Joining the 2020 cohort of Stanford University’s Digital Civil Society Lab Fellows

I am honored to have been awarded a research fellowship by the Digital Civil Society Lab at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society.

The Digital Civil Society Lab is a research initiative at Stanford University investigating the challenges and opportunities for civil society to thrive in the digital age. Launched in 2017, the fellowship program provides social sector leaders with the time, space, expertise and resources to help turn ideas and prototypes into action. Fellows undertake yearlong projects to advance the safe, ethical and effective use of digital resources in civil society.

You can read more about the Digital Civil Society Lab and this year’s stellar cohort of fellows here.

Workshop & Report: Future Paths to a Public Interest Internet Infrastructure

The governance of the Internet infrastructure is collectively enacted by the design of technology, the policies of companies, the administrative functions of global standard-setting organizations, national laws and international agreements.

A critical component of this infrastructure are Internet standards, which can affect fundamental rights such as privacy, security, anonymity, freedom of expression and information. Decision-making about the Internet infrastructure is a matter of social policy. To advance the protection of human rights online, there is an urgent need for civil society to get further involved in technical discussions, and for the broader public interest technology ecosystem to develop long term strategies to strengthen the impact of advocacy efforts.

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What is at stake for human rights in the design of Internet protocols?

This article was originally published on the Kennedy School Review on May 13, 2019.

Sudanese Americans rally outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, June 8, 2019, in solidarity with Pro-democracy protests in Sudan. Image Credit: AP. From: Sudan protesters try to rekindle movement. Grapple with power outage, blocked internet and heightened security – Gulf News.

Over the last decade, political and legislative bodies have started to codify the relationship between the Internet and human rights. In 2012, the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations adopted a resolution to protect the free speech of individuals on the Internet–the first UN resolution of its kind. In 2014, a UN General Assembly resolution called on states to “respect and protect the right to privacy” in the digital age. These efforts have mostly focused on safeguarding human rights online from a legal and regulatory perspective. However, they did not consider how the development and governance of the Internet infrastructure can affect the rights of Internet users.

A critical component of this infrastructure are Internet protocols, which define the rules and conventions for communication between networks. By enabling and controlling the exchange of information at a global scale, protocols have the potential for far-reaching economic and social consequences.

This article will provide an introduction to Internet protocols, explain how their design can affect the rights of global users, and describe possible paths to a human rights enabling approach for developing and maintaining the Internet infrastructure.

Continue reading What is at stake for human rights in the design of Internet protocols?