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Call for Papers, Conferences

Good Internet Policy: How, What, Why, Where, and For Whom?

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by Joanne Gray

Join us in shaping Internet policy discourses at a conference designed to challenge, inspire and innovate.

by Joanne Gray

Location:RD Watt Seminar Room, University of Sydney, Australia, and online Dates and time:2 – 4 October 2024 As our digital society advances, an increasingly diverse array of stakeholders are seeking to have a greater say in its governance (Calandro, 2015, Aguerre, 2020, Tjahja et al, 2022), making the challenge of policymaking for the Internet more complex and contested (Kettemann, 2020, Belli et al, 2023).  The 2024 Policy & Internet conference, hosted by the University of Sydney, invites scholars, policymakers, civic interest groups, platform providers and regulatory bodies to participate in a dialogue about the nature of ‘good Internet policy’. Set against the backdrop of significant global events like NetMundial+10 and the United Nations Global Digital Compact, the conference seeks to unravel the complexities of Internet governance and policymaking and to explore diverse pathways towards a ‘good’ future for the Internet for all.  This conference aims to explore foundational questions and new frontiers in Internet policy and invites contributions that address but are not necessarily limited to the following topics: Defining Good Policy: What constitutes good Internet policy? Which norms and values are pivotal in shaping these policies? Policy Innovation and Ecosystems: What current innovations are shaping policy landscapes? Are these ecosystems effective, and how might they be reimagined? Norm Entrepreneurship: How are different stakeholders championing innovative norms to address the myriad challenges in Internet policy? Processes and Mechanisms: What are the key processes and mechanisms in crafting effective Internet policies? Policy Spaces: Where is Internet policy formulated? Which forums or platforms are or should be central to these discussions? Inclusivity in Policymaking: Who currently influences Internet policy, and who should be involved in these discussions? Impact of Emerging Technologies: How do emerging technologies reshape the frameworks and priorities of Internet policy? Regulatory Expertise: What expertise is necessary to navigate and enhance the efficacy of Internet policy-making? We invite submissions that address the above themes, but also encourage papers that propose…

Call for Papers

Call for Papers: ICA Post Conference 2024

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by Milica Stilinovic

The International Communication Association (ICA) will be hosting its annual Post Conference at the University Sydney, on the topic of digital sovereignty. 

by Milica Stilinovic

The International Communication Association (ICA) will be hosting its annual Post Conference at the University Sydney, on the topic of digital sovereignty.  Hosted by the Media & Communications discipline at The University of Sydney and the Critical Digital Infrastructures and Interfaces group at Deakin University, The ICA Post Conference 2024 will explore digital sovereignty through a range of inclusive and decolonial approaches to digital platform policy and governance, along with global perspectives on human rights, state power and territoriality under various digital sovereignty regimes. The ICA is currently inviting participants to submit a 500-word abstract on topics that fall within the scope of platforms and infrastructure in a global context.  Selected participants will be invited to present their work at the post-conference and to submit their papers to a special issue of Policy & Internet Journal. Submissions should be sent to sicss.admin@sydney.edu.au by 15 February 2024. Digital sovereignty refers to a countries’ autonomy and control over its digital data, systems and infrastructures. It is a term that has been deployed widely—by liberal states to assert citizens’ rights over the data they produce and by authoritarian states to justify surveilling and controlling their populations. At the same time, flows and forms of digital life offer new constructions of territoriality, governance, and identity, on more personal and humanistic terms. Recent geopolitical crises necessitate a re-thinking of digital sovereignty and its implications for digital policy and international affairs. In contemporary armed conflicts, like in the case of Russia’s war against Ukraine, where battles unfold across all layers of the digital communication spectrum, control over digital data flows has become a key strategic objective. In this context, digital sovereignty can be used to justify policies that facilitate the expansion of state power beyond established territorial borders. At the same time, how critical socio-technical systems are governed and by whom also determines experiences of digital sovereignty. UNESCO’s 2023 Internet for Trust report calls for the inclusion of diverse perspectives in the global governance of digital platforms. While this recommendation is…

