May 2019 - netsociety - server-nexa.polito.it

Re: Mozilla Tech Policy Fellowship Project on Net Neutrality and Data Protection in Nigeria
by Chukwuyere Izuogu June 10, 2019

June 10, 2019

Dear All, I trust you are all doing wellthis new year. For those of you who do not know(of) me, I am Chukwuyere Izuogu, a Solicitor and telecoms legal researcher. I presentlyhead the Abuja office of the law office of Streamsowers & Kóhn, and I am alsoa research fellow at the African Academic Network on Internet Policy (ANNoIP),where my practice and research is in all areas of competition, telecommunications,information technology and intellectual property law. In September of 2018, I commenceda Tech Policy Fellowship with the Mozilla Foundation where I will be conductingpolicy/academic research and engaging stakeholders on issues related to netneutrality and data protection in Nigeria. As these are topical publicpolicy issues which are consistent with the work you and your organizations areinvolved in, I deem it important to inform you at this time of my fellowshipwork and keep you updated on the progress. Upon completion of my fellowshipresearch a Mozilla sponsored workshop will be held probably in Abuja where theoutcome of my researches would be made available to an enlarged stakeholdergroup and community members, as my intention is to see how these researches canalso be incorporated into each of your advocacy work in this space. As time goes on, I am likely torequire your input in clarifying several issues concerning my policy researches.In addition, I would be happy to respond to any question any of you may haveabout my fellowship work and the status so far. All the best in 2019! I remain, Chuks. Chukwuyereskype: chukwuyere.izuoguchukwuyere.izuogu(a)yahoo.com Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing, moderation is for cowards | | Virus-free. www.avast.com |

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CfP: Money talks? The impact of corporate funding on academic research in information law and policy
by Bodó, Balázs May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019

