Berkman Center for Internet & Society

Announcing ILaw Eurasia 2004, December 13-17

The iLaw Eurasia Program is a five-day, intensive course designed to expose and introduce 50 advanced policy experts from countries in Eurasia to the critical and emerging information age policy and legal issues shaping the future of the region.

Palfrey at Cornell: Webcast Archive

Berkman Center Executive Director John Palfrey presented the topic "The Problem with the Law in Cyberspace" at 10am, and "The Digital Media Crisis" at 2pm, 10/6 at Cornell University; each talk was be webcast.  Visit this page for more details and a link to the archived webcasts.

Gruter-Berkman Roundtable Reconvenes 10/13: Honest Signaling

Honest Signaling and Other Strategies for Building Reliability and Trust on the Internet October 13, 2004: 1:30 –3:00.

Copyright and Voting

John Palfrey, Executive Director of the Berkman Center, published an op-ed in CNet this morning about a recent ruling against Diebold, Inc.

Forum on Napster's Return -- The Incorporation of Digital Music?

Can Napster, the once revolutionary P2P service, refashion itself as a corporate player in the new digital media marketplace? What does this mean for the future of music, copyright, and creativity? Professor Ronald V.

Landmark Decision in the Diebold Case

Yesterday, a California court issued a decisive victory for a group of pro-active students, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and defenders of fair use everywhere.

Web of Ideas: New Discussion Series with Weinberger Begins 10/6

Join us on Wednesday, Oct. 6, at the Baker House at 6 pm for the first in a series of discussions, led by David Weinberger, on the effect of the Web on how we understand ourselves and our shared world.

Internet Filtering & the Law

What are the legal implications of limiting access to Internet content? In this paper, the OpenNet Initiative -- a partnership of the Citizen Lab, the University of Cambridge, and the Berkman Center -- finds that governments offer a range of justifications for blocking content, from safeguarding national security to protecting community standards.

Derrick Ashong: Free This CD!

Internet Radio Show on Copyright: Lawrence Lessig

How to Game Google News

Ever wondered why a search on Google News sometimes pulls up articles with unrelated photos? Or why a search for "John Kerry" retrieves headlines like John Kerry Should Spit On Prime Minister... before stories from more conventional news outlets? A new article in the Online Journalism Review compares the methodology of Google News to that of Yahoo.

Internet & Politics: What do you want to know?

The Berkman Center is planning its third Internet and Society conference, Votes, Bits & Bytes, to take a skeptical look at whether the Internet has really changed politics.

Berkman Center Open House: September 22, 7pm, Langdell South

The annual Berkman Center Open House will take place Wednesday, September 22nd at 7pm in the Langdell South Classroom.  The event is designed to recruit student employees and volunteers.  Pizza and beverages will be served.  Please stop by to hear from faculty, research fellows, and students about the stimulating, cutting-edge projects that are available for interested students.

Rip. Sample. Mash. Share. The Creative Commons CD.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that a partnership CD between Wired Magazine and Creative Commons featuring the Beastie Boys, David Byrne, and others will be released next month.

Face-off over the Facebook

TheFacebook.com became one of the most popular websites on the Harvard campus last winter, connecting students much like Friendster, Orkut, and other social networking programs.

Back to School II – Practical Lawyering and Internet-Related Issues

The first session of Practical Lawyering and Internet--Related Issues, a Harvard Law school seminar taught by noted practitioners and Berkman Center Clinical Program Co-Directors Jeffrey Cunard and Bruce Keller, meets for its first session today (Tuesday, September 14) from 2:20 - 4:20 in Lewis 202.

ISPs Not Liable for Failing to Block Pornography, Rules Court

A Pennsylvania law which imposed liability on ISPs for blocking access to child pornography was struck down by the U.S.

Back to School -- Cyberlaw and the Global Economy

The first session of Cyberlaw and the Global Economy, a Harvard Law school class taught by Berkman Director John Palfrey meets for its first session today (Thursday, September 9) from 4:30 - 6:30 in Hauser 102.

Don't Ban the Technology

"Technologies don't infringe copyrights; people do," writes Berkman Center director John Palfrey in his op-ed, The Digital Copyright Crisis in today's Boston Globe.

Convention Closeout

This week marks the end of convention season for the 2004 Election, and, given all the attention on blogging, politics, and journalism, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the role of new media in politics.