This concentration provides training and insight into the ethical, legal, and policy dimensions of contemporary information technology. Building on research and contemporary debates in law, policy and the social sciences, Ethics, Law and Policy (ELP) students learn about key processes and institutions shaping the technology landscape, and how these institutions are changing in turn to accommodate emerging technologies and practices. 

The core course related to this concentration is INFO 1200: Information Ethics, Law, and Policy.

Some faculty members whose research is related to this concentration include: Solon Barocas, Cristobal Cheyre, Chris Csíkszentmihályi, Tarleton Gillespie, Steve Jackson, Karen Levy, Helen Nissenbaum, Phoebe Sengers, and Gili Vidan.

Career Paths

  • Professional careers in law, management