Dear colleagues, NoC Nodes, hubs and centers! In October 23, 2019 the Institute of Information Law will host the next meeting for the European Hub of the Global Network of Centers for Internet and Society (NoC). We dedicate the event to explore the impact of corporate funding on information society related research. The call is below, and here: https://www.ivir.nl/call-for-papers-money-talks-the-impact-of-corporate-fun… I kindly invite all of you to submit proposals for presentations, panels and other forms of interventions! Please also feel free to forward the CfP to your networks. See you in Amsterdam! b.- Call for papers, workshops, roundtables, action on - Money talks? The impact of corporate funding on academic research in information law and policy An event by the European Hub of the Global Network of Centers for Internet and Society (NoC), organized by the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam October 23, Wednesday 2019, Amsterdam Introduction Concerns about the corporate funding of scientific research, and about the presence of corporate sponsors in scientific events are not an exceptional issue in the academic field. For decades, scientific domains like medicine, climate<https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/11/18/1509433112.short> research, health<https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0175643> and nutrition<https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2161> science have been struggling with controversies<https://www.ucsusa.org/disguising-corporate-influence-science-about-sugar-a…> and dilemmas around the direct and indirect impact of corporate funding<https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0162243912456271> on the quality of their scholarship, integrity, independence, both actual, and as perceived by others. Research in the domain of the information society is not immune to these controversies. For example, the emerging giants of the information society are active research funders, and promote academic research as a way to influence public policy, or at least are perceived to do so. The information industry is also increasingly in exclusive control of fundamental research resources, such as data, or technology design. The 2017 Campaign for Accountability<https://campaignforaccountability.org/new-report-reveals-googles-extensive-…> (CA) controversy perfectly captures the complexity of the situation this creates around science. CA was apparently set out to identify Google’s influence on information policy research and (controversially) identified 329 research papers on public policy matters that were directly or indirectly funded by the search company. Only later it turned out that one of the funders of CA was Oracle<http://fortune.com/2016/08/19/google-transparency-project-2/>, which at the same time was fighting Google in Court, and perceived CA as part of that effort. In September 2018 a wide group of academics raised concerns<https://fundingmatters.tech/> about the role of surveillance technology company Palantir as sponsor of academic events on data privacy. The subsequent debate raised important questions about the dimensions in which different corporations active in the online world should be critically assessed, and the terms on which science can engage with them. The growing concerns about the influence of corporate funding of academic research in all disciplines can be attributed to the effects of several connected factors. For a number of financial, political and social reasons there is a significant pressure on academics to be entrepreneurial, and attract and pursue funding from private sources<https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243915576004>. Large corporations have been responding to this situation with often substantial amounts of funding, and various forms of collaborations. On the other hand, access to private funders and corporate sponsors may carry benefits: corporate participation is a prerequisite of a substantive and inclusive dialogue on contentious issues and policy developments. It can also foster collaborations, and provide scientists access to information, data, people, which would otherwise remain beyond reach. However, the intentions of corporations to invest in academic research are not always transparent. Some consider it to be relatively harmless when corporate sponsorship is motivated by the desire to associate their brand with academia, or to contribute to society to boost the public company image. Others claim that corporations may decide to fund research with malevolent intentions in order to influence the public debate, or pursue some hidden agenda. It often remains unclear for the public what motivates a company to fund academic research. Corporate sponsorship may be seen as suspicious, and detrimental to the results of the scientific outcomes, even if it was done with the right motivation, an ultimately it may also have an impact on the public trust in science. In order to prevent a conflict of interest and to ensure objectivity and transparency in research, institutions<https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/strategy/support-policy-m…> and governments have been developing<https://www.vsnu.nl/en_GB/news-items/nieuwsbericht/471-new-netherlands-code…> policies<http://archives.esf.org/media-centre/ext-single-news/article/the-european-c…> and guidelines<https://www.knaw.nl/nl/thematisch/ethiek/wetenschappelijke-integriteit> to foster integrity. The resulting codes of conducts are based on several widely supported fundamental principles which are translated into more specific standards for good research practices. The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity<http://goo.gl/WRuVz>, for instance, is built around four principles: reliability, honesty, respect and accountability. Yet, it remains to be seen how effectively such international<https://www.knaw.nl/shared/resources/thematisch/bestanden/MontrealStatement…>, European, national, and domain specific codes of conducts can be monitored, and enforced, and how effective they can be in safeguarding both the integrity of research, and it’s public perception. Recent events and the call for an action-oriented discussion on corporate sponsorship therefore warrant the impact of corporate funding on academic research as the theme for the next meeting for the European Hub of the Global Network of Centers for Internet and Society (NoC). The conference strives to bring together scholars within the information law discipline, as well as related fields to discuss questions such as: Understanding the problem: the scope, structure, amount, topics and beneficiaries of corporate funding in research ● How big corporate influence is in the first place? How much money are we talking about? ● What are the forms of (corporate) research funding, such as financial support, funded positions, data access, etc.? ● What drives corporate funding decisions? Internal safeguards of research independence and integrity ● What are the best ways to safeguard research independence and integrity? ● Are the current principles and safeguards that guide engagement with corporate sponsors and funders adequate? ● What are the limitations of current integrity safeguards? Is there room for improvement? ● Are there specific/additional principles that should to inform such engagement in the area of information law and policy? ● Does it make sense to differentiate between different forms of sponsoring (institutional/project, in-kind/access/money)? Interfaces and firewalls between academia and industry ● What kind of integrity-infrastructure does academia need for the future where more and more essential resources are going to be in the exclusive control of corporations? ● What legal and policy innovations are needed to ensure due access to privately held or controller data sources? ● How could standards be set for the acceptance of corporate funding? What are the existing methods of standard setting? ● What is a proper way to signal the company support without creating the impression of industry research? The impact of corporate funding ● How to manage public trust in academia which is increasingly funded by private parties? ● What are the effects of increased acceptance of private funding of academic research on government spending on science? ● Are some geographies, institutions, and initiatives more dependent on, or more exposed to corporate funding? How to address these differences? ● Are there neglected research topics because they do not attract corporate funding? ● How to deal with public funding from authoritarian regimes? We welcome individual paper proposals and panel and workshop proposals, and other forms of interventions and actions. Please submit paper abstracts, and panel proposals of no more than a 1000 words to the following email address: money.talks(a)ivir.nl<mailto:money.talks@ivir.nl> by July 1st, 2019. Acceptance decisions will be communicated in about a month. ---------------------------------------- Balázs Bodó, PhD research scientist Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam http://www.ivir.nl/ Blockchain & Society Policy Research Lab https://blockchain-society.science/

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Netsociety mailing list submission: Busted! The Truth About the 50 Most Common Internet Myths
by Helene von Schwichow May 14, 2019

