Privacy Governing Knowledge in Public Facebook Groups for Political Activism

Sanfilippo, Madelyn Rose; Strandburg, Katherine J.

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Privacy Governing Knowledge in Public Facebook Groups for Political Activism

Preprint of article published by Taylor & Francis in Information, Communication and Society, Sept. 26, 2019

NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 20-12

23 Pages Posted: 9 Mar 2020 Last revised: 14 Apr 2020

See all articles by Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo

Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Katherine J. Strandburg

New York University School of Law

Date Written: September 26, 2019

Abstract

Social media is increasingly used to share information about political issues and coordinate political activism. This paper examines privacy as governance in online knowledge sharing and organizing within the Day Without Immigrants, March for Science, and Women’s March movements. Structured by the Governing Knowledge Commons (GKC) framework, the study illustrates how rules-in-use creatively support appropriate information flows and govern information resources to balance community objectives and privacy. Interviews, contextualized by participant surveys and Facebook data, illustrate: the importance of (1) polycentric governance and (2) private decision-making in public Facebook groups used by activists, and (3) privacy protecting institutions around common knowledge resources shared within and across movements.

Keywords: commons, privacy, online activism, knowledge commons

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Sanfilippo, Madelyn Rose and Strandburg, Katherine J., Privacy Governing Knowledge in Public Facebook Groups for Political Activism (September 26, 2019). Preprint of article published by Taylor & Francis in Information, Communication and Society, Sept. 26, 2019 , NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 20-12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3546342