Call for Papers, Submissions Closed

Call for Papers: Policy & Internet Conference 2023

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by Milica Stilinovic

Today, internet policy must confront issues relating to embedded interests, monopoly power, geopolitics, colonisation, warfare, automation, the environment, misinformation, safety, security and more.

by Milica Stilinovic

*Submissions for this event have closed. Please refer to the event page for further details* Policy innovation for inclusive internet governance  Location:Social Sciences Building (A02), Lecture Theatre 200, University of Sydney, Camperdown Campus Dates and time:28-29 September, 20238:30am – 4:30pm Call for papers The task of internet policy making has changed markedly over the past two decades. The ‘move fast, break things’ era—during which a central policy concern was how to manage economic disruption across industry sectors from entertainment to journalism, retail, transport and hospitality—has evolved into a digital era characterised by complex and interconnected social, political and economic global challenges. Today, internet policy must confront issues relating to embedded interests, monopoly power, geopolitics, colonisation, warfare, automation, the environment, misinformation, safety, security and more. As DeNardis (2014) has argued, conflicts within internet governance involve critical negotiations over economic and political power and how these conflicts are resolved “will determine some of the most important public interest issues of our time”.  In seeking to resolve these conflicts, there is a risk that the dominant economic and geopolitical actors will structure outcomes in their interest. An inclusive approach to internet governance is needed if we are to achieve an equitable distribution of digital resources and opportunities. Inclusive internet governance requires that the voices, interests and values of the maginalised are included in policy making processes, so that dominant ideologies can be challenged and alternative imaginaries realised (Gurumurthy & Chami, 2016).  Novelty and innovation in internet policy is itself challenging. Typically, policy making is driven by past experiences (Schot and Steinmueller, 2018) and constrained by institutional formalities, hierarchies and procedures (Bauer, 2014). Innovation, on the other hand, requires space for exploration and experimentation with opportunities “only partially known” (Bauer & Bohlin, 2022). How does policy innovation occur?  This conference seeks to bring together a range of international voices to demonstrate how varying approaches towards internet policy are established, embodied and engaged with by…

Call for Papers, Submissions Closed

P&I Special Issue 2023 Call for Paper – Datafication. Platformisation. Metaverse. Global Internet Policy or a Fractured Communication Future?

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by Jonathon Hutchinson

Within our current online and hyper-connected lives, is it possible to have such a thing as global internet policy?

by Jonathon Hutchinson
Black fractured stone

*Submissions for this event have closed. Please refer to the event page for further details* Datafication. Platformisation. Metaverse. Global Internet Policy or a Fractured Communication Future? Special Issue Call for Papers, Volume 15, Issue 4 Datafication. Platformisation. Metaverse. What is the state of global internet policy? Within our current online and hyper-connected lives, is it possible to have such a thing as global internet policy? Building off the 2022 Policy & Internet Conference, this special issue addresses the complex and multiple perspectives of internet policy from around the globe. As we evolve through the Anthropocene and attempt to navigate the significant challenges humanity currently faces, we are consistently reminded of the most pressing critical issues of our epoch. Economic systems are the point of breaking, industrial action mobilised by unions is at an all-time high, inflation is rising, workers’ pay continues to fall, and the stability of our political systems has come into question. Our health systems are under unfathomable stress, refugee numbers are increasing through displacement, and the war in Ukraine continues, all of which adds to the growing global societal, economic and political pressures. And yet, concurrently, our connectivity through digital media and its surrounding environments is at an all-time high, arguably from the rise of technology players providing suites of social media platforms and its supporting infrastructures that enable a seamless and convenient, always-on lifestyle. The same app that enables us to chat with our friends and family can also book our rideshares, order our food, pay for our purchases and tempt us to become internet celebrities. What was once framed as user generated content activity has now become a normalised cultural pastime, as TikTok influencers feed the demotic turn that sees ordinary folk become internet superstars in rather small timeframes. At the same time, policymakers are reforming legislation to address the incomprehensible imbalance of power that is generated by technology giants. One of the immediate issues…

Black fractured stone
Call for Papers, Submissions Closed

Special Issue Call for Papers – The Regulation Turn?