May 14, 2019

Dear Internet users, researchers, and activists, dear friends and colleagues, The Internet never forgets ... and on the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog ... Is the Internet a dangerous place ruled by bots? Are states the enemies of a free Internet? Do human rights apply online? Is there a future for the Global South on the Internet? Are data monopolies unstoppable? And is the Internet full of fake news? Or is all the talk about fake news actually fake news? We have been commissioned to edit a book busting these and other common Internet myths ("Busted! The Truth About the 50 Most Common Internet Myths <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JqnwcB56ae7N0jc7CrvscGZKaRDWq_mZEZXO9LI…>"). It will be published in English and German this fall in the run-up to the Internet Governance Forum in Berlin 2019, both online and in print and will be widely distributed, including to all IGF participants on-site. At this stage we ask you to help us identify the most common Internet myths, that is misconceptions (accidental or on purpose) about the impact and reality of the internet and internet-based communication in the wider sense. We are looking for the most popular (or unpopular) Internet myths. After collecting 100 of them we will get back to you and vote on which 50 myths should make it into the book. Please enter your suggestions using this form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScm0b9LOjSO-PrJzu4eNDMSLhJrSOeLvrn…> by Tuesday, 21 May 2019. Do you feel like you could write the debunking story (around 450 words, by 15 July 2019), too? Then please add this as well in the form. Do you know of someone who could be an Internet mythbuster? Then feel free to forward them this invitation. In the age of uncertainty, we invite you to participate in an exciting book that seeks to make Internet myths a thing of the past. If you have any queries, please contact us at m.kettemann(a)leibniz-hbi.de <mailto:m.kettemann@leibniz-hbi.de> and s.dreyer(a)leibniz-hbi.de <mailto:s.dreyer@leibniz-hbi.de>. Matthias and Stephan -- Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann and Dr. Stephan Dreyer Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI), Hamburg, Germany Rothenbaumchaussee 36 | 20148 Hamburg | Germany Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI) Head of Research | Research Program Regulatory Structures and the Emergence of Rules in Online Spaces Rothenbaumchaussee 36 | 20148 Hamburg | Germany mail <mailto:m.kettemann@hans-bredow-institut.de> | web <https://hans-bredow-institut.de/en/staff/matthias-c-kettemann> | +49 (0)40 45 02 17 36 Associated Researcher | Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) <https://www.hiig.de/matthias-kettemann/>, Berlin Affiliated Researcher | Cluster of Excellence „ <http://www.normativeorders.net/de/organisation/mitarbeiter-a-z/person/442>Normative Orders <http://www.normativeorders.net/de/organisation/mitarbeiter-a-z/person/442>” <http://www.normativeorders.net/de/organisation/mitarbeiter-a-z/person/442>, University of Frankfurt am Main Lecturer | Institute of International Law and International Relations <http://voelkerrecht.uni-graz.at/en/>, University of Graz, Austria -- See my research on disinformation <https://www.sef-bonn.org/en/publications/global-governance-spotlight/22019.…>, cybersecurity, <http://www.revista-redi.es/es/articulos/ciberseguridad-y-derecho-internacio…>Internet Governance, <http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/48008>international internet law, <https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/akademie/12068.pdf> freedom of expression, <http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/year/2017/do…>right to internet access, <https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/das-recht-auf-internet-zwischen-voelkerrecht-…>German Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) <https://www.intgovforum-deutschland.org/uploads/2/6/8/1/26813832/igf-d_bala…> New study: Kettemann, International Rules for Social Media. Safeguarding human rights, combating disinformation, Global Governance Spotlight 2/2019 <https://www.sef-bonn.org/en/publications/global-governance-spotlight/22019.…> (Development and Peace Foundation (sef:), Bonn, 2019) (auch auf Deutsch <http://www.sef-bonn.org/publikationen/global-governance-spotlight/22019.html>) New book: Wagner/Kettemann/Vieth (eds.), Research Handbook on Human Rights and Digital Technology <https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/research-handbook-on-human-rights-and-digital-…> (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2019) New Working Paper: Kettemann, Die normative Ordnung der Cyber-Sicherheit <http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/files/48873/Matthias_Kettemann_Cyb…>, Normative Orders Working Paper 01/2019 -- Mag. Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann, LL.M. (Harvard) Assoziierter Forscher | Associated Researcher <http://www.hiig.de/> Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> <http://www.facebook.com/HIIG.Berlin> <https://twitter.com/hiig_berlin> <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Dr. Ingolf Pernice · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß -- <http://www.hiig.de/>Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft gGmbH Französische Straße 9 · 10117 Berlin T +49 30 200 760 82 · F +49 30 206 089 60 · www.hiig.de <http://www.hiig.de/> <http://www.facebook.com/HIIG.Berlin> <https://twitter.com/hiig_berlin> <https://www.instagram.com/hiigberlin/> Gesellschaftssitz Berlin | Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg | HRB 140911B | USt-ID DE 291 151 171 Forschungsdirektorium: Prof. Dr. Jeanette Hofmann (Geschäftsführung) · Prof. Dr. Dr. Ingolf Pernice · Prof. Dr. Björn Scheuermann · Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer · Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz | Geschäftsführung: Dr. Karina Preiß

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