, and to adopt stronger principles of inclusion and transparency with…

Jeffrey Hall joins Leah Smart to discuss the toxic relationships we have with our phones.

Greg Gondwe explores Zambian youth's sophisticated digital activism in the wake of the 2020 youth protests.

Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders warn that AI will complicate the SEC's financially cutting in whistleblowers.

Paul Fehlinger and Linda Griffin argue for a platform bridging the venture capital and policymaking worlds.

Nathan Sanders weighs in on a debate between two Virginia congressional candidates and an AI bot.

Adam Holland shares why tracking takedowns is critical public information.

We could soon see the fallout from a hands-off approach to AI regulation.

How could global citizen deliberation shape the future of artificial intelligence?

Molly White links a recent Second Circuit decision to a larger pattern of publishers' interference with libraries and, more generally, with reading practices.

Sociodemographic data bears on algorithmic literacy.

Bruce Schneier reflects on a series of 2022-23 HKS workshops, which he writes "underscore[d] the importance of imagining discontinuous political innovations that might be suited…

Have the country's efforts to combat fake news gone too far?

Nathaniel Lubin, Kalie Mayberry, Dylan Moses, Manon Revel, Luke Thorburn, and Andrew West identify two modes of mapping the space of social media regulation and discuss the trade…

Rebecca Tushnet details some of the complex legal landscape of doctored celebrity endorsements.

The New York Times chronicles the latest in Ethan Zuckerman’s lawsuit against Meta.

Ibtissam Bouachrine highlights the dangers of the targeted misogynistic and transphobic campaign against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.

By assisting Latin America in developing robust AI regulations, the EU can promote a cohesive global approach to AI governance, argues Victor Muñoz.

Martha Minow sits down with PBS News's Judy Woodruff to discuss the implications of political polarization and consumers' trust in the news media.

Presenting at CSU, San Bernardino, Elodie Vialle highlights the risks of allowing harassment and violence against journalists to go unchecked.

Dasha Pruss and co-author Marta Ziosi discuss their paper, "“Evidence of What, for Whom? The Socially Contested Role of Algorithmic Bias in a Predictive Policing Tool."

Petra Molnar discusses her new book and experience traveling around the world investigating the use of technology in migration management.

Sam Hinds interviews Johanna Wild on the benefits and risks of using novel open source intelligence (OSINT) tools to enable a broader, more transparent global knowledge base.

Anupam Chander discusses the SCOTUS NetChoice rulings and the ramifications of the opinions.

Amidst escalating online scapegoating, offline attacks are rising, writes Alejandra Caraballo.

Jeffrey Hall writes about the loneliness epidemic and how to address its core.

Petra Molnar discusses AI surveillance at the border.

"The rise of deep fakes and other AI-generated misinformation presents a direct threat to women’s freedom."

Anupam Chander reacts to the new law that could ban TikTok, underlining the need for greater accountability in the US government's tech regulation.

Jeffrey Hall turns a critical eye toward conversations about social media use and well-being, drawing popular conversations and scientific research together.

Joe Bak-Coleman speaks about the debate on kids' mental health and the relationship to social media and smartphones. “Ninety percent of this debate is basically just back…

Kesa White joins Elizabeth Dubois to discuss her work on "dog whistling," and argues that, while counter speech can be helpful in limited situations, it does not fix the issue of…

Alejandra Caraballo discusses her experiences with content moderation issues on Elon Musk's X and the lack of trust and safety mechanisms on the platform.

Petra Molnar writes about the AI technology incorporated at the southern border and the human rights implications.

Molly White discusses the state of the crypto industry following Sam Bankman-Fried's sentencing.

BKC Faculty Associate Stefania Milan and David Beraldo put the studies of data and social movements in conversation with each other.

BKC Affiliate Sahar Massachi explores challenges and potential solutions for safeguarding online democracy in a rapidly shifting digital world. 

Read about Nadah Feteih and Anika Collier Novaroli's conversation at the Berkman Klein Center on marginalized voices in the tech industry.

Nathaniel Lubin writes about internet "junkification."

Jeffrey Hall discusses making friends online.

BKC Employee Fellow Manon Revel argues that more communication is key to facing the world's toughest issues.

