Whether social media is good or bad for us remains a widely contested topic. Research shows that the same social media networks that can increase voter turnout can also leave us feeling lonely and depressed. So how do we really know if social media’s benefits ... More »
On May 28, 2020 President Trump signed an executive order to break the immunity shield behind Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). Described as “the twenty-six words that created the internet,” Section 230 of the CDA protects social media giant... More »
When technology benefits us, it’s hard to not like it. It can track our sleeping patterns, check our news feed, alert us to meetings, and remind us to check the chicken in the oven. On a daily basis, it’s convenient, efficient, and not terribly invasive.Howeve... More »
Since its inception, social media has been a vital tool for democracy, serving as an indispensable platform for people to exercise their rights to speech, expression, and assembly. However, with the recent insurgence of hate crimes like the 2017 Charlottesvill... More »
Sparked by the police killing of unarmed teenager Mike Brown, the 2014 Ferguson protests ignited a nation-wide conversation about police reform in the United States. To increase safety and accountability for officers and civilians, many lawmakers responded by ... More »
Social distancing. What about digital distancing? How private are digital handshakes? The spread of coronavirus has prompted government officials across the world to use technology to monitor infected individuals’ contacts. The result: digital contact tracing ... More »
As information on the COVID-19 pandemic spreads at a rate rivaling that of the virus itself, separating trustworthy information from sensational and false news is paramount. While the pandemic illuminates the dangers of misleading health stories, researchers h... More »
Amid the election of progressive district attorneys and passage of historic sentencing reforms, many U.S. cities are making strides toward decarceration. In an effort to reduce their prison populations while addressing sentencing bias, at least 20 states emplo... More »
In India, despite primary school enrollment rates over 95 percent, over half of students in the 5th grade cannot read at a 2nd grade level. A lagging student will likely absorb little material when she is in a classroom covering material more advanced than her... More »
An individual with internet service can access more information than she could ever consume. “Net neutrality” seeks to maintain information access by preventing pricing schemes that discriminate based on source and content. In recent years, internet service pr... More »
Maurice Turner serves as the Deputy Director of the Internet Architecture Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring an open, innovative, and free internet. Prior to his cur... More »
The invention and expansion of the internet has revolutionized how citizens engage in political expression and protest. Citizens subject to authoritarian regimes have taken advantage of the instantaneous nature of internet communication to mobilize political d... More »