y490 politics of the internet april 11, 2012. pirates of silicon valley 57rbdm&feature=related
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Y490 Politics of the Y490 Politics of the InternetInternetApril 11, 2012April 11, 2012
Pirates of Silicon ValleyPirates of Silicon Valley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80zFQ57RbdM&feature=related
Polish Legislature anti-ACTA protestPolish Legislature anti-ACTA protest
Source: http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/27/2751960/polish-politiican-acta-protest-anonymous-guy-fawkes-mask
China’sChina’s Intra/Internet Control StructureIntra/Internet Control Structure
Source: Ziang (Alex) Tan: Telecommunications Policy 23 (1999), p. 272.
Pearson’s Correlation: 11 cases: Unit: per Year. Pearson’s Correlation: 11 cases: Unit: per Year. Number of Internet Users in China by Press FreedomNumber of Internet Users in China by Press Freedom
YEAR Number of Internet Users in China (ml)
Press Freedom *
Correlation
2000 22.5 80 .8552001 33.7 80 2002 59.1 80 2003 69.0 80 2004 94.0 80 2005 103.0 82 2006 137.0 83 2007 162.0 84 2008 253.0 84 2009 384.0 85 2010 420.0 84
p= 0.01 level (2 tailed)*Freedom of the Press: Higher scores = less freedom Press Freedom Scale: 0-30: Free 31-60: Partly Free 61-100: Not Free, Source: Freedom House, www.freedomhouse.org/China
Some of our original Some of our original concerns:concerns:
Does the Internet make it possible for there to Does the Internet make it possible for there to be more diversity in the political views be more diversity in the political views expressed in the public sphere?expressed in the public sphere?
How do we compare the media on the Internet How do we compare the media on the Internet to the media that were previously available?to the media that were previously available?
Does the greater amount of user-generated Does the greater amount of user-generated content in blogs and social networks result in content in blogs and social networks result in stronger democracies?stronger democracies?
User-Generated Content and Applications
Blogs and Vlogs Web 2.0 applications
Facebook Other social networking sites
Twitter eBay Amazon reviews IMDB reviews and other content Craigslist Wikipedia Flickr
The Long Tail HypothesisPareto Distribution(aka Power Law)
Another Way to Look at the Long Tail
Questions
Will the people on the left side of the long curve be hurt by the people on the right side? If so, what is gained and lost?
Does bad behavior by the little guys ruin it for everybody?
How can people protect themselves against network mischief?
Zittrain Contrasts PCs with iPhones
PC iPhone
Type of Technology
Generative Appliancized/
Tethered
Type of Software
Open Proprietary
Type of Network
Anarchic Controlled
Definition of Generativity
“… a system’s capacity to produce unanticipated change through unfiltered contributions from broad and varied audiences…” (p. 70)
Features of a Generative System (pp. 71-73)
Leverage Adaptability Ease of mastery Accessibiity Transferabiity
Basic Propositions (Zittrain, p. 64)
The IT ecosystem functions best with generative technology at its core.
Generativity instigates a pattern both within and beyond the technological layers of the IT ecosystem.
Proponents of generative IT systems ignore the drawbacks attendant to generativity’s success at their peril.
Layer Model
Highest: Content Intermediate High:
applications Intermediate Low:
operating systems Lowest: physical
Advantages of Layers
Engineers can tinker with one layer without necessarily affecting the other layers.
The hourglass shape means that there is lots of room for innovation above and below the operating systems and protocols levels.
Problems with Generative Technologies and Anarchic Networks
Malware: worms, viruses, trojan horses Incompatibilities in hardware and software
which create difficulties for beginners (steep learning curves)
Use by criminals, political extremists, hate mongers, pornographers, child molesters, cyberstalkers
Vulnerability to cyber attacks of various kinds that go beyond malware (e.g. denial of service attacks, identity theft)
Identity TheftIdentity Theft The blanket term for any type of crime wherein the The blanket term for any type of crime wherein the
offender uses another individual’s legitimate personal offender uses another individual’s legitimate personal information to commit acts of fraud or deception, typically information to commit acts of fraud or deception, typically for illicit financial gainfor illicit financial gain
Where a person’s identification details are obtained Where a person’s identification details are obtained through various covert methods, from rifling through the through various covert methods, from rifling through the contents of household dustbins to “phishing.’ contents of household dustbins to “phishing.’
PhishingPhishing is a form of fraud where the criminal is a form of fraud where the criminal pretends to be a reputable organization that needs pretends to be a reputable organization that needs information about some business you may have information about some business you may have done with them done with them
Identity Theft and FraudIdentity Theft and Fraud Identity theft is not really a is not really a
specific kind of fraud, but an specific kind of fraud, but an act that leads a person to act that leads a person to be able to commit fraudbe able to commit fraud
Fraud generally is the Fraud generally is the attempt to convince for any attempt to convince for any reason that you are reason that you are someone other then someone other then yourself.yourself.
FTC video on identity theft
Examples of Hate Speech on the Internet
Nazis and Neo-Nazis Sale of Nazi objects
(involving EBay) French policies
(involving Yahoo based sales of Nazi stuff)
Hate groups Hate Watch
Dangers Inherent in Tethered Systems
Network service can reprogram appliances at will (through their periodic updating of appliance software)
Some appliances can record private information and make it available to those with access to the network (police for example)
Tethered networks can be used for censorship
Controversy over Amazon e-books
Examples of Censorship on Tethered Networks
Skype in China is used to censor words like Falun Gong and Dalai Lama
Google.cn makes searches for Falun Gong and Tibet fail
FBI can use OnStar for surveillance Use of cameras in mobile phones?
Flexispy software for cell phones
The News Corporation The News Corporation ScandalScandal
News of the World tabloid in UK hacks into cell News of the World tabloid in UK hacks into cell phones of Prince Harry and others to get phones of Prince Harry and others to get sensational storiessensational stories
Photo of Prince Harry wearing a Nazi uniform Photo of Prince Harry wearing a Nazi uniform to a fancy dress partyto a fancy dress party
2002 kidnap and murder of a British schoolgirl, 2002 kidnap and murder of a British schoolgirl, Milly DowlerMilly Dowler
Exposure of top level News Corporation Exposure of top level News Corporation approval of illegal phone hacking in 2011approval of illegal phone hacking in 2011
Should Cell Phones Networks be Should Cell Phones Networks be more like the PC-Based Internet?more like the PC-Based Internet?
Cell phone operators clearly are opposed Cell phone operators clearly are opposed to thisto this
Should “net neutrality” be extended to Should “net neutrality” be extended to cell phone networks?cell phone networks?
Should we personally favor PC-like Should we personally favor PC-like Google-Android platforms over more Google-Android platforms over more tethered platforms like Apple’s iTunes, tethered platforms like Apple’s iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad?iPod, iPhone, iPad?