Headed to RightsCon 2016?  Lots of folks from the Berkman Center are. We're leading discussions on topics ranging from online hate speech, to protecting users rights, to mapping the landscape for online content romoval requests, to transparency reporting.  Check out this list of sessions for a look at some of the things we're working on.

Wednesday, March 30th

Hardly a Laughing Matter: Could Sexist Humor Amount to Dangerous Speech? 2:30pm, with Asad Baig, Furhan Hussain, Chinmayi Arun, Susan Benesch, Mallory Knodel, Japleen Pasricha, Mariana Valente We wish to explore the link between sexist humor online and the concept of "dangerous speech", as expounded by Susan Benesch, particularly in different contexts around the world. The moderator will start off by having a conversation regarding the emergence of online sexist humor in Pakistan - from restaurant owners defending overtly sexist marketing strategies online and Pakistani Men's Rights Activists calling themselves "meninists" and berating women unapologetically, to a widespread display of homophobia (and misogyny) by Pakistani celebrities after the same-sex marriage verdict. (more)

Breaking Barriers: New Frontiers of Connectivity and Access 2:30pm, with Jonathan Blandford, Stephane Coillet-Matillon, Anders Finn, Gary Fowlie, Malavika Jayaram, Sam Klein, Adele Vrana The panel will provide the opportunity to present different positions on the existing barriers to access information (i.e. affordability, lack of telecommunications infrastructure and awareness), and discuss the different strategies that are being implemented to solve these, and the pros and cons of such. Specifically, the panel will present and discuss zero-rating platforms, offline solutions, innovative broadcasting solutions, and other new forms of connectivity. (more)  

Thursday March 31st

Online Hate Speech: Identification and Strategies 9:00am, with Chinmayi Arun, Susan Benesch, Rob Faris, Judith Lichtenberg, Jillian C. York This session will bring together people who are concerned about different facets of hate speech (which we see as including gendered hate speech). The object is to get a diversity of stakeholders to speak candidly with each other about online hate speech. The discussion will focus on contentious issues like, anonymity, privacy, and jurisdictional concerns that come up in the context of legal intervention. (more)

Remedying Wrongs – Ensuring, Enabling and Empowering Access to Remedy in the ICT Sector 9:00am, with Vivek Krishnamurthy, Maryant Fernández, Sarah McGrath, Dominic Renfry Businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights. This means that business should avoid infringing on human rights, prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts, and remediate adverse human rights impacts that do occur. This latter issue – remedying wrongs where they occur – has been largely neglected in the business and human rights discourse. This workshop will address this gap by highlighting the range of potential remedial mechanisms at play in the ICT secto