Past Events and News

McGannon Center Events

McGannon Center News

Yale ISP Paper Series News and Information Disorder in the 2020 Presidential Election

What role did misinformation play in the 2020 Presidential election? Along with several other researchers, Director of the McGannon Center Olivier Sylvain shared his thoughts on the issue for a new Yale ISP series with Knight Foundation.

The Future of Democracy with Sam Gill: Unpacking Online Speech

"With the click of a button, almost anyone in the world can post their thoughts, opinions or commentary online. How can we understand speech online and the policies that surround it?"

Webinar to Explore Discrimination and Other Harms Against Unseen Tech Laborers and Health Care Workers

Ridesharing apps, home assistants like Alexa, and social networks are marvels of the modern economy.

Free Expression, Harmful Speech and Censorship in a Digital World

Professor Olivier Sylvain contributed to a report put out by the Knight Foundation and Gallup that explores how free expression and harmful speech and the challenges each bring in social media and the digital world.

Recovering Tech’s Humanity

This Columbia Law Review Forum Essay is an invited response to Tim Wu’s Article, “Will Artificial Intelligence Eat the Law?.”

A Watchful Eye on Facebook’s Advertising Practices

Is the social media giant finally facing consequences for ads that discriminate?

Olivier Sylvain talks about Facebook's Oversight Board

After two years of discussion and planning, Facebook finally announced the first members of its Oversight Board, the body that will adjudicate problematic content cases for the social network.

McGannon Center Book Prize for 2019: Gray and Suri’s “Ghost Work”

It gives us great pleasure to announce that Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New Global Underclass (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by Mary L. Gray and Siddharth Suri is the winner of the McGannon Center book prize for a manuscript published in 2019.

McGannon Center Book Prize for 2018: Eubanks’ “Automating Inequality”

We are honored to announce that Virginia Eubank’s Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police and Punish the Poor has won our book prize for a manuscript published in 2018.

Register Now for “AntiSocial Media: Facebook and the Future Of Democracy”

Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy, will discuss how Facebook devolved from an innocent social site into a force that makes democracy a lot more challenging.

Discriminatory Designs on User Data

Exploring how Section 230's immunity protections may enable or elicit discriminatory behaviors online.

Recap: Participatory and Inclusive Design Processes

On April 6, Professor Ralph Vacca explored how design can be improved by including those the design seeks to serve.

New York Times: Facebook Vowed to End Discriminatory Housing Ads. Suit Says It Didn’t.

On March 27, 2018, New York Times reporter Charles V. Bagli wrote an interesting piece titled, “Facebook Vowed to End Discriminatory Housing Ads. Suit Says It Didn’t.”

Recap: How Big is Too Big?

Fordham Law Professor Zephyr Teachout discussed how companies like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft have grown to control many aspects of our public life, with concerning economic effects.

Recap: The Bronx Italian American History Initiative

On February 16, Jacqueline Reich, professor and chair of the Communication and Media Studies department, and Kathleen Lapenta, co-director of the Bronx Italian American History Initiative, discussed the oral history project and some of their preliminary findings.

Recap: The Innovation Agenda

On February 9, 2018, Prof. Baldwin-Philippi discussed the various ways cities and for-profit companies use technology to improve civic life and engage citizens.

On February 9, 2018, Prof. Baldwin-Philippi discussed the various ways cities and for-profit companies use technology to improve civic life and engage

On February 2, 2018, the Center’s Lunchtime Colloquium Series continued with a discussion of free speech and internet regulations with Prof. Arthur Hayes.