ITR: Understanding "Code": How Information Technologies Regulate Behavior

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

Particular protocols and mechanisms (e.g., "cookies," "finger" commands, the design of message headers), as embedded in commonly used information technologies such as the Internet, have the ability to affect experiences in online environments and to regulate behavior. A series of historical case studies will be conducted to understand how the use of these mechanisms can have social consequences. These case studies will encompass the historical development of the Internet as well as the ways in which social values such as free speech, privacy, and intellectual property rights have intersected these developments. Documentary methods and qualitative interviews will be used. The results of these case studies will allow a better understanding of the processes that build norms, customs, and consensus in online environments. Further, this research will aid in the development of theoretical models to assist policy makers in understanding how sensitivity to the design of IT (and its various mechanisms, protocols, etc.) may be an alternative to formulating new laws and regulations to achieve positive social outcomes from new information technologies. Finally, this research addresses the relationship between the commercialization and privatization of the Internet and our established constitutional and social values.