Protecting the Internet as a Public Commons

The American Academy is exploring alternative outcomes for the future Internet with the goal of identifying social, legal, economic, and technical factors that might influence those outcomes. For computer scientists and information technologists, technical protocols appear basic to the secure operation of the Internet, but the social issues of trust, power and control, and identity also underlie the security of Internet communication.

The Fall 2011 Dædalus examines trust, privacy, and security on the Internet. Essays from computer scientists, political scientists, sociologists, and legal scholars consider social and political participation online, the consequences of being disconnected in a digital society, and the roles of government, industry, and private citizens in ensuring the security and utility of the future Internet. Authors include guest editor David Clark (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Lee Sproull (New York University), Coye Cheshire (University of California, Berkeley), Helen Nissenbaum (New York University), John Horrigan (TechNet), R. Kelly Garrett (Ohio State University), Paul Resnick (University of Michigan), Kay Lehman Schlozman (Boston College), Sidney Verba (Harvard University), Henry E. Brady (University of California, Berkeley), Deirdre Mulligan (University of California, Berkeley), Fred Schneider (Cornell University), L. Jean Camp (Indiana University), Yochai Benkler (Harvard University), and Vinton G. Cerf (Google, Inc.).

The Academy organized a briefing at the House of Representatives on November 2, 2011, to discuss new models for Internet privacy and security. The briefing was held in coordination with Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Internet Caucus. The Academy also met with top privacy and cybersecurity officials from the National Security Staff, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communication Commission, and the Departments of State and Commerce to discuss how these models could inform federal Internet policies.

Return to Science, Technology, and Global Security