From: OII Newsletter [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 20 June 2007 20:05
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: OII News [2007.06.20]: News and events, filtering and identity
management
Dear friends and colleagues,
'Internet censorship and surveillance are growing global phenomena'
OpenNet Initiative
1. Internet Filtering: Research Report
2. Internet Filtering in Thailand
3. Identity Management
4. OXlab: 800 people now signed up!
5. Events Diary
6. Blog Bites
7. Student Diary
8. The Wizard of Oz
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1. Internet Filtering: Research Report
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'We are still in the very early stages of the struggle for control on
the Internet...but as it turns out, states have not found it so very
hard to assert sovereignty when and where they have felt the need to do
so: the result is the emergence of an increasingly balkanised Internet.
Intead of a world wide web, it's more accurate to say we have a Saudi
Wide Web, an Uzbek Wide Web, a Pakistani Wide Web, a Thai Wide Web, and
so forth...'
Summer is upon us and filtering is in the air...we have a new research
report by Jonathan Zittrain and John Palfrey Jr: chapter 2 from their
forthcoming book 'Internet Filtering: The Politics and Mechanisms of
Control' to be published by MIT Press.
Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/publications/RR14.pdf
The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) held a conference in Oxford to launch their
first report on Internet filtering worldwide. If you missed it, you can
watch the discussion and Q&A on our webcasting site:
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/?view=Webcast&ID=20070518_198
--------------------------------------------------
2. Internet Filtering in Thailand
--------------------------------------------------
Professor Kriengsak Chareonwongsak has recently arrived at the OII as a
Visiting Fellow, and will be conducting research over the year on
Internet Filtering in Thailand. We asked him:
Ed: What are you hoping to do during your time at the OII?
KC: The objectives of my intended research at OII are as follows: to
study the policies, laws, structure, system and process of Internet
Filtering in Thailand; to conduct an empirical study of website blocking
in Thailand; to gather information and opinions from those concerned in
any way with the process of Internet Filtering in Thailand (and with
stakeholders who may be impacted by this); and to yield study results
and policy recommendations.
Ed: And how will you be approaching the study?
KC: The methodology of my study includes both qualitative and
quantitative research and is divided into three areas: Literature
survey, In-depth interview and Website surveying. For in-depth
interviewing, the interviewees are sorted into several groups:
Government organization executives in Thailand, executives of Internet
Service Providers (ISPs), webmasters in Thailand, specialists on
Internet and Internet Filtering, and protesters against Thai government
intervention with the journalistic media. For Website surveying, my
study will randomly verify the website access of servers in Thailand,
by: testing errors in Thailand's Internet Filtering measures, testing
transparency by analyzing the contents of blacklisted and
non-blacklisted websites that are blocked, and testing filtering
efficiency by comparing successfully blocked websites officially
declared by the Thai government as blacklisted, with those ISPs under
government concession and ISPs that are independent.
Ed: What is the background to Internet Filtering in Thailand?
KC: Thai people do realize - by government announcement and rumours
within Thai society - that the Thai government has blocked a large
number of websites. Many reasons are claimed by the government and
government organizations for this blocking, for example: that they are
protecting good morality in society, protecting national security, and
so on. But, in fact, the current government, which is backed up by the
National Security Council (NSC), is focusing on the blocking of websites
that contain sensitive political text.
The procedure of examining websites that contain forbidden text is the
duty of the Ministry of ICT, which is informed about improper websites
by the media and net surfers. The authority for blocking websites is
shared by many organizations, such as the MICT, the National Police
Office, the National Security Council, the Minister of Culture, the
Minster of Education and the Minister of Commerce, according to the
scope of their organization's duties by the law. The mechanism for
blocking websites includes: commanding the Communication Authority of
Thailand (which provides connection with the international network) to
block the website, asking ISPs to block the website and providing
software that protects schools from accessing the unacceptable website.
Ed: How transparent is this process in Thailand?
