Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society

HLS student Bradley Pough ’18 and Qian Wan, a mechanical engineering Ph.D. candidate at Harvard's Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, have co-written “Digital Analytics and the Fight Against Blight: A Guide for Local Leaders,” a paper that provides data-driven recommendations city officials can use to battle urban housing blight.

Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain ’95, the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School, professor of computer science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, was recently named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Ruth Okediji, a leading scholar in international intellectual property law and global economic regulation, will join the faculty of Harvard Law School as a tenured professor in July.

How best to respond to the "fake news" phenomenon was the subject of a panel discussion sponsored by the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, titled “Fake News, Concrete Responses: At the Nexus of Law, Technology, and Social Narratives,” held Thursday at Harvard Law School's Wasserstein Hall.

For the first time, Harvard Law School and the MIT Media Lab have collaborated to host an innovative January-term course, “Internet & Society: The Technologies and Politics of Control,” dedicated to understanding the legal and technical dynamics of the digital world.

Growing up in Mexico City as a self-proclaimed geek, Berkman Klein Center Fellow and self-taught computer programmer Paola Villarreal has been developing open source data tools, including interactive maps, to explore inequality in Boston-area justice, health, education, housing, and transportation.

Last month, the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University hosted outgoing FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to discuss his tenure with Harvard Law School Clinical Professor Susan Crawford, outlining some of the most important successes and failures of his administration, and looking at what may lie ahead under new leadership.

On Jan. 5 President Barack Obama ’91 announced several key administration posts, including Jonathan Zittrain ’95 as appointee for member of the National Museum and Library Services Board (NMLSB).

The Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund will support interdisciplinary research to ensure that AI develops in a way that is ethical, accountable, and advances the public interest.

Earlier this year Urs Gasser, professor of practice and executive director of the Berkman Klein Center, and John Palfrey, Center director and former HLS professor published 'Born Digital: How Children Grow Up in a Digital Age,' an expansion of their critically acclaimed 2008 book 'Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives.'

In November, the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program celebrated its 10th anniversary, marking its evolution into a robust program of global clinical work in dispute systems design, innovative pedagogy around teamwork, and expanded course offerings in multiparty negotiation, group decision-making, teams and facilitation.

This fall at a symposium presented by the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, representatives from academia, government and civil liberties organizations came together to examine the present state of play with respect to government transparency and freedom of information.

Rebecca Tushnet, a leading First Amendment scholar, will join the faculty of Harvard Law School as the inaugural Frank Stanton Professor of First Amendment Law.

It’s been eight years since Massachusetts voters decriminalized the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. On Tuesday, they’ll decide whether to tax and regulate the sale and adult consumption of it. The initiative, known as Question 4, would legalize and create a commission to regulate marijuana in Massachusetts.

By now, many people are familiar with bitcoin. What’s less well known is the currency’s technological underpinning, the blockchain, an emergent technology that could reshape financial and property markets, and the legal frameworks that support them.

As part of Boston’s HUBweek, HLS Clinical Professor Susan Crawford addressed a gathering of more than 100 people and made the case for her new Responsive Communities Initiative, a three-pronged program aimed at addressing issues of social justice, civil liberties, and economic development involving high-speed Internet access and government use of data.

‘Why does the Internet matter?’ Harvard Law School professor Jonathan Zittrain asked his audience this question during a talk last week at the newly-named Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. The answer, it seems, parallels the history, mission and ethos of the center itself.

A number of new fellows, faculty associates, and affiliates will join the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University for the 2016-2017 academic year.

HLS Professors Tomiko Brown-Nagin and Jonathan Zittrain ’95 have been elected members of the American Law Institute--the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law.

Dr. Paul Beran will join the Harvard Law School’s Islamic Legal Studies Program as executive director of SHARIAsource—the online platform designed to provide content and context on Islamic law.

Harvard Law School and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University have announced that Michael R. Klein LL.M. '67 has made a gift of $15 million to the Berkman Center, which in recognition, will now be known as the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.