This document outlines a presentation on new media activism. It will discuss what new media activism is, how it provides new opportunities for gender and online activism, and the differences between online and public activism. It will also cover perspectives on intellectual property, surveillance, and hacktivism in the context of new media activism. The purpose is to continuously research and discuss the increasing influence of the internet on activism.

1. By: C. Schubert, L. Bergman, A. Shulipa and A. Gng
Group 5

2. Outline of the presentation
 Purpose with our presentaion
 What is New Media Activism?
 Gender and Online Activism – new
opportunities for women?
 Online vs. Public Activism
 Intellectual property perspectives
 Surveillance – there are two sides
 Hacktivism
 Summary of our literature review

3. What is the purpose of this?
The
increasing
influence and
impact that
the tool –
internet – has
have to
continously
be
scrutinized,
researched
and
discussed.
Otherwise we
won’t be able
to keep up.

4. New Media Activism - Definition
New media
activism
differs from
traditional
activism
since being
more reliant
on
technological
competence
and mobile
devices and
being more
geographicall
y dispersed.
Media is:
- Medium to communicate
- Interact and execute
- Create meaning
Activism is:
- The intent to change or make
history.

5. Gender in the context of new media activism

6. Gender and New Media Activism
 The percentage of women included as
news subjects only increased from 17
percent to 24 percent between the
years of 1995 and 2010.
 Only 4 percent of the news stories
published online challenges gender
stereotypes while 42 percent reinforce
them

7. Online vs. Public Sphere Activism
Can this type of activism lead
to social/political change? Or
is it only public sphere activism
that can create an impact?

8. What really makes a difference?
 New opportunities
 Risk of ’Slacktivism’
 Extract the strengths from both sides
 Steps forward

9. Perspectives of Intellectual
Property in Media Activism
 Three key issues being examined here;
 firstly, the commodification of that
process;
 secondly, the issues of propriety and
 finally, the diffusion of the private vs.
public delineation raising issues of
privacy.

10. Perspectives of Intellectual
Property in Media Activism
 in particular copyright, increasing creeping
commodification of knowledge and the
corporatization of its structure (Scholz, 2008:362).
 Assertion of ownership over uploads on blogs and
social networks, often in the form of an implied
license.
 E.g., on Facebook, the copyright ownership of that
picture is then transferred onto Facebook until it is
deleted or the account is closed
(http://www.facebook.com/terms.php).

11. Perspectives of Intellectual
Property in Media Activism
2 opposite directions:
- <-emergence of the ‘copyleft’ and the creative commons
on the one hand
- ->Increase copyright assertions –e.g., Digital Rights
Managements; expansion of TRIPS plus regimes (from
WTO to Bilateral agreements)

12. Perspectives of Intellectual
Property in Media Activism
 Diffusion of the dichotomy of private vs. public
delineation that raises not only the issues of
increasing commodification but also its
privacy and the controls of personal
autonomy .
 Not easy to migrate or leave- entrenched
communities and as captive audience –e.g.,
Facebook
 Centralized – means easier to control and
manipulate e.g., from targeted commercials to
state surveillance.

13. Perspectives of Intellectual
Property in Media Activism
 Dichotomy of online and offline lives are also
diffused!
 Notion of knowledge, its meaning and space
is contextualized and contested in
cyberspace (Lovink, 2007)
 Most coherent global legislation is TRIPS but
application is fragmented while regionalism or
bi-lateralism add further layer of obligations

14. Perspectives of Intellectual
Property in Media Activism
 Regulatory lacuna and global agreement and/or
understanding of normative practices
 Opportunities for Media Activism But also
Challenges
 Media Activism –premised on fundamental
rights of expression

15. Surveillance
 New tools and technology have opened
the door of opportunity for sharing,
creating, and distributing content.
BUT also - to STEAL content.
 Today all the information about the person
is in provider’s hands.
 People start to worry about their private life. People’s awareness
causes deviance and social activity. As a result different social
movements appear.
 Many organizations and foundations reacted to problems of
communication privacy online. They develop toolsets and
software that help to protect information.

16. Hacktivism – What is that?
Form of
Digital
Activism
Hacking +
activism
Hacking for
a cause
Raise
awareness
• Hacktivism – new term used to describe a type of
computer hacking for political or social change.
• Question: Is hacktivism a truly civil disobedience of the
computer age or just a group of bored computer geniuses
with too much time on their hands?
• Hackers join forces with activists – hacking for a cause.
• Hacktivism could be understood as the writing of code to
promote political ideology:
promoting expressive politics,
free speech, human rights, and
information ethics through
software development.

17. Summary of our presentation
 Public sphere activism has a real
competitor
 Are those still my pictures? Rights
after uploading property
 How to protest online but staying
inside the law – Hacktivism
 How to engage people in both
spheres – the future challenge!