Public Lectures

Current lectures

Hosted by the Information Systems & Innovation Group 

The Google Safari-Gate Case: Issues of Governance and Accountability

Abstract:

In July the United States Federal Trade Commission levied a record $22.5 million fine against Google after the company had deceptively tracked users of iPhone, iPad and Mac computers by circumventing privacy protections on the Safari web browser.

The Commission stated that Google had exploited a technical loophole in Safari to mislead users into believing they were protected against third-party advertising. Instead of such advertising being blocked by default, the browser privacy settings were surreptitiously altered and millions of users found themselves tracked by cookies planted by Google’s DoubleClick advertising company.

The case raises important questions not only of accountability, but also of the often-delicate balance that exists between the need for companies to operate successfully in a competitive, innovative environment while meeting the increasingly complex demands of regulation. Gaining a deeper awareness of the dynamics of the Safari case may lead to a clearer understanding of how to build future safeguards and improvements.

On September 17th the LSE’s Information Systems & Innovation Group will launch the “Under the Scalpel” event series with a roundtable discussion about these extraordinary events. Jonathan Mayer, the Stanford researcher who discovered the practice will keynote the event, which will be followed by a discussion about implications of the ruling and the lessons that were learned for corporate accountability. Leading UK lawyer Dan Tench will present an analysis of the legal implications of the situation.

The roundtable will be moderated by ISIG’s Professor Chrisanthi Avgerou. Google has been invited to participate in the event.

2012 has been a troubled year for Google with continuing controversy over its services. The French privacy authority CNIL is currently investigating the company over its new amalgamated privacy policy, unlawful WiFi collection during the Streetview operation continues to attract the attention of lawmakers while Norway has declared Google Analytics unlawful.

This event will explore issues of governance and accountability, and will consider the challenges of maintaining innovation while ensuring that the rights of consumers are respected.

 

Past lectures

LSE SU Alternative Investments Society and Department of Management public lecture

Start Your Business in 7 Days

On Dragons' Den, James Caan saw over 1,000 budding entrepreneurs pitch their ideas from anything that ranged from the bizarre to the revolutionary.  Having spent the past 30 years starting, building and growing businesses, James has become recognised as one of the UK's most prominent experts on entrepreneurship.  His talk will take you through the journey of an entrepreneur, the pathway to a successful business, but also the ability to recognise when an idea is not a business, potentially saving you the investment of valuable time and money.

James Caan is one of the UK's most celebrated businessmen.  Having built global multi-million pound recruitment companies, he now has a portfolio of over 30 businesses within his private equity firm, Hamilton Bradshaw.  He has consistently followed the mantra of "backing people with passion" and invests in entrepreneurs across a number of sectors including real estate, recruitment and professional services. View a video of the event.|

The Darwin Economy - liberty, competition, and the common good

Who was the greater economist - Adam Smith or Charles Darwin? Robert Frank, New York Times economics columnist and best-selling author of The Economic Naturalist, predicts that within the next century Darwin will unseat Smith as the intellectual founder of economics. View a video of the event|

 

Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: the difference and why it matters

Developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of any leader. Professor Richard Rumelt shows that there has been a growing and unfortunate tendency to equate motherhood and apple-pie values and fluffy packages of buzzwords with "strategy". View a video of the event|

 

New mobile technologies - Privacy and policy, threats and opportunities

New LSE research on Oyster Cards and other applications of near field communication
technologies shows how the economics and acceptability of mobile transaction systems impact business and governance practices. But some critical questions need to be considered sooner rather than later. Listen to an audio recording of the event|

 

Preventing Financial Meltdowns

 

Tim Harford is the economics leader writer for the Financial Times, author and presenter of the BBC Radio 4 'More or Less' programme. Further information on the event|

 

How The Internet Changes The Practice of Macroeconomics

Influential macro-economist blogger Edward Hugh will discuss the role that bloggers have played in our understanding of the current Euro crisis. Further information on the event|

 

Why Indians Win In Business

Award-winning historian Patrick French looks at the cultural roots of India's transformation: how a stagnant planned economy has become an entrepreneurial powerhouse, who gets super-rich yet remains super-poor. Further information on the event|

 

The Naked Swimmer: Can Spain (and the Euro) overcome this crisis?

Video of the event|