Privacy, Secrecy, and Censorship in the Digital Age
This program has been canceled.
The legal, social, cultural, and international principles that govern the Internet are at times confusing and chaotic. Although we usually think of the Internet as a technology for disseminating information, it can also be used to limit flows of information. We’ll explore the principles of privacy, secrecy, censorship, and intellectual property in the digital era. You’ll discover the unexpected personal and social costs of apparently liberating technologies and of the efforts to control their abuse.
What you will learn
- The most significant US laws regulating information flow and the trade-offs they entail
- The types of information you should keep private or remove online
- How US privacy and free speech conventions apply abroad
- How the paradoxical truths of digital data are overturning centuries-old assumptions about privacy, secrecy, identity, and personal control
Topics covered
- Internet architecture and the principles behind it
- Public-key cryptography and the social dilemmas this technology creates
- How Google and other search engines work, and what kind of information they collect
- Digital advertising
- Information freedom as a democratic value
- Legislation of information freedom on the Internet
- Libel and intermediary liability in the age of Craigslist and blogs
- The use and abuse of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Who should enroll
Managers responsible for thinking about their company’s online strategy and information privacy policies. More broadly, the program is engaging for anyone curious about information freedom and control for commercial, professional, personal, or civic reasons. The program is intended for a nontechnical audience, and to participate you only need a familiarity with the Internet.
Online option
You can participate in this program online or on campus. If you participate online, you watch live-streaming video of the two 9 am to 5 pm sessions. You ask questions in real time and, using web-conferencing software, participate in the same group activities as on-campus attendees. When you register, you’ll be asked to specify how you will attend.
Other information
You are encouraged to bring a laptop. Upon arrival, you will receive a copy of Professor Harry Lewis’s book Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion. Online participants will receive a copy in the mail.
Faculty
Harry Lewis
Harry Lewis is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1974. He is the author of numerous books and articles on various aspects of computer science. His book about higher education, Excellence Without a Soul: Does Liberal Education Have a Future? has been translated into Chinese and Korean. He is coauthor with Hal Abelson and Ken Ledeen of Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion, which introduces the general reader to the origins and public consequences of the explosion of digital information.
From 1995 to 2003, Lewis served as dean of Harvard College. In this capacity he oversaw the undergraduate experience, including residential life, career services, public service, academic and personal advising, athletic policy, and intercultural and race relations. He is a faculty associate of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and a long-time member of Harvard College’s admissions committee.
Technical requirements for the online option
To participate online, you should make sure your computer meets the following requirements.
Software for viewing the live video and materials
Install the following software before the program begins:
Computer platforms, Internet connections, and browser preferences
- Live-streaming videos are available to users of Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Macintosh systems running OS 10.5 and higher.
- For Windows users, we support the use of Internet Explorer 7 and higher and Firefox 3.6 and higher.
- For Macintosh users, we support the use of Safari 4.0 and higher and Firefox 3.6 and higher.
- We recommend use of a cable modem, DSL, or T1 Internet connection for optimal performance.
- For the audio-only stream, at a minimum a reliable 56 kbps dial-up modem is required.
- Set your browser preferences to allow pop-up windows from *.dce.harvard.edu. Safari users should set the browser to allow all pop-ups while viewing lectures.
We do not support:
- Beta versions of any software, including Google Chrome
- The use of mobile devices to view lecture videos
- Linux
Note: Harvard does not provide dial-up Internet access. Subscribe to an Internet service provider (ISP) or have other Internet access.
Questions?
Contact harvardprofdev@dcemail.harvard.edu.
