LIS5411 - Introduction to Information Policy
Welcome to the course, folks. Some recent developments within Canvas itself appear to have broken my workflow, but such is IT. Most recent readings are at the top of this page, further resources available at the immediately following links
Quick Calendar - with Assignment Schedule
Full Calendar with (some tentative) Readings
+Syllabus
Week 7 - Policy generally, and "age verification"
Good Basics-
https://media.odi.org/documents/11205.pdf
https://graydon2.dreamwidth.org/193447.html
Cuts to the chase: https://paulcairney.wordpress.com/2020/03/13/policy-analysis-in-750-words-classic-5-step-advice/
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https://doctorow.medium.com/privacy-preserving-age-verification-is-bullshit-0aefd53019e0
Week 6 - Social Media and Social Surplus
Social Media Is a Denial-of-Service Attack on Your Mind
Death of the private self: how fifteen years of Facebook changed the human condition | Facebook | The Guardian
For Rogue Twitter, You Need Burner Phone, Anonymous Email
Why RSS Still Beats Facebook and Twitter for Tracking News
RSS Is Better Than Twitter
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/tiktokers-speculate-meta-tiktok-ban/
https://techxplore.com/news/2021-11-facebook-dystopian-whistleblower-leaks-experts.html
https://www.fastcompany.com/90886959/twitter-alternatives-mastodon-t2-post-bluesky
https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/11/social-media-ban-children-countries-list/
https://www.pcmag.com/news/meta-joins-snap-tiktok-youtube-settle-social-media-addiction-case-kentucky
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Weath of Networks - Chapter 1
Playing With Toys While People are Dying | by Paul Kilduff-Taylor | Medium
Online communities are the best thing about the Internet - Biznology
How the Internet Is Saving Culture, Not Killing It - The New York Times
Teens Arent Partying Anymore
Cognitive Surplus - a more moral choice
Week 5 - Practical Anonymity, Practical Privacy
What Is Tor and Why Should I Use It?
This is what a Tor Supporter looks like: Laura Poitras | Tor Blog
No guarantees here, for information only: https://uglyduck.ca/blog-anonymously/
Why Pseudonymity Is Such an Important Concept | by Mark Suster | Both Sides of the Table
Facebook's Randi Zuckerberg: Anonymity Online 'Has To Go Away' | HuffPost
The Plot to Free North Korea With Smuggled Episodes of 'Friends' | WIRED
Obfuscation: how leaving a trail of confusion can beat online surveillance | Data protection | The Guardian
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Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have 'Nothing to Hide' - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education
https://web.archive.org/web/20210817005525/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/04/26/constitution-digital-privacy-loopholes-purchases/
https://neustadt.fr/essays/against-a-user-hostile-web/
http://www.livescience.com/37398-right-to-privacy.html
The Right of Privacy: Is it Protected by the Constitution?
Week 4 - Algorithms, Milkshakes and Privacy
The tech
How internet encryption works | Data protection | The Guardian
Public key cryptography - Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange (full version) - YouTube
TrueCrypt audit shows no sign of NSA backdoors, just some minor glitches | PCWorld
What is Cryptographic Hashing? MD5, SHA, and More
https://www.troyhunt.com/we-didnt-encrypt-your-password-we-hashed-it-heres-what-that-means/
https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/08/18/nists-new-password-rules-what-you-need-to-know/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/7-password-rules-security-experts-live-by-in-2025-the-last-one-might-surprise-you/
time permitting:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/How_bitcoin_works
http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/21/cryptocurrency-explainer/
https://mojoauth.com/blog/what-are-the-limitations-of-passkeys#introduction-the-promise-and-the-catch-of-passkeys
https://stateofsurveillance.org/news/password-managers-zero-knowledge-encryption-flaws-2026/
And finally, the best thing I've ever read on passwords.
./1401_08-12_mickens.pdf
Week 3 - Internet Regulation
Review last week and:
https://www.washburnlaw.edu/admissions/admitted/_docs/how-to-read-legal-opinion.pdf
https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/25a0002p-06.pdf
Week 2 - Telecommunications Regulation
Browse: https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/headlines
The History of the Internet in a Nutshell
The Internet: Computer Network Hierarchy | HowStuffWorks
How big telecom smothers city run broadband
Rural America Is Building Its Own Internet Because No One Else Will
Nationalize the Internet: Why the Fight for Net Neutrality Is Just the Start
The coronavirus crisis proves internet should be a public utility
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/03/nx-s1-5247840/net-neutrality-fcc-struck
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/04/07/federal-consumer-protection-is-dead-the-fate-of-net-neutrality-warned-you-it-was-coming/
Week 1 - Intros
Intro to Info Policy
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/02/policy_vs_techn.html
Interesting - https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/law-policy-and-it/2023/05/01/real-reason-information-policy
The Econ I'm (not) talking about
How economics became a religion
On Econ
Wealth of Networks - Benkler
The Attention Economy and the Net
On Law
Transcendental Nonsense
The Law of the Horse
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