Public Panel Discussion: Who Rules the Internet?

Who are the actors both in practices of rule-making and rule-breaking online, what are their motivations and resources, and how can their power relations and communicative figurations be described? How does the Internet influence the proliferation of the values that its platforms, services and infrastructures embody, and what spaces of creative resistance persist? How do various forms of technical, social, and cultural hacking subvert these orders? Drawing on the conference theme, we look forward to discussing these important questions with:

Kate Crawford is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research New York City, a Visiting Professor at MIT’s Center for Civic Media, and a Senior Fellow at NYU’s Information Law Institute. Her research addresses the social impacts of big data, and she’s currently writing a new book on data and power with Yale University Press.

Fieke Jansen researches and writes on the Politics of Data and digital shadows at Tactical Tech. She hopes to bring more transparency to the global data industry. Prior to moving to Berlin, Fieke worked on the intersection of the internet, social change and security, working at Hivos to set up and manage their digital emergency programme for human rights defenders and activists. She also co-authored a book called Digital AlterNatives.

Christian Sandvig is a Professor at the University of Michigan, where he teaches in both Information and Communication Studies. He is a researcher specializing in studying the consequences of algorithmic systems that curate and organize culture. He has written about social media, wireless systems, broadband Internet, online video, domain names, and Internet policy. His group blog was named one of the «Must-Follow Feeds» in science, culture, and design by Wired.

This public panel discussion is part of the conference AoIR 2016 that will take place from 5 to 9 October in Berlin. For further information on the programme and to register for the conference please visit aoir.org.