KC: The performance of the Thai government in website blocking has been
severely criticized for lacking transparency and accountability so far.
Since Thailand does not adopt any cyber crime laws, website blocking is
operated without checks and balances. Bureaucratic authorities apply
Internet censorship measures using their own judgment and according to
current existing laws that do not suit computer crime cases.
The former government, with Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister, was
the first government to explicitly launch a website blocking policy. In
my opinion, that policy was considered a tool for limiting the right to
perceive information and express opinions, and also a tool for
intervening in all kinds of media sources that opposed the government.
The current government is also criticized in the same way due to its
blocking of websites that belong to academic groups and NGOs who
criticize the government: for example, the website of the Midnight
University http://www.midnightuniv.org, http://www.prachathai.com and
websites belonging to the ex-PM, as well as coup protest groups.
Ed: What are the political / democratic repercussions of filtering? Who
is affected?
KC: The media intervention of the former government was disagreed to so
vehemently that it initiated a mob led by an owner of one media source.
For the current government, the blocking of websites belonging to
academics and NGOs is also widely disagreed to by groups that fight for
media liberty. Aside from reasons for blocking websites, the process of
blocking them is another controversial issue. Not only does the
government block websites or parts of websites having forbidden text,
but it also blocks other related websites. For example, along with the
blocking of http://www.midnightuniv.org, all other websites hosted by
the same company were blocked for transmission, though they had no
connection to the Midnight University.
Ed: You have just read Jonathan's filtering chapter: what did you think?
KC: I am impressed by the quality and industriousness of the author of
this paper, as it is a deep and multi-dimensional study that covers the
details and anticipated trends of the issue. However, if I may also
offer some humble criticism of this work, I note that it focuses on
facts and empirical data from research papers, but is weak on linking it
to the contexts and views of people and governments in each country
studied, which may have enabled us to understand the true but underlying
reason for their blocking of websites. My additional comment would be
that the paper provides insufficient policy recommendations on Internet
censorship, that would probably be beneficial to improving the website
blocking policy. However, in my view, this paper provides some important
bedrock for many future studies on the topic of Internet Filtering.
Ed: Thank you ... we look forward to finding out more about your work
over the coming year.
Kriengsak's biography:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/visitors.cfm?id=114
Filtering chapter (pdf):
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/publications/RR14.pdf
ONI profile of Thailand:
http://opennet.net/research/profiles/thailand
ONI Blog:
http://www.opennetinitiative.net/blog/
--------------------------------------------------
3. Identity Management
--------------------------------------------------
The problems of identity and personal-information management over the
Internet remain unsolved, despite much debate and a number of competing
initiatives...these problems range from issues of convenience, such as
requirements for multiple usernames and passwords, to the inability to
carry out many transactions that require authentication of the user, to
the security of systems that hold personal information, including
identity information.
The OII organized a public panel to discuss this topic, chaired by
Jonathan Bamford of the Information Commissioner's Office, and with a
keynote by Sir David Normington, the permanent secretary at the Home
Office. Other speakers included Professor Brian Collins (who combines
the roles of academic, civil servant, and IT practitioner) and Dr Stefan
Brands (an expert in privacy-enhancing technologies).
Webcast of public panel and Q&A:
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/?view=Webcast&ID=20070611_201
OII Visitor Mary Rundle has been working with the technology and
international policymaking communities to consider how to design
personal data protections into computer code for digital identity
management. We asked:
Ed: What does identity management mean in terms of the web?
