Class Meetings: Thursdays, 1-4pm, 37-212
Instructors: Weitzner, Abelson, Fischer
Communication Instructors: Stickgold-Sarah, Trice
TA: Kevin Paeth
Click on the individual weeks below to see the overview and the assignments for each class, including the assignment to be completed as preparation before the class. Links will be updated throughout the course.
Each student will participate in writing a large-scale research & writing project with others in the class.
Email 6.4590-staff@mit.edu for general questions.
Note that there is an assignment due on Sept. 7, which is before the first class.
| Week | Lecture topic, readings, and assignment | Team project milestones | Workshops |
| 0: Pre-semester assignment | Assignment 0: Briefing Judicial Opinions, due 9/7 | ||
| 1: Introduction to Internet Policy | Class 9/8: Introduction to Internet Law and Policy | ||
| 2: First Amendment rights in print, broadcast, and on the Internet | Class 9/15: Internet Freedom of Expression Assignment due by 9/14, 5pm: Reno v ACLU Brief | ||
| 3: Internet Intermediary Liability, Section 230 content moderation + Transformers and large language models, (LLMs), industry concerns | Class 9/22: Intermediary Liability; Large Language Models; Content Moderation Before class: Readings and Blenderbot.ai | ||
| 4: EU Regulation of AI; Explainability and accountability (tech and policy) | Class 9/29: The European Union's DSA; Explainability | Due 9/30: Students submit preferences & schedules | Workshop #1: Research Practice & Policy Sources |
| 5: Mock Congressional Hearing | Class 10/06: Mock Congressional Hearing: Internet Intermediary Liability See document for individual roles and assignments (due at various times!) | Due 10/07: Individual research assignment: bibliography | Workshop #2: Policy Writing & Policy Genres |
| 6: Fourth Amendment basis and electronic surveillance | Class 10/13: Fourth Amendment Fundamentals See brief assignment | Workshop #3: Policy Reasoning & Collaboration | |
| 7: Location privacy | Class 10/20: Electronic Surveillance, Internet Data and Pervasive Sensor Networks Please read the cases and prepare for the in-class exercise | Due 10/21: Team plan | |
| 8: Encryption policy | Class 10/27: Encryption Policy | Workshop #4: Policy Structure: Summaries & Introductions | |
| 9: Moot Court | Class 11/03: Moot Court: Potter v US, 2022 See class page for assignment and preparation. | Due 11/06: Project proposal | |
| 10: Consumer privacy basics in the United States | Class 11/10: The How and Why Privacy? A US legal perspective | Workshop #5: Policy Structure: Body Arguments & Recommendations | |
| 11: EU approach to privacy | Class 11/17: Modern Privacy Laws and New Challenges | Due 11/18: Full draft | Workshop #6: Responding To Reviewer Comments |
| Thanksgiving (Nov 24-25) | |||
| 12: Privacy engineering and privacy technology | Class 12/1: No readings! | ||
| 13: Hearing on privacy legislation | Due 12/08: Final papers | ||
| Last class: Final Projects |