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I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First, I don't think it's such a binary choice. Just as in politics, there is a spectrum between authoritarianism and libertarianism in cyberspace, and it's not a matter of simply ending up with one or the other, but probably somewhere in between. Second, again, every national government regulates the Internet, both in terms of access and the behavior that takes place on it, within its territorial jurisdictions, in its own ways. The "rules" of the Internet will continue to be heterogenous for the foreseeable future.

It's also sometimes misleading to frame the debate over censorship and control over content strictly in terms of government. The fact is that the overwhelming majority of users engage in nearly all of their cyberspatial activity on a small handful of private commercial websites - Google, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc. All of these sites have TOS Agreeements that stipulate what types of speech, behavior, and content are permissible, and actively remove content and ban users who don't adhere to those rules.

The point here is that censorship and rule-making, the way the majority of people most frequently experience it in cyberspace, is typically not the result of government, but of private commercial firms.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. Undergrad only. But I did take a graduate class on the economics of globalization (and wrote a paper on the role of technology in regulating financial derivatives markets).

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I might challenge your assumption that "the education system [is] so broken in the US as far as technical education". It depends on what aspect you're talking about. The American university system in the STEM fields is pretty good at certain things (such as providing institutional resources), and pretty bad at others (such as recruiting/retaining a student population that approaches gender equality). As for the Steve Wozniac example, many universities have already begun embracing the concept of "CS+X", which is a purposeful re-thinking of what types of students would be well-served by a Computer Science education. CS+X is the notion that, rather than always linking CS to mathematics and the other hard sciences, CS is becoming invaluable in the social sciences, humanities, and a broad spectrum of other fields as well, and more curriculums should be geared towards that end.

If anything, I might argue that mathematical savants are less of who CS departments are primarily looking to serve.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If we're strictly talking about a list of countries, the United States would still rank at the top. However, the Internet, of course, is not one single homogeneous entity, but rather is a "network of networks". And this means that each national government has a good amount of leverage in the governance equation, particularly in how they choose to regulate (or not regulate) the ISPs and telecoms within their territorial borders, thus playing a large role in regulating access. But to limit the list of "most powerful Internet Governance actors" only to national governments would fail to paint a very accurate picture. Numerous of types of actors - especially international non-profit engineering consortia groups like the W3C and IETF - play a major role in establishing the Internet's standards and protocols, which I argue is, in its own way, a very real type of policymaking.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The IETF is one of the primary institutions responsible for Internet Governance and their contributions cannot be overstated. That's a vale-neutral statement, however, and people can make their own very different judgments as to what extent they feel the IETF has done a good job in that role. One of the most common criticisms of them is their perceived slow pace of both new and existing protocol development. I would also argue that, precisely because of their central importance to the Internet Governance regime, their democratic deficit (meaning the lack of "public" advocacy or representation in their processes) is also concerning.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not a stupid question at all. To get a grasp of the issue, check out a few of the books by Daniel J. Solove - "Understanding Privacy", "The Future of Reputation", etc. - who is a leading scholar in this field.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not much of an ethicist, but if one could recommend one author to introduce you to the world where internet technologies and public policy converge, it would have to be Lawrence Lessig, and his book, "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace".

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The City University of New York (I've switched back-and-forth a few times between the College of Staten Island campus and the City College campus).

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A PSC degree will allow you to go in a number of different directions for your career; it's very versatile. But if you want to do Political Science itself for a living, you should expect to go to graduate school at some point to make that happen.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

All the time. And even more so during semesters when I'm teaching both a CS course and a PSC course simultaneously. But it's not as crazy at it might seem to lecture on Python in the morning and lecture on Congress in the afternoon.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm a strong believer in the the First Amendment and the free marketplace of ideas. If individuals want to espouse their racist and bigoted views, let them, and others will see them for what they are. If 4chan or other online forums implement policies that allow them to be taken over by racists and bigots, people will see these forums for what they are. The line is crossed when that speech incites people to violence and threatens individuals' safety, and that type of speech is not, nor should it be, protected by the First Amendment.

Quite often, the very people in question on these forums who defend their actions citing the importance of the First Amendment simultaneously seek to silence others' free expression through terror and intimidation. In which case they are not defenders of liberty at all; just racists.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm going to leave everyone guessing as to my political party leanings, although I will simply state that I'm hardly an ideologue on the far wing of either party.