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by Jonathon Hutchinson

Do these technologies offer ease of connectivity, or do they have the potential to be weaponised and misappropriated to further political agendas?

by Jonathon Hutchinson
typing on laptop

*Submissions for this event have closed. Please refer to the event page for further details* Policy & Internet Journal: CFP Special Issue – Issue 1, 2022 Special Issue Editors: Jonathon Hutchinson, University of Sydney & Milica Stilinovic, University of Sydney The Internet Regulation Turn? Policy, internet and technology With the recent media focus on the regulation of social media platforms within our society, users, citizens, human rights advocacy groups, policymakers and content producers have all questioned the validity of these communication technologies. Do these technologies offer ease of connectivity, or do they have the potential to be weaponised and misappropriated to further political agendas, disrupt democratic processes, and abuse an individual’s right to (or assumption of) privacy? Recently, we have observed governments calling on platforms to account for their misalignment with local media markets. Regulators are asking platform providers for increased transparency into their distribution processes. Advocacy groups are asking for increased visibility. The custodians of the internet (Gillespie, 2018) are asking for better tools to manage their communities. At the same time, users are questioning the uses of their data. Nonetheless, our societies are enjoying the benefits of our contemporary communication technologies for a variety of reasons. We see new markets emerging based on platform economic models, increased connectivity in times of physical isolation, new trends and connections are emerging, new cultural conventions are being forged between disparate individuals, and friends and families enjoy the increased ease and connectivity of communicating with their loved ones. To say ‘if you do not pay for the product, you are the product’ (Orlowski, 2020) grossly misrepresents the entirety of the social dilemma we have found ourselves in – a hyper- commercialised and politicised internet of the 2020s. To combat this, we are observing several versions of a ‘Balkinized splinternet’ (Lemley, 2020) emerging, where nations and users are designing and creating their own version of what was conceived as a way to share…

typing on laptop
Call for Papers, Submissions Closed

Call for Papers: Government, Industry, Civil Society Responses to Online Extremism

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by David Sutcliffe

Mapping and evaluating emerging public-private partnerships, technologies, and responses to online extremism.

by David Sutcliffe

The process of radicalization still lacks clarity, and relies on theorizing that is rife with assumptions. Image of flowers left at London Bridge in June 2017, by Gerry Popplestone (Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

*Submissions for this event have closed. Please refer to the event page for further details* We are calling for articles for a Special Issue of the journal Policy & Internet on “Online Extremism: Government, Private Sector, and Civil Society Responses”, edited by Jonathan Bright and Bharath Ganesh, to be published in 2019. The submission deadline is October 30, 2018. Issue Outline Governments, the private sector, and civil society are beginning to work together to challenge extremist exploitation of digital communications. Both Islamic and right-wing extremists use websites, blogs, social media, encrypted messaging, and filesharing websites to spread narratives and propaganda, influence mainstream public spheres, recruit members, and advise audiences on undertaking attacks. Across the world, public-private partnerships have emerged to counter this problem. For example, the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) organized by the UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate has organized a “shared hash database” that provides “digital fingerprints” of ISIS visual content to help platforms quickly take down content. In another case, the UK government funded ASI Data Science to build a tool to accurately detect jihadist content. Elsewhere, Jigsaw (a Google-owned company) has developed techniques to use content recommendations on YouTube to “redirect” viewers of extremist content to content that might challenge their views. While these are important and admirable efforts, their impacts and effectiveness is unclear. The purpose of this special issue is to map and evaluate emerging public-private partnerships, technologies, and responses to online extremism. There are three main areas of concern that the issue will address: (1) the changing role of content moderation, including taking down content and user accounts, as well as the use of AI techniques to assist; (2) the increasing focus on “counter-narrative” campaigns and strategic communication; and (3) the inclusion of global civil society in this agenda. This mapping will contribute to understanding how power is distributed across these actors, the ways in which technology is expected to address the…

The process of radicalization still lacks clarity, and relies on theorizing that is rife with assumptions. Image of flowers left at London Bridge in June 2017, by Gerry Popplestone (Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

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