Susan Benesch and Catherine Buerger use the context of fentanyl and border crossings to explain the dangers of combining facts, lies, and emotional language.

BKC Affiliate Nathaniel Lubin comments on a recent study released by himself and co-authors, as well as what political ads may look like this election cycle.

BKC Faculty Associate Magda Romanska and Kasia Lech provide the story and vision for The Theatre Times.

Bruce Schneier writes about the CFPB's proposed data rules and its benefits.

Ethan Zuckerman writes about social media getting smaller, allowing for more people to connect, but also more extremism to arise. 

Aviv Ovadya speaks to The Washington Post about AI and the 2024 elections across the country. 

BKC Faculty Associate Nishant Shah offers accounts of two moments in computational history to reframe conversations around generative AI.

Aileen Nielsen writes about city lawmaking compensating for national regulations in technology. 

Ruth Okediji discusses the Biden administration's recent proposal to use federal "march-in" rights to lower drug costs.

“It just makes the generation and dissemination of very realistic deepfakes and realistic-seeming deepfakes much, much easier,” Rumman Chowdhury told Foreign Policy when…

In a new Oxford University Press book, Virgilio Almeida delves into the increasing presence of algorithms in everyday decisions, exploring their social and political impacts…

BKC Faculty Associate Susan Benesch provides recommendations for recognizing and countering hateful online speech.

RSM Visiting Scholar Joseph Walther explains the social approval theory of online hate: that posters of hateful messages are motivated by the approval of like-minded individuals.

RSM Visiting Scholar David Craig writes about creators and the upcoming labor revolution

RSM Visiting Scholar Anupam Chander, and Donara Aghanjani and Alyanna Apacible discuss the fraught dynamic between Congressional distrust of TikTok and TikTok's potential for…

RSM Visiting Scholar David Craig recounts how a tv show changed the history of Cold War and comments on how media can impact society now.

Rebooting Social Media Visiting Professor Joe Walther comments on online communications during times of heightened tension.

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier explores beyond AI generated disinformation to detail other novel ways in which AI might alter how democracy functions.

BKC Faculty Associate Susan Benesch discusses the relationship with heated political speech and real-world violence.

BKC Affiliate Aviv Ovadya argues that reinventing our democratic infrastructure is not just possible, it is necessary.

Nadah Feteih and Elodie Vialle argue that companies should involve at-risk communities in the design process of new technologies.

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier argues that AI disinformation is a threat to democratic processes.

Zahra Stardust co-authors commentary reflecting on sextech futures.

RSM Visiting Scholar Jeffrey Hall studies whether chat negativity and the degree to which live chat rule sets encourage active (vs. passive) involvement influence participants’…

BKC Faculty Associate Aaron Shaw discusses the connection between social media platforms and extremist movements. 

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier reflects on his workshop that brought together a wide variety of people to discuss the reimagination of democracy for the twenty-first century.

BKC Rebooting Social Media Visiting Scholar Kate Klonick writes about a federal court ruling that restricted the Biden administration’s communications with social media platforms.

BKC Faculty Associate Ethan Zuckerman argues that while competition for Twitter is a good thing, Threads, Facebook’s competitor to Twitter, leaves much to be desired.

BKC Affiliate Nathaniel Lubin writes about methods and approaches of evaluating effects of digital platforms on mental health.

BKC Affiliate Nathaniel Lubin writes about using the field of public health as inspiration for a new metaphor for the internet.

BKC Affiliate Nathan Sanders writes about the drawbacks and the opportunities AI can provide to strengthen democracy.

Sue Hendrickson and BKC Responsible AI Fellow Rumman Chowdhury write about the role of global governance alongside the development of AI.

BKC Faculty Associate Ethan Zuckerman discusses the fate of Twitter and the future of digital public squares.

BKC Affiliate Molly White discusses her blog, Web3 Is Going Just Great, that tracks crypto scams and hacks.

Jabari Evans talks with Incoming RSM Fellow Meredith Clark about media, journalism, and Black community.

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier discusses the practical considerations of Montana's TikTok ban.

BKC Faculty Associate Judith Donath discusses metaphors for the internet.

Tweets by Rebooting Social Media Visiting Scholar Kate Klonick are referenced in a discussion of Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh.