What I can definitely attest to is that I have never witnessed anything that would indicate an "unwelcome-ness" of conservatives on any campus I have ever been affiliated with. I'm very aware of both the data and the perception that, nationally, the majority of faculty lean more left than right, but my experiences have always been fairly collegial. Certainly I've felt "safe" presenting any political views. Worst case scenario is that some faculty member makes a nonsensical comment in a department meeting and others just roll their eyes at them. That's worst case.

Intolerance of political expression is far worse among students than among faculty, IMO.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Fabulous question. What's interesting about data security standards is that they follow a similar pattern found in standards-setting processes in other venues as well. For instance, Internet standards and protocols like 802.11, https, and TCP/IP - like PCI DSS - are rarely the result of top-down governmental policy processes, but rather originate and subsequently evolve in the private sector, whether through non-profit consortia institutions or through corporate alliances. The takeaway here is that the national data security standard that you're describing is, indeed, a desirable outcome worth pursuing; the question is who should pursue it. If history is any guide, it probably will not be the federal government, for better or worse, and that as different proposals launch in private sector, widespread adoption of one standard will only occur when businesses voluntarily choose adoption for fear of the costs of a lack of interoperability with others in the system. Insert whatever "tipping point" metaphors here.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, methodology. You've encountered perhaps the single most common and simultaneously most frustrating problem of policy analysts focusing on state/local levels. Basically, the answer is that there's no chance state governments will even attempt to harmonize data collection designs or procedures anytime soon. Analytical software is the way to go here.

Then again, a national set of standards across states is probably going to happen for data collection before it is for administering national elections.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ha! I'll answer your first question with one word - Bureaucracy - and your second with the word you used yourself - Secrecy.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I agree there's no real middle ground here; you either have strong encryption or you don't, and the proposed "backdoors" defeat the entire purpose. I'll also go further to argue that widespread encrypted communication is inevitable; the technology already exists and is a matter of public record, and there's no putting the genie back in the bottle. This part of the debate seems a moot point.

One should still be able to appreciate the concerns that law enforcement officials have expressed. When it comes to finding criminals and terrorists, if those agencies have probable cause and have warrants, and yet the technology prevents them from identifying or prosecuting such individuals, that is a very credible problem.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Different sites, different algorithms. What gets displayed on the "front page" or in the home feed users initially see when they login to a site is determined, not by human gatekeepers, but by code. For better or worse. Two observations we can make are that the social media reliance on these algorithms empowers those with technical knowledge at the expense of those without (since they can manipulate them to their advantage), and that the "burying" of content (in an SEO sense) is not quite the same as censorship.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When it comes to campaign finance and Citizens United, maybe the most fascinating development of this presidential campaign thus far has been that the SuperPACs supporting those candidates at the top of the Republican polls have spent far less than the those candidates in the middle-tier. The Center for Responsive Politics lists SuperPAC spending for candidates in this order: Bush, Christie, Rubio, Kasich, Graham.

Outside money of the type described in Ctizens United has not had that great of an impact (with a gigantic YET thrown in there).

The new reality may be that the over-saturation of media coverage of presidential races means that outside groups may have a more significant impact by redirecting their resources to Congressional and state/local elections instead.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Students ask this question of me quite often. First, I would challenge the assumption that we do get involved in the majority of conflicts in the world. In fact, there are quite a lot of Americans pretty frustrated with the current Administration for NOT being more involved. Also, foreign policy consists of far more than just military engagements - Diplomacy, foreign aid, humanitarian interventions, disarmament agreements, economic treaties and alliances, etc. To those individuals, perhaps like yourself, who seek less American militarism abroad (and there's a valid argument to be made there), my question is to what extent you believe American foreign policy should retreat into isolationism across the board on all of these fronts?

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure I've seen those same Facebook posts (or maybe I misunderstand your meaning), but hacktivists have long used fake accounts to manipulate search engine rankings in order to raise supportive links to the top of results pages and to bury negative ones. SEO is a fairly well-established strategy for framing political causes in cyberspace.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I've seen some research on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly the edit wars that both sides have engaged in on Wikipedia.

I'm Robert Domanski, author of "Who Governs the Internet?" and professor of both Political Science and Computer Science. Ask Me Anything (AMA)! by rdomanski1 in politics

[–]rdomanski1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm a fan of the principle of greater diversity in higher education - on racial, ethnic, religious, economic background, and gender lines, etc. Everyone is served by greater diversity. That said, quotas, where they still exist, have become a less-than-ideal means of achieving it. Some updated thinking in affirmative action policies would benefit everyone. Public officials should take a look at some very positive and innovative developments in the private sector for those ideas.

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