In response to last month's controversial decision by the FCC to repeal net neutrality protections put in place by the Obama administration, proponents of the now repealed rule have begun pursuing alternative avenues to preserving the principle that ISPs should treat all data flowing through their networks equally. As with other Obama-era policies ripped up by the Trump administration (e.g. the Paris Climate Accord), states and local lawmakers have stepped into this policy vacuum, including the DC city commission, which last week held hearings on a proposed resolution opposing the federal government's net neutrality repeal.
TPRC Announces Call for Papers
The Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy (TPRC) is seeking submissions for its 46th conference hosted at AU's Washington College of Law, September 21-22, 2018. Submissions include papers, posters, panels, a Student Paper Competition, the Graduate Student Consortium, and the Charles Benton Junior Scholar Award.
Proposals can be submitted at https://www.tprcweb.com/ through March 16th. Student Paper contest, GSC and Benton Junior Scholar submissions are due April 30th.
Jan. 24 Roundtable: "Borders and Bits" by Prof. Jennifer Daskal
SOC Alumnus Dr. Luis Hestres Discusses Net Neutrality on Texas Public Radio
Discussing the implications of the proposed repeal on Texas Public Radio’s “The Source” on Monday, SOC alumnus and professor in digital communication at the University of Texas at San Antonio Dr. Luis Hestres described net neutrality as “the principle that internet service providers can’t discriminate against any type of data that flows through their networks.”
Faculty Director Dr. Derrick Cogburn Speaks at OU Cyber Governance and Policy Center
Internet Governance Lab Co-Director Dr. Derrick Cogburn, who holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor in the School of International Service and Kogod School of Business, returned to his home state to speak on multistakeholder global governance and policy issues at the University of Oklahoma and University of Central Oklahoma on November 13-14, 2017.
Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Andrew Rens on “Emerging Issues in the Internet of Things” at The Centre for Internet & Society
AU Internet Governance Lab Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Andrew Rens gave a talk on “Emerging Issues in the Internet of Things” at the Centre for Internet & Society in Bengaluru, India on October 23, 2017. The talk was based on his research about the complex problems that are emerging around the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT), including ownership and control, privacy and surveillance, and ubiquity and network fragility.
#DataLove: A new norm for data security?
Harlo Holmes, Director of Newsroom Digital Security at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, led a Digital Security Clinic on Friday, October 13 at American University’s School of Communication. The session was co-sponsored by AU’s Internet Governance Lab, the Center for Media & Social Impact and the Internet Society of Washington, DC.
Faculty Fellow Dr. Kathryn Montgomery to speak at HHS on Health Wearables and Privacy in the Digital Age
On Thursday, October 26, 2017, Internet Governance Lab Faculty Fellow and Director of AU’s Communication Studies Division Dr. Kathryn Montgomery will discuss the wide-ranging implications of Internet-connected health wearables at a conference organized by the Department of Health and Human Services. The presentation, titled “Health Wearables: Ensuring Privacy, Security, and Equity in an Emerging Internet-of-Things Environment,” draws on Dr. Montgomery’s research at the intersection of the Internet of Things and privacy, including an AU and Center for Digital Democracy study (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), looking at the privacy and consumer protection concerns raised by the proliferation of health and fitness wearables, which consumers are increasingly using to track everything from their heart rates to sleep patterns and stress levels.
Internet Governance Lab hosts Data Hygiene Clinic
On Friday, October 13th from 3-4:30pm, the Internet Governance Lab, in collaboration with the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Center for Media and Social Impact, and the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Internet Society, will host a discussion providing practical steps students, faculty, and all members of the AU community can take to protect themselves from a variety of digital threats.
Orwell’s 1984 and the Contemporary Cyber Surveillance State
On Wednesday, October 18th, from 3-4:30 pm in Batelle-Tompkins Atrium, the American University Literature Department and the Internet Governance Lab hosted a colloquium on Orwell’s 1984 and its relevance to the contemporary cyber context.
All sectors of the economy and society are now digitally mediated, made possible by the Faustian bargain of pervasive and privatized surveillance in which citizens relinquish personal data in exchange for free services. Authoritarian and democratic nation-states alike enact expansive surveillance, either for politically motivated censorship, identification of dissidents, or law enforcement and intelligence gathering. The same technologies that have provided unprecedented opportunities for creative expression, innovation, and free speech are used for all manner of social, political, and economic control. Modern flashpoints such as the Snowden NSA surveillance disclosures and Russia’s cybersecurity incursions and influence campaigns during the 2016 American presidential election have attracted greater public attention to longstanding tensions between cybersecurity and human rights.
This panel brings together experts in cyberpolitics and cybersecurity to examine Orwell’s 1984 through the lens of the contemporary cyber-surveillance state. How has the language of Orwell shaped/constructed modern cyber discourses? How do the modern surveillance state and underlying political tensions differ from Orwell’s dystopian vision? How would 1984 have been re-written in light of contemporary technological capabilities? Speakers include:
Moderator: Dr. Linda Voris
Professor in the Department of Literature
American University
Dr. Derrick Cogburn
Faculty Director, Internet Governance Lab at American University
Professor in the School of International Service
Dr. Laura DeNardis
Author of The Global War for Internet Governance (Yale University Press)
SOC Professor and Faculty Director, Internet Governance Lab at American University
Dr. Eric Novotny
Professor in the School of International Service
Faculty Fellow, Internet Governance Lab at American University
Colonel (Ret) Randolph Rosin
Faculty of the National Intelligence University
Internet Governance Lab Research Fellow