[ecrea] Connaught Summer Institute on Monitoring Internet Openness and Rights

Connaught Summer Institute on Monitoring Internet Openness and Rights
Call for Applications
The University of Toronto is convening a week-long workshop taking place 
on July 22-26, 2013 focused on monitoring Internet openness and rights 
from a multidisciplinary perspective.
We would like to invite leading researchers, students, and practitioners 
from a wide range of disciplines to discuss research on the study of 
information controls, present latest work, facilitate research review 
and mentorship, discuss research ethics, and engage in intensive 
research methods training.
Information controls can be broadly conceptualized as actions conducted 
in and through information and communication technologies (ICTs) that 
seek to deny, disrupt, monitor, or manipulate information for political 
and economic ends. These controls can be mandated by states or 
implemented by private actors. Information controls include a range of 
technical measures (e.g. Internet filtering, 
distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, electronic surveillance, 
targeted malware, etc.) and non-technical means (e.g. media regulation, 
licensing regimes, content removal, and broad use of defamation and 
slander laws). Over the past decade there has been a steady increase and 
spread of information controls across the globe in both democratic and 
authoritarian states.
The spread of information controls has a number of potentially negative 
impacts for the public interest. Privacy, civil liberties, and freedom 
of expression in both cultural and political spheres are often and 
increasingly threatened by state and corporate actors that have now 
developed potent means of controlling and monitoring digital information 
flows.
Information controls (such as censorship and surveillance) are processes 
that lack transparency, often taking place beyond the scrutiny of public 
debates, and which therefore increases the risk of abuses against civil 
and political rights. Hence, there is a pressing need to know more about 
how and why information controls take place, so that robust evidence can 
be generated, analysed, and inform policy discussions.
Requirements
We encourage submissions on a wide range of relevant topics. Submission 
that explore multidisciplinary approaches are especially encouraged. 
Possible topics include but are not limited to: Measuring Internet 
censorship, detecting surveillance, new tools and research methods, 
research ethics, legal and regulatory frameworks, role of private sector 
actors in censorship and surveillance, analysis of the social, economic 
and political impacts of censorship and surveillance.
Interested participants should send a one page abstract summarizing what 
they plan to present at the workshop as well as any relevant experience 
or topics of specific interest. The abstract should also indicate the 
preferred presentation format for the work (poster, short talk, or 
tutorial) and indicate if the person will require travel support to 
attend the institute. A limited pool of travel support is available and 
will be allocated based on strength of the abstract and demonstrated need.
Please submit abstracts to info at citizenlab.org with the subject 
"Summer Institute 2013" by June 1, 2013
----------------------
Stefania Milan, PhD
The Citizen Lab || Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto 
|| http://citizenlab.org ||
European University Institute || www.protestsurvey.eu/ ||
Center for Media and Communication Studies, Central European University 
|| www.cmcs.ceu.hu ||
International Association for Media and Communication Research - 
International Council member and Co-Chair, Task Force on Media and 
Communication Policy || www.iamcr.org ||
mobile: [1] 647 - 973 - 6533 (Canada) || [+39] 333 - 2309945 (Italy) || 
[36] 3064 - 70445 (Hungary)
http://stefaniamilan.net/



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