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier delivers a keynote speech during the RSA Conference in San Francisco on April 25, 2023 about the risks and promise of AI for democracy.

Rebooting Social Media Visiting Scholar and BKC Faculty Associate David Nemer discusses Google's lobbying against a Brazilian bill aimed at curbing the spread of “fake news.”

BKC Affiliates Nathan Sanders and Bruce Schneier write about how AI will change the nature of campaigning.

Rest of World reports on analysis of Twitter's compliance with government orders for censorship or surveillance using data from BKC's Lumen database.

BKC Affiliates Nathan Sanders and Bruce Schneier write about AI's potential to advance the public good by helping democracy.

Jonathan Zittrain comments on BKC's Institute for Rebooting Social Media and its projects creating and experimenting with new social networks.

Clinical instructor at the Cyberlaw Clinic Alejandra Caraballo comments on changes to Twitter's content moderation rules and enforcement since Elon Musk's takeover.

BKC Affiliate Nathan Sanders' policymaking project, the Massachusetts Platform for Legislative Engagement, or MAPLE, is discussed as an alternative to Twitter.

Clinical instructor at the Cyberlaw Clinic Alejandra Caraballo writes about how the US district court decision blocking access to the abortion pill mifepristone has also…

BKC Faculty Associate Judith Donath discusses the threat social media poses to children and realistic solutions to mitigate that threat.

BKC Affiliate Afsaneh Rigot comments on the arrests of LGBTQ+ people in Egypt.

Rebecca Tushnet discusses the Rogers test as a standard for trademark infringement which is implicated in a current Supreme Court case involving a dog toy company spoofing Jack…

BKC Affiliate Jenny Korn sits down with GBH News to discuss whether the success of “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once” means that opportunities for Asian actors have paid off.

BKC affiliate Leonard Cortana was profiled by United Nations Human Rights for his work in human rights.

BKC Fellow Juliana Castro-Varon writes as a graphic designer about the effect AI image generators will have on a potentially unsuspecting public who might not understand how the…

BKC Affiliate Julie Owono discusses Facebook and Instagram content moderation via the Meta Oversight Board, of which Owono is an inaugural member, and freedom of expression.

Jonathan Zittrain is quoted discussing digital governance of social media platforms.

Evelyn Douek writes with Genevieve Lakier about the free speech ramifications of Twitter v Taamneh...

BKC Responsible AI Fellow Rumman Chowdhury co-writes a piece on the shortfalls of platforms fighting online abuse.

"They erased Dulcie September, who remained a name in schools, streets, and cultural centers but nothing about her intellectual production and incredible life story as an anti…

Amid a mass movement of users from Twitter to other platforms, Ethan Zuckerman proposes a new way of taxonomizing social networks using two axes of governance: who owns a platform…

Rumman Chowdhury writes about her time at Twitter as the engineering director of the META team...

"Emad [CEO] at Stability [AI, the open-source AI company,] says he’s ‘democratizing AI.’ Well, wouldn’t it be nice to actually be using democratic processes to figure out…

"We were rightfully worried about what this leadership change would entail...There's a lot of ideology and misunderstanding about the kind of work ethics teams do as being part of…

BKC Research Assistant Pratika Katiyar writes about the effort to silence student voices and the need to codify protections for student journalists.

"...what are the kinds of harms and stereotypes that exist in society that these machines can pick up on? These models are simply reflecting the data that is being put into them,…

"Democracy is fundamentally a human way of organizing ourselves, and where an AI, whether it's a ChatGPT that is writing human text or another AI that is figuring out human…

"My observation would be that the serious legislation that's been successfully passed for regulating machine learning in general has been painfully slow and insufficient to keep…

BKC Faculty Associate Jabari Evans writes about the subscription platform OnlyFans and the Black women rappers and video models who use it.  “Ultimately, this study…

BKC Faculty Associate Ethan Zuckerman writes about technoculture's unique susceptibility to a mixture of falsehood and persuasive bluffing he refers to as "bullshit." "If we…

BKC Faculty Associate Greg Gondwe writes about variations in digital access and literacy among people in sub-Saharan Africa. 