MR: You can think of the web as a place that has undergone a sort of
'urbanization', where bustling activity stimulates thinking and where
opportunities abound and present something for everyone -- but also
where vices creep and dangers lurk. The innocent trust prevailing at the
web's beginning has given way to a certain guardedness as people deal
with strangers who on the one hand may show them wonderful aspects of
life they'd never appreciated, or who on the other hand may be reckless
and unconcerned about long-term neighborliness and who may even set out
to deceive them. By offering a user-friendly way for parties to
authenticate and exchange necessary information about each other,
identity management aims to provide a sense of familiarity and the
confidence of reputation. The touted promise is that people will be able
to focus on the subject of their interaction and avoid the hassles of
having to prove who they are and how reliable they will be, and
meanwhile they will feel relatively secure against loss of personal
data, phishing and phraud. With increasing automation in web services,
the expectation is that electronic agents' using these identity
management tools will be able to transact on people's behalf, doing so
at lightning speeds.
Ed: What problems are involved in identity management?
MR: You can think of identity management as a way of lowering risk as
parties interact. While problems include questions like whether
technologies will actually succeed in achieving widespread acceptance,
the more fundamental ones for society include who should have access to
what kind of personal data, what constitutes proper treatment of this
data and how such treatment can be ensured, and, most importantly, who
should decide these matters.
Ed: What has your work shown?
MR: Different stakeholders have different interests. For example,
business enterprises see identity information as an investment and
resource for generating more products for society and profits for
themselves; governments view identity information as an input for
ensuring security and public safety and for providing better services to
the public; and individuals conceive of identity information as part of
their personhood and something they have an intrinsic right to control.
Meanwhile, different jurisdictions carry different legal requirements
that will affect the playing out of these interests. There needs to be
more dialogue, and fair information practices need to be factored into
law and technology.
Ed: How does it relate to identity management from a governmental
perspective?
MR: Governments have a responsibility to work for the public interest in
identity infrastructure. Governments will decide which identity systems
to use in providing government services and will choose to take a
hands-on or hands-off approach for society's uses of the tools. In these
decisions, governments can favor architectures that put individuals in
control of their personal data, or they can choose arrangements that
give control to other entities. They can promote competition in systems
as a check against abuse. They can promote awareness that security and
privacy go hand in hand.
Ed: The UK 'surveillance society'...should we be concerned?
MR: Basic architectural designs in an identity infrastructure can help
prevent the abuse of power. For example, systems can be structured to
have minimal disclosure and limited linkages in data exchanges, and they
can allow audits. Where government asserts a legitimate interest in
having access to information, an ombudsman can help ensure data is
treated properly. As always, accountability is key, and the challenge
here may be equipping the public with understanding in these early
decision-making stages for the identity infrastructure.
Ed: Thankyou!
Mary's biography:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/visitors.cfm?id=79
[Note: A summary by Mary Rundle and Bill Dutton of a related OII
eIdentity workshop will be made available soon]
--------------------------------------------------
4. OXlab: 800 people now signed up!
--------------------------------------------------
800 people are now signed up for Social Science experiments run by the
Oxford eXperimental Laboratory (OXlab). Recent experiments analysed how
government information is accessed online and how bargaining behaviour
is affected by deadlines. The lab was set up earlier this year as an
effort to establish an experimental facility for the Social Sciences at
the University.
OXlab:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/project.cfm?id=41
Take part in the experiments!
http://oxlab.oii.ox.ac.uk/public/
--------------------------------------------------
5. Events Diary
--------------------------------------------------
You can register for all OII events by emailing:
mailto:[log in to unmask]
Marketers, Audiences and Digital Media
Speaker: Joseph Turow (University of Pennsylvania)
Focus: Exploring the industrial logic of marketers regarding digital
media, the ways they shape constructions of audiences (particularly,
recently, the idea of newfound 'audience power') and the profound
influence that is having in reshaping the entire media system.
Date: Wed 27 June, 16:00 - 17:00 (OII Seminar Room)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=151
Knowledge Ecosystems, Information Pollution, and Open-Source
Intelligence from the Bottom-Up
Speaker: David Bray (OII Visiting Associate)
Focus: Knowledge may rapidly lose its relevance in hyperturbulent
environments involving rapid changes in human systems (eg 9/11,
Hurricane Katrina): corporations and world governments increasingly
comprise globally distributed individuals who must exchange
time-sensitive knowledge to deal with these environments, increase
organizational adaptedness, and increase organizational survivability.
