Carolyn Gideon
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Tufts University
The Ethics of Cyberactivism Workshop
University of Warwick
21 February 2014
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Economics: Market Failure
Social Benefit Cost Analysis
Political Participation
Free Speech
J.M. Bauer, M.J.G. van Eeten /
Telecommunications Policy 33 (2009) 706–
719
Cost of
Cyberactivism
Supply (private
cost)
.
Market Equilibrium
Demand (private value)
QMarket
Quantity of
Cyberactivism
Spillovers:
Cost of
Cyberactivism
Cost to 3 rd Parties
Total Social Cost
Supply (private
cost)
.
Market Equilibrium
Demand (private value)
QOptimalQMarket
Quantity of
Cyberactivism
Spillovers:
Cost of
Cyberactivism
Market Equilibrium
Benefit to 3 rd Parties
.
Supply (private
cost)
Social Value
Demand (private value)
QMarket QOptimal
Quantity of
Cyberactivism
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Benefits to all member of
society over time
◦ Expected issue awareness
◦ Expected benefit of
political participation
◦ Expected benefit free
speech
◦ Expected benefit of
advancement of
cause/issue
◦ Knowledge of network
vulnerability
◦ Etc.
Total Benefits
>
<
?
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Costs to all members
of society over time
◦ Direct cost of ‘hacking’
activity
◦ Cost to website owner
◦ Cost to others who
cannot use the website
◦ Additional security costs
◦ Reduced trust in network
reliability
◦ Etc.
Total Costs
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Who is defining benefits and costs?
How are they quantified?
Is there a true social optimal amount of
cyberactivism? And could we identify it?
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Political Contest Model (Gadi Wolfsfeld 1997)
◦ Political conflict includes competition over media
◦ Competition for access to media (structural)
◦ Competition for frame of media message (meaning)
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Cyber version
◦ Exceptional behavior?
◦ Creating access?
◦ Revision of relative power?
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[Can Manufactured Consent survive the
Internet?]
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Meaning of the mask
Civil disobedience and consequences
Dilemma of distributed forum
◦ Directed content consumption
◦ Where is the debate?
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Shift costs and benefits to actors
◦ Legal
◦ Technical
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Maximize benefits s.t. constraint on harm
Minimize harm s.t. constraint on speech
limitation