“It is conceivable, however limited this category might be, that you could have information that … might be subject to one of these laws that is of public importance that might relate to the conduct of a public official,” says Jeff Hermes, director of the Digital Media Law Project at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Imagine a politician engaging in acts he or she publicly denounces, Hermes said. Would that be protected from being shared? Should it, if it serves the public interest?

via Anti-‘revenge porn’ group focusing on state bans, for now.

The innovations of the past few years, initially so exhilarating, show ever more downsides. A nerd turned sceptic, Jonathan Zittrain, warns that “rank and file users see the internet’s operation as a mystery they could not possibly hope to affect”.

via Empire of digital chip meets nemesis: the law of diminishing political returns | Simon Jenkins | Comment is free | The Guardian.

“Hacking has a storied history: it connotes the joy of tinkering, of exploration, of learning,” computer science professor Jonathan L. Zittrain wrote in an email. “Confusingly, it’s also come to mean breaking into restricted systems.”

via In And Around Language: “Hack” | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson.

Spotlight: You’ve been involved in issues surrounding the internet in so many different capacities, from being a director at the Berkman Center, to writing about bullying online, to your role with the Digital Public Library of America. What is going on here?

via John Palfrey on Challenging and Protecting Students in the Digital Age | Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning.

Josh Singer: I took a class called “The Internet and Society,” taught by Jonathan Zittrain, when I was at Harvard Law School about 12 years ago.

via Q&A with Josh Singer, Screenwriter of “The Fifth Estate”.

Further, the definition might de-incentivize innovation in news production and distribution by limiting shield protections to traditional outlets and journalists. That would be problematic because the digital revolution is dispersing the production and distribution of news. The concern here is that the Internet has created what Yochai Benkler calls the “networked fourth estate,” which combines “elements of both traditional and novel forms of news media.”

via Why Defining a Journalist Is Messy, But Crucial | Mediashift | PBS.

Open access to research is still held back by misunderstandings repeated by people who should know better, says Peter Suber

via Open access: six myths to put to rest | Higher Education Network | Guardian Professional.

The lack of legal options for whistleblowers after Wikileaks | Marketplace.org.

“The Fifth Estate” screenwriter Josh Singer sat down with Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson above right, with Singer at the Brattle Theatre Wednesday night before an advance screening of the much-buzzed about film starring Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. After the screening, an array of brainy boldfacers — including Lawrence Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain, Yochai Benkler, and Ethan Zuckerman — were scheduled to take part in a panel discussion moderated by NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer.

via ‘The Fifth Estate’ screenwriter sits down with Charles Nesson – Names – The Boston Globe.

“Smartphones are going to start doing more of the tracking, and more people have them already and don’t have to buy separate devices,” says Sara Watson, a fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

via BBC News – Can Nike’s Fuelband really motivate you to exercise?.