Date: Fri 29 June, 12:00 - 13:00 (OII Seminar Room)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=153
Virtual Worlds, Virtual Economies, Virtual Institutions
Speaker: David Bray (OII Visiting Associate)
Focus: Virtual worlds are now a reality. More than $45 million USD is
spent in Second Life monthly on virtual assets, with a UK government
panel suggesting the need to extend 'real world' legal protections to
virtual assets, while a US government panel says that taxation of
virtual assets is 'inevitable'.
Date: Fri 27 July, 12:00 - 13:00 (OII Seminar Room)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=152
Cyberintimacies/Cybersolitudes
Speaker: Sherry Turkle (MIT)
Focus: The emerging role of 'computational entities' (eg robots or
software agents) that present themselves as having states of mind that
are affected by their interactions with human beings. What is their
emerging role in our psychological, spiritual and moral lives? What
kinds of relationships are appropriate to have with machines? What is a
relationship?
Date: Thurs 25 October, 17:00 - 18:30 (OII Seminar Room)
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=150
And for those who could not attend a particular event...the most recent
webcasts are:
Identity Management:
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/?view=Webcast&ID=20070611_201
ONI Conference (filtering worldwide):
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/?view=Webcast&ID=20070518_198
Union Debate (Internet and democratization):
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/index.cfm?view=Webcast&ID=20070518_189
--------------------------------------------------
6. Blog Bites
--------------------------------------------------
William Dutton:
http://people.oii.ox.ac.uk/dutton/
The conference served to reinforce the importance of one key mission of
our book - to broaden awareness of e-research.
An IV pole becomes a companion. A telephone line holds the world
together.
The logo is absolutely wonderful. It is innovative, positive and capable
of supporting an infinite number of variations.
Tobias Escher:
http://people.oii.ox.ac.uk/escher/
...a site called RateMyTeachers. These sites have come under fire as
teachers complain about cyber bullying: 'She is the worst person ever
and everyone hates her'.
Most software 'only' generates pseudo random numbers which means that
ultimately the numbers are not really, well, random.
...Martin Dimov has been hiding in the OII library for the last months
in order to research about differences between Bulgaria and the United
Kingdom in terms of ICT adoption.
Malte Ziewitz:
http://people.oii.ox.ac.uk/ziewitz/
I like the notion of a 'shared space'. It sounds good and intuitively
seems to fit a lot of situations, in which people engage in risky
behavior and almost magically coordinate their actions to avoid some
harm.
Blogosphere:
http://people.oii.ox.ac.uk/
--------------------------------------------------
7. Student Diary
--------------------------------------------------
Friday of Eighth Week is but a recent memory -- and this will be the
last posting in the Student Diary until October, when a new intake of
DPhil students will be arriving at the Institute.
Meanwhile, Tobias Escher will be presenting a paper at the conference
'Towards a Social Science of Web 2.0' (5-6th Sept, York), where he will
speak about methods for mining the wealth of data on social networking
sites like MySpace and Facebook. He will also discuss some results from
his ongoing DPhil project that aims to analyse the geography of online
social networks and how physical place effects social relations online.
http://www.eu.socialtext.net/socsciweb2conf/index.cgi?towards_a_social_s
cience_of_web_2_0
--------------------------------------------------
8. The Wizard of Oz
--------------------------------------------------
...and continuing on from the subject of identity, you may have noticed
that we have introduced photos on the OII website. You can now discover
the faces behind the voices at:
Faculty:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/faculty.cfm
Students:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/students.cfm
Visitors:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/visitors.cfm
Associates:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/researchassociates.cfm
Support:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/supportstaff.cfm
Enjoy!
[Editor: David Sutcliffe]
Oxford Internet Institute
University of Oxford
1 St Giles Oxford OX1 3JS
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1865 287210
Fax: +44 (0)1865 287211
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk
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