[Air-L] New book: Lawless: the secret rules that govern our digital lives (Cambridge, 2019)

[Nicolas Suzor]

Hi everyone! Apologies for cross posts and self-promotion.

I'm pleased to announce that my new book, 'Lawless', is out now with Cambridge University Press.

The first half of the book is designed as an accessible review of the difficult policy trade-offs in regulating platforms. The second half advances a vision for the self-constitutionalization of digital intermediaries -- the development of real limits on the exercise of power, and the creation of new institutions and new collaborations that are able to hold both private companies and governments to account against due process and human rights norms.

The book is now available at Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Lawless-Secret-Rules-Govern-Digital/dp/1108740472/) and elsewhere, but best of all, there's a free PDF available of the almost-final text: https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/ack26/. 

There's also a blog post overview here: https://digitalsocialcontract.net/lawless-2910ee226bfa

Blurb:
Rampant abuse, hate speech, censorship, bias, and disinformation -- our Internet has problems. It is governed by technology companies -- search engines, social media platforms, and infrastructure providers -- whose hidden rules influence what we are allowed to see and say. In Lawless, Nicolas P. Suzor presents gripping examples of exactly how tech companies govern our digital environment and how they bend to pressure from governments and other powerful actors to censor and control the flow of information online. We are at a constitutional moment -- an opportunity to rethink the basic rules of how the Internet is governed.

Suzor offers a vision of a vibrant, diverse, and flourishing internet that can protect our fundamental rights from the lawless rule of tech. The culmination of more than ten years of original research, this groundbreaking work should be read by anyone who cares about the internet and the future of our shared social spaces.

Your friend and mine, Tama Leaver, recently called it a 'Must Read': https://twitter.com/tamaleaver/status/1163641856384573440

Nice things that other great folks have said about it:

'Lawless is realistic but optimistic about how things on the Internet got so bad and what it will take to fix them. Suzor compellingly describes how constitutionalism and the rule of law can adapt to digital spaces.' James Grimmelmann

'In Lawless, Nicolas P. Suzor doesn't just raise questions about the power tech companies wield, he sets out to answer them, with urgency and care. He offers a lucid, ambitious, wide-ranging, and cautiously hopeful analysis of how platforms govern - and how they should - that comes at just the right moment.' Tarleton Gillespie

'Suzor's book is a critically important account on the cutting edge of a global sea change in how we imagine our rights will be protected -- or not -- in a world connected by networked technology.' Kate Klonick

'Suzor takes readers on a journey through the challenges and pitfalls of Internet governance. His book is a thoughtful examination of why the constitutional values of legitimacy, transparency and due process are the touchstones we need for a better internet.' Primavera De Filippi

'Suzor's book is a truly thorough look at one of today's most pressing issues and provides real guidance on how we can move forward, together.' Jillian York

Kind regards


Nic

--
Nicolas Suzor <n.suzor at qut.edu.au>; http://nic.suzor.net
Professor, QUT Law School: http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/suzor
Chapter Lead, Creative Commons Australia: http://creativecommons.org.au
Deputy Chair, Digital Rights Watch: http://digitalrightswatch.org.au
Chief Investigator, QUT Digital Media Research Centre: http://www.qut.edu.au/research/dmrc