News and Research articles on Users

Virtual worlds players – consumers or citizens?

Edina Harbinja, University of Strathclyde
PUBLISHED ON: 15 Oct 2014 DOI: 10.14763/2014.4.329

Recognising the concept of constitutionalisation of virtual worlds (such as Second Life or World of Warcraft), this paper argues for a more nuanced approach towards the recognition of virtual assets of users.

Big data, big responsibilities

Primavera De Filippi, Research and Studies Center of Administrative Science (CERSA/CNRS), Université Paris II (Panthéon-Assas)
PUBLISHED ON: 13 Jan 2014 DOI: 10.14763/2014.1.227

The legal and moral obligations of private online operators collecting and processing large amounts of data are unclear. Researcher Primavera de Filippi explains why.

Fooling the user? Modding in the video game industry

Merlin Münch, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
PUBLISHED ON: 19 Jun 2013 DOI: 10.14763/2013.2.139

Over the years, the video game industry has grown into one of the largest, most profitable entertainment industries in the world. Originality and innovation - instead of fueling competition and guaranteeing a diverse market - are regarded by many as risky ventures. Some would even argue that innovation in the industry is not really innovative at all anymore. It doesn’t come as a surprise then, that user-driven innovation has come to play a considerably important role for the industry in recent years.

Consent under pressure and the Right to Informational Self-Determination

Julian Staben, Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG)
PUBLISHED ON: 17 Dec 2012 DOI: 10.14763/2012.4.265

Name, address, location: In order to use internet services one easily agrees to the processing of personal data. But what is the future value of a quickly checked box?