SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
CMNS 435-4

INFORMATION RIGHTS IN THE INFORMATION AGE

Overview:

This course surveys information rights -- one foundation of a democratic society -- and how those rights, ironically, are being challenged in the so-called information age. These rights include: the right of citizens to have access to essential information; the right of groups and nations to communicate their views and values to the rest of the world; the right of individuals to control access to information about themselves; the right of creators and society to benefit from original works. We look at the origins of these rights, how they affect our lives, and the major organizations and institutions shaping them: national and international government agencies, the courts, the information industry (communications carriers, computer network companies. content providers), public interest and activist groups. How does the trend to commercialization of information affect information rights? What is the future of public information and libraries? We survey the evolution of national information policies, and the role played by increasingly by the Internet. The key question is: Will the Internet facilitate or impede the realization of information rights? Finally we look at means to reinvigorate information rights. Our focus will be variously local, national and international.

Prerequisites:

75 credit hours, including CMNS 261 and ONE of CMNS 253, 333, 334, 335 or 353. Students without the prerequisite may be admitted to the course with the permission of the instructor. Students will need access to the Internet on a regular basis.

Required and Additional Readings:

A course reader will be available for purchase from the SFU Bookstore. Some documents will be available on the Internet. A detailed outline, list of readings and description of assignments will be provided at the first class.

Proposed Grading Distribution:

(to be confirmed at the first class)

- Privacy/Access report (due 24 May) 20%
- Mid-term take-home question (due 31 May) 15%
- Group presentation / report (Class 5&6) 20%
- Term paper (due 22 June) 35%
- Participation 10%

Class-by-Class outline:

Class 1: Introduction
A. OVERVIEW OF ISSUES AND PLAYERS
Class 2: Information rights and responsibilities – a survey
Class 3: Privacy rights in the public sector
Class 4: The role of governments and Canada’s information policy -- who wins? who loses?
Class 5: The role of the information industry – giants of content, communication, computing
Class 6: Citizen alternatives -- from access to activism
B. THE QUEST FOR CITIZEN INFORMATION RIGHTS
Class 7: The right to privacy in the private sector
Class 8: The right to access government information in the digital age
Class 9: The right to benefit from works of the mind – intellectual property or public resource?
Class 10: The right to access information services -- libraries in the digital age
Class 11: The right to access on-line communication – a public or commercial Internet?
C. CONCLUSION
Class 12: Do university students have information rights? – the commercialization of research and teaching