BKC Faculty Associate David Nemer was interviewed about his accurate prediction of a "January 6-like event" following Brazil's elections. "I wasn’t totally surprised. I’ve been…

"So while it’s impossible to predict what a future filled with A.I. lobbyists will look like, it will probably make the already influential and powerful even more so." BKC…

BKC Affiliate Aviv Ovadya discusses social media algorithms that burst, otherwise known as bridging systems.

BKC Faculty Associate Fran Berman joined Alan Chartock of WAMC Northeast Public Radio, Jim Ketterer, and Sarah Rogerson in a roundtable discussion of issues in the news and beyond.

BKC Youth and Media Director Sandra Cortesi commented on the practice of sharing photos of children on social media.

Joan Donovan writes about the Twitter Files and Elon Musk’s failing attempts to shape the media’s narrative. “In fact, what the “Twitter Files” reveal is what we already knew…

Jonathan Zittrain sits down with Jill Lepore in a podcast discussing his idea of assigning high school students the role of vetting advertisements, including political ads, on the…

"Twitter changed leadership from one mercurial billionaire to another, and in that regard it affirms that the site was never 'ours'..."

RSM Visiting Scholar Kate Klonick writes about the positive steps Meta’s Oversight Board recently took, and how it can improve separation within platforms.  “The board…

David Weinberger discusses the shift in Twitter’s appeal to the right following Musk’s takeover. “It’s easy to understand why the right is overall so happy with what Musk has…

BKC Affiliate Bruce Schneier writes about decarbonizing crypto and the opportunity to curb its massive environmental impact. "The good news is that cryptocurrencies don’t have…

"A worry still is that these nations will never see any true benefits from tech investments until tech investors address the lack of the basic infrastructure necessary to support…

“Freedom is the most beautiful thing life has to offer.” “I am not a criminal I was a drug addict.” “Beautiful things are never perfect.” Those words, written by formerly…

Faculty Associate Susan Benesch writes about incendiary speech in political American discourse, and the rampant rise of it. "We have found that dangerous speech is uncannily…

RSM Assembly Fellow Joe Bak-Coleman writes about the challenges of managing human behavior, especially as applied to Twitter.  “On a social network, interactions between…

BKC Fellow Petra Molnar discusses surveillance and the use of tiny islands as spaces for large tech companies.  Petra Molnar, a lawyer specialising in technology and human…

"Under that reasoning, said Alejandra Caraballo of the Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, the key question for Twitter is whether tweets from fake corporate accounts would have…

BKC Fellow Florian Martin-Bariteau assembled a report to the Council of Europe on blockchain opportunities. "The impact of the blockchains for Human Rights, Democracy…

Rebecca Tushnet breaks down Vogue's seven-figure lawsuit for copyright infringement against Drake and 21 Savage. "Part of what makes this case so interesting is that it…

"Kendra Albert, a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, has studied “legal talismans”—terms like “free speech” that tech companies use to give legitimacy to…

Sahar Massachi joins David Ryan Polgar to discuss "the importance of fostering a generation of integrity workers to transform our technology ecosystem." “For me, I like the…

Micaela Mantegna spoke to IGN about the Spintire controversy. "Given how confounding this entire investigation has been, I spoke with video game lawyer and Berkman Klein Center…

With Jill Lepore, Jonathan Zittrain talks about his idea of using high school students as vetters of online political ads. “Not only would you...have enough high school…

BKC affiliate Molly White spoke about her interests, web3, & blockchain. "I'm hoping to keep doing what I'm doing. I feel like the site has been pretty successful…

BKC Faculty Associate Zeynep Tufekci writes about disinformation and "prevent[ing] another Alex Jones." “It has become so easy to lucratively lie to so many people, and we…

Rebooting Social Media Assembly Fellow and Integrity Institute Co-founder Sahar Massachi's work with the Integrity Institute's weekly misinformation dashboard was featured in The…

Rebooting Social Media Visiting Scholar and BKC Faculty Associate David Nemer discusses social media strategies and their implications in the Brazilian presidential election…

Lumen project manager Adam Holland and Rebecca Tushnet spoke about Google’s efforts to take down links considered pirated. “Google's partner in tracking all of its takedown…

Cyberlaw clinic’s Alejandra Caraballo discusses how children’s hospitals are taking down websites as a result of harassment and threats. Removing too much information comes…

