School of Engineering and Applied Science Department of Computer Science CSci 1030 -- Technology and Society http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~mfeldman/csci1030/summer13 Prof. Michael B. Feldman, course instructor mfeldman@gwu.edu

Week 3: Free Speech and the Internet

Readings:

Regulating the Internet:

Baase, chapt. 3; Spinello, chapt. 3

Prof. Martin's Notes on Internet Regulation (PDF)

Prof. Martin's Survey Notes (PDF)

University of Ilinois Website on Designing Web Surveys

Deliverables:

Current Issues Paper 1 due by Thursday 7/25

Draft survey questions due by Sunday 7/28

Learning Activities:

A. Discussion (by Sunday 7/28): Design of the survey instrument for the research project. Use the appropriate group discussion area to get started on this. (See project assignment for details.)

B. Discussion Area work (by Friday 7/26): Choose two of these four scenarios to discuss in the corresponding Blackboard discussions:

SCENARIO 1. You represent a non-profit advocacy group called Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) concerned with free speech issues. Develop a model of Internet governance that would provide maximum protection of free speech on the Internet.

SCENARIO 2. You represent a non-profit group called the Internet Content Rating Association ( ICRA) concerned about the protection of children from pornography and child predators. Develop a mode for Internet governance that would provide maximum protection of young children using the Internet.

SCENARIO 3. You represent the American Library Association (ALA), which has been very conflicted about what position to take on providing content filters on computers in library areas accessed by small children. Some have argued that a library should never censor information, and others have argued that libraries should not provide access to pornography to children. Develop a library policy for dealing with this dilemma.

SCENARIO 4. You represent the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) that is concerned about free access to marketing data in order to deliver personalized advertising to customers, which will lower the cost of goods and services sold over the Internet and help the e-commerce markets to become profitable. Develop a model of Internet governance that would provide maximum benefit to the DMA members.