The Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society (BKC) is an organization based at Harvard University that claims to study the rise of the internet and its relationship to governance, advocating for several left-of-center legal reforms to address the changing digital landscape. ¹ As of November 2024, BKC claims to have more than 500 fellows from 40 countries within its network. ²

BKC affiliates have close ties to left-of-center advocacy and politics. Harvard professor and former Democratic Presidential candidate Lawrence Lessig, a staunch advocate for stricter government control of campaign speech, was one of BKC’s co-founders after the Berkman family made a $5.4 million gift to establish the center. ³ Former BKC director John Palfrey is now president of the MacArthur Foundation, which has provided funding to left-of-center advocacy groups and activists through its “Genius Grants” program. ⁴

History

The Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society (BKC) (originally named the Center on Law and Technology in 1996) originated from a 1994 seminar with Arthur Miller, David Marglin, and Tom Smuts on social and technological issues by the early internet. The Center was formed in 1998 after a $5.4 million donation from the Berkman family, the descendants of Associated Group, Inc. chairman and Harvard Law graduate Jack Berkman. In 2008, BKC was elevated to a “University-wide Center” outside Harvard Law School. Klein was added to the name in 2016 after the center received a gift of $15 million from Michelle Klein. The nonprofit has expanded to become one of the largest research centers in the United States, conducting research on the internet as well as working with policymakers to advocate left-of-center internet regulation. ^{5 6}

Activities

DEI and Racial Issues

According to its website, one of the Berkman Klein Center’s (BKC’s) research area “topics” is “Justice, Equity, & Inclusion.” ⁷

BKC has a “Diversity & Equity” section of its website claiming that the organization reaches out to “people of diverse backgrounds, including Black, Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, and Latino/Latina/Latinx people; LGBTQIA+ people; non-binary people; women; people with disabilities; people at intersections of these identities.” ⁸

In February 2021, BKC hosted an event titled “White Surveillance and Black Digital Publics” which claimed to address “the long-standing history of White vigilante-style surveillance of Black people in public spaces, exploring the role of White women in extending the power of the state to surveil and regulate the movement of Black people in public – tying in Karen actors with historical examples such as Emmitt Till and others.” ⁹

In September 2019, BKC hosted an event titled “A New Jim Code?’ which equated internet search algorithms at the time to Jim Crow Laws. ¹⁰

Opposition to Donald Trump

The Berkman Klein Center (BKC) has previously published papers and articles critical of former President Donald Trump. Following the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, BKC fellow Danielle Citron called for then-President Trump to be removed from media websites like X (then known as Twitter). ¹¹ On January 9, then-President Trump’s profile on the site was banned, while BKC fellow Evelyn Douek published an article that same day claiming it to be a “new era” of social media. Three days later, BKC fellow Ethan Zuckerman published an article on CNN (and reposted on BKC) defending the ban. ^{12 13}

In March 2021, BKC fellow Joan Donovan appeared on National Public Radio (NPR) and claimed to have observed a decrease in alleged misinformation after former President Trump left office. ¹⁴

In June 2020, BKC fellow Kade Crockford, then the director of the Technology for Liberty program at the ACLU of Massachusetts, wrote an article accusing the Trump administration of “racism and xenophobia” while waging a “war against immigrants.” ¹⁵

In March 2018, the ACLU of Massachusetts and two BKC fellows made a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to access data on how the Trump administration allegedly used facial recognition software within the Customs and Border Protection agency as well as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). ¹⁶

In August 2017, BKC published an article titled “PARTISANSHIP, PROPAGANDA, & DISINFORMATION Online Media & the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.” The article claimed that during the 2016 presidential election, members of the media focused more on alleged negative aspects of former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while providing more positive coverage of Trump’s campaign on specific issues such as immigration. ¹⁷

Funding

The Berkman Klein Center (BKC) has received funding from left-of-center organizations and educational institutions including the David Bohnett Foundation, Georgetown University, Reid Hoffman, Michael Klein, the Berkman Family, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Miami Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the Research Council of Norway, and the Stella P. Holt Foundation. ¹⁸

1. “Berkman Center for Internet & Society Becomes University-Wide Research Center.” Harvard elevates study of technology and society – The Harvard University Gazette, May 15, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081022192227/http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/05.15/99-berkman.html
2. “About Us.” Berkman Klein Center. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/about.
3. “Timeline.” Berkman Klein Center. Accessed October 22, 2020. https://cyber.harvard.edu/berkmanat10/Timeline.
4. “President John Palfrey – MacArthur Foundation.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed November 21, 2024. https://www.macfound.org/about/people/president.
5. “Frequently Asked Questions.” Berkman Klein Center. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/about/faq
6. “The Berkman Family.” Harvard. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/eon/berkman.htm.
7. “Justice, Equity, & Inclusion.” Berkman Klein Center. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/topics/justice-equity-inclusion.
8. “Diversity & Equity.” Berkman Klein Center. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/about/diversityandinclusion.
9. “White Surveillance and Black Digital Publics.” Berkman Klein Center. February 2, 2021. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/white-surveillance-and-black-digital-publics.
10. “A New Jim Code?” Berkman Klein Center. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/new-jim-code.
11. Citron, Danielle. “It’s Time to Kick Trump Off Twitter.” Berkman Klein Center. January 6, 2021. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2021-01/its-time-kick-trump-twitter.
12. Zuckerman, Ethan. “The real lesson of Trump’s social media silencing.” Berkman Klein Center. January 12, 2021. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2021-01/real-lesson-trumps-social-media-silencing.
13. Douek, Evelyn. “Trump Is Banned. Who Is Next?.” Berkman Klein Center. January 9, 2021. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2021-01/trump-banned-who-next.
14. Donovan, Joan. “With Trump Out Of Office, Disinformation Online Is On A Decline.” Berkman Klein Center. March 4, 2021. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2021-03/trump-out-office-disinformation-online-decline.
15.  Crockford, Cade. “The Trump administration’s war on immigrants, public trust, and tech-assisted contact tracing.” Medium. June 25, 2020. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://medium.com/berkman-klein-center/the-trump-administrations-war-on-immigrants-public-trust-and-tech-assisted-contact-tracing-cede72687447.
16. “How is the Trump administration using facial recognition technology?.” ACLU of Massachusetts. May 16, 2018. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.aclum.org/en/press-releases/how-trump-administration-using-facial-recognition-technology.
17. “PARTISANSHIP, PROPAGANDA, & DISINFORMATION Online Media & the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.” Berkman Klein Center. August 2017. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.harvard.edu/files/2017-08_electionES_2.pdf.
18. “Funding & Support Policies.” Berkman Klein Center. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://cyber.harvard.edu/about/support.