BKC Affiliate Afsaneh Rigot and Kendra Albert write about Big Tech and how they should support the Iranian people. "Expanded services...are no longer hindered by sanctions…

BKC Harvard affiliate Julie Owono discusses online content moderation. "Is it okay in a modern democratic society to leave two private companies the decision on what we can say…

BKC Faculty Associate Ethan Zuckerman writes about responsible digital ad systems. “As Silicon Valley giants sketch their preferred future for digital advertising, an…

BKC Fellow Bruce Schneier writes about the Uber hack. "In all of these cases, the victimized organizations could have very likely protected our data better, but the reality is…

Rebecca Tushnet discusses the potential challenges to California’s new social media law under the First Amendment.  “Knowing how many reports they got and whether or when…

David Nemer speaks about Brazil and the history of fascism, and the role cyberactivism plays in emboldening it. “Misinformation without hate, fortunately, doesn’t go very far…

David Nemer analyzes the antipathy towards women that world leaders like Jair Bolsonaro have. 

As part of her Berkman Klein fellowship, Zahra Stardust organized a Community Lab at RightsCon 2021 on "Alternative Frameworks for Sexual Content Moderation." The Lab was…

Susan Benesch, faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, said when it comes to “dangerous speech ... what matters most is how…

BKC Faculty Associate Jabari Evans writes about engaging Black youth in learning and career pathways through hip-hop and social media.

Mark Wu discusses the economic motives behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Several former Soviet states use Russia’s industrial standards, which creates a captive market for…

Susan Benesch writes about how Elon Musk buying Twitter may be dangerous. “Dangerous speech forms a category because it is strikingly similar from one case to another, across…

Will Marks and David Nemer assess Telegram's content moderation.

Ethan Zuckerman traces Wikipedia's transformation from controversial to trusted source.

Is the "marketplace of ideas" fact or fantasy? Yochai Benkler assesses the future of free speech in a world of what he calls an "epistemic crisis" of disinformation and distrust.

Sahar Massachi speaks on a new way of fostering Internet health.

evelyn douek speaks on Spotify's controversial involvement in the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Primavera De Filippi explains the implications of an NTF collection featuring fuzzy versions of Hermès bags.

Ethan Zuckerman writes that algorithms can be improved by focusing on the people who train the machines — and society at large.

Micaela Mantegna brings up crucial privacy and ethical concerns that come with the emergence of the metaverse.

Dariusz Jemielniak speaks on his research on Godwin's Law.

Sandra Wachter assesses the benefits and drawbacks about autonomous robots and the future of work.

Elizabeth Renieris urges skepticism amid the overwhelming hype around Web3.

David Nemer discusses Bolsonaro supporters’ migration from WhatsApp to Telegram.

Julie Owono shares why digital rights should have the same protections as offline ones.

Chinmayi Arun discusses the consequences for democracy if major social media platforms arbitrarily blocked political leaders.

Hilary Ross dives deep into the mission of the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at All Tech is Human's Responsible Tech University Summit.

In Nieman Lab's predictions for journalism in 2022, Jonas Kaiser explores the need for fact-checking — and who should be doing it.

In the Nieman Lab's predictions for journalism in 2022, j. Siguru Wahutu expresses hope for a humbler media ecosystem.

Ethan Zuckerman points to a mailing list in rural Vermont as a potential way forward for a more equitable Internet. "We need people to take responsibility for fixing…

Godwin's Law states that the likelihood of referencing Nazis increases as online discussions grow. But after analyzing nearly 200 million Reddit posts, Dariusz Jemielniak and…

A metaLAB (at) Harvard project illustrates how a movement such as #MeToo is constituted by masses of unobserved tweets.

Allissa Richardson examines how African American mobile journalism became a model for marginalized people’s political communication across the United States.

"The inexplicability [of machine learning models] is not a drawback but a truth."

Afsaneh Rigot writes that requirements for real identities on the Internet pose immense safety and security issues — especially for marginalized persons.

evelyn douek offers an explanation for why the Facebook Papers have failed to make as much of an impact internationally.

Katya Abazajian writes about the difficulties that arise when government agencies are reluctant to share information with each other.

Katya Abazajian writes about the difficulties that arise when government agencies are reluctant to share information with each other.

Ethan Zuckerman points out room for improvement in Facebook's openness to misinformation research.