{"id":131960,"date":"2023-08-09T00:03:34","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T04:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=131960"},"modified":"2023-08-08T16:37:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T20:37:32","slug":"stanford-georgetown-team-up-on-governance-of-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/stanford-georgetown-team-up-on-governance-of-the-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"Stanford, Georgetown team up on \u2018governance\u2019 of the Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stanford is currently being sued for its role in censoring information on the 2020 presidential election<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Stanford University, Georgetown University and a nonprofit called Project Liberty want to establish standards for the \u201cgovernance\u201d of the Internet and \u201cemerging technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new project comes as Stanford is currently facing a lawsuit<\/a> for its role in a collaboration effort with the federal government called the Election Integrity Partnership that flagged social media content.<\/p>\n

The new consortium is \u201cworking together to shape emerging technologies and a new internet designed and governed for the common good,\u201d according to the initial news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an extraordinary opportunity for Stanford\u2019s interdisciplinary researchers to join forces with other leading experts and play a larger role in shaping an ethical future for our digital society,\u201d Marc Tessier-Lavigne stated in the initial announcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the time he made these statements about \u201cshaping an ethical future,\u201d Tessier-Lavigne served as Stanford\u2019s president. He has since resigned following an investigation into research misconduct<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stanford has not responded to two emailed requests from The College Fix<\/em> in the past month for comment on what safeguards there are to ensure it does not censor content and for more information on the initiative.<\/p>\n

The university will team up with Project Liberty, an initiative founded by entrepreneur Frank McCourt. One of its goals<\/a> is to \u201cimprove our society and revolutionize social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix<\/em> asked the group if it had any concerns the project would lead to online censorship and what its specific goals were, including what an \u201cethical future\u201d looked like.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe intention of Project Liberty is to build an alliance and decentralize control over the future of the internet,\u201d Elizabeth Caputo, head of strategic initiatives, told The Fix<\/em> via email.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t presume to know the exact way forward for the future of the internet,\u201d she also said in her email. \u201cBut we do know that by collaborating and decentralizing control under the purpose of the common good, we can get closer every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> Columbia professor calls for censorship of conservative media<\/a><\/p>\n

Project Liberty wants to \u201caccelerate the world\u2019s transition to an open, inclusive data economy so that citizens have ownership, control and economic opportunity, not exploitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said there is \u201climited time to get this right and build new foundations that are scalable,\u201d with reference to a user\u2019s \u201ccontrol and ownership over [their data].\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should not entrust the mental health of our youth, the outcomes of our democratic elections and the ownership of our private information to the hands of a few powerful people,\u201d Caputo said, of the effort that involved a handful of universities and nonprofits.<\/p>\n

A former chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee who now works on Big Tech issues shared his concerns with the initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must be wary of anything done in the tech industry for the \u2018greater good,\u2019\u201d Article III Project President Mike Davis told The Fix<\/em> in a media statement, in apparent reference to the initiative\u2019s promise to create \u201ca new internet designed and governed for the common good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStanford is ground zero for the battle over whether Americans should be allowed to speak freely online or be muffled into only the narratives that the censorship professionals approve,\u201d Davis said. \u201cAny effort to mold digital rights and processes should be nowhere near Stanford, which has played a central role in limiting Americans\u2019 free speech rights online.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> Columbia ‘First Amendment’ expert supports gov’t ‘content moderation’<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGE: Brian A Jackson\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

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