Category: Digital Culture

Americans and Digital Knowledge

The Pew Research Center has released "Americans and Digital Knowledge."

Here's an excerpt:

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that Americans' understanding of technology-related issues varies greatly depending on the topic, term or concept. While a majority of U.S. adults can correctly answer questions about phishing scams or website cookies, other items are more challenging. For example, just 28% of adults can identify an example of two-factor authentication – one of the most important ways experts say people can protect their personal information on sensitive accounts. Additionally, about one-quarter of Americans (24%) know that private browsing only hides browser history from other users of that computer, while roughly half (49%) say they are unsure what private browsing does.

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Papers by James Boyle, Cory Doctorow, Pamela Samuelson, Jessica Litman, and Others: The Past and Future of The Internet: A Symposium for John Perry Barlow

The Duke Law & Technology Review has published a special issue: The Past and Future of The Internet: A Symposium for John Perry Barlow (entire issue file).

Here's an excerpt from the introduction by James Boyle:

John Perry Barlow passed away on Feb 7th, 2018. John Perry's name is generally followed by a long list of qualities: poet, lyricist, rancher, civil libertarian, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, teller-of-stories, organizer of parties, bringer of light. Good friend. Certainly he was all of these. The picture above gives you some sense of his personality. But he was also the author of two influential essays in the very early days of the World Wide Web—A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace and Selling Wine Without Bottles: The Economy of Mind on the Global Net. . . .

Rather than offer a simple Festschrift for Barlow, this symposium uses those two essays as the jumping off point for a reflection on the current state of the digital world.

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Pew Research Center: Public Attitudes Toward Computer Algorithms

The Pew Research Center has released Public Attitudes Toward Computer Algorithms.

Here's an excerpt:

At a broad level, 58% of Americans feel that computer programs will always reflect some level of human bias—although 40% think these programs can be designed in a way that is bias-free. And in various contexts, the public worries that these tools might violate privacy, fail to capture the nuance of complex situations, or simply put the people they are evaluating in an unfair situation. Public perceptions of algorithmic decision-making are also often highly contextual. The survey shows that otherwise similar technologies can be viewed with support or suspicion depending on the circumstances or on the tasks they are assigned to do.

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"EFF, Human Rights Watch, and Over 70 Civil Society Groups Ask Mark Zuckerberg to Provide All Users with Mechanism to Appeal Content Censorship on Facebook"

The EFF has released "EFF, Human Rights Watch, and Over 70 Civil Society Groups Ask Mark Zuckerberg to Provide All Users with Mechanism to Appeal Content Censorship on Facebook."

Here's an excerpt:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and more than 70 human and digital rights groups called on Mark Zuckerberg today to add real transparency and accountability to Facebook's content removal process. Specifically, the groups demand that Facebook clearly explain how much content it removes, both rightly and wrongly, and provide all users with a fair and timely method to appeal removals and get their content back up.

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Social Media Use Continues to Rise in Developing Countries but Plateaus Across Developed Ones

The Pew Research Center has released Social Media Use Continues to Rise in Developing Countries but Plateaus Across Developed Ones.

Here's an excerpt:

Across the 39 countries, a median of 75% say they either use the internet occasionally or own a smartphone, our definition of internet use. In many advanced economies, nine-in-ten or more use the internet, led by South Korea (96%). . . .

Across 39 countries, a median of 53% say they use online social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. However, that figure conceals large differences around the world, and the relationship between social media use and national wealth is not as strong as it is for overall internet use and smartphone ownership.

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