Module 2 Flashcards
Richard Spinello: Cyberethics Chapter 2 - Information & Power - Regulating and Governing Networked Technologies
“the unprecedented level of disinformation (and) sensational new stories,” during the 2016 Pres. Election, “that had no basis in fact”
By fake news, we mean something that is false, lacks veracity; something that is NOT true. And by “news” we mean information, or, more broadly speaking, unbiased information that is circulated via various media outlets.
What is Snopes?
Snopes is a non-partisan website that checks the veracity of claims, political or otherwise, that make their way around the internet. Founded by David Mikkelson.
Fake News - according to Amol Rajan
False information deliberately circulated by those who have scant regard for the truth, but hope to advance particular (often extreme) political causes and make money out of online traffic.
False information that is circulated by journalists who do not recognize it is false.
The third kind of fake news isn’t really fake at all. It’s simply news that some people don’t like to acknowledge, and wish to silence.
From Headline to Photograph, a Fake News Masterpiece - Scott Shane
How do we spot Fake News? Why do we fall for it? What is it that creates this in us?
Start by assuming that not all the news in your feed is true. Then, question the source. Look for confirmation. Check other sites. We fall for it, because if we begin to believe that a lot of people have seen it, and agree, we believe that a divide already exists. With that division, we feel the need to “form” our own opinion and choose a side - a sense of belonging and a sense to resolve conflict. We are also inclined to agree with information that already aligns with our current beliefs.
How to fix Fake News - Regina Rini
Testimony. Testimony happens any time you believe something because someone else vouched for the information. This means you are agreeing to believe secondhand knowledge.
Epistemic Reputation: reliability of secondhand knowledge comes from social norms. After a little time we assess the character of the person as someone we accept or reject as credible.
A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace - John Perry Barlow
Barlow describes the government as “Giants of flesh and steel”. States that industrial bodies should remain separate from the Cyberspace. Since cyberspace doesn’t occupy any physical space, no country or government can lay claim to it.
“Cyberspace is the new home of Mind”.
According to Barlow, cyberspace cannot be claimed by any country or government.
Yet, in the U.S. - by law - the Internet is currently categorized as a public works utility. A public utility is a business that furnishes an everyday necessity to the public at large such as electricity, gas, water, sewerage, etc. With the FCC ruling, broadband internet services are not included within this definition of public utility.
Richard Spinello’s early history of the Intenet.
The origin of the basic infrastructure of the Internet can be traced back to the search for a “survivable communications” system.
“package switching” developed in the late 1960’s. The Internet developed out of a research agency at the DOD known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and was known as the ARPANET.
In the early 1980’s, ARPANET is divided into two networks:
ARPANET remains, but it splits off another network called MILNET. Military Operations Network. Designated for unclassified United States Department of Defense traffic.
Net Neutrality.
End-to-end principle: a network architectural standard that has intelligence (like software apps) located at the ends of the network, but not in the network itself. The core of the network is simply data movement. It serves to transfer data from one destination or “end” to another without inspection of, or discrimination against certain forms of data. So, there was openness already built-in to the Internet’s design.
What is Commercial Reasonableness according to Christopher Yoo, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania
Argued against net-neutrality by promoting what he calls, Commercial Reasonableness:
A test guided by six nonexclusive factors plus a catchall:
- impact on present and future competition
- impact on consumers
- impact on speech and civic engagement
- technical characteristics
- “good faith” negotiation
- industry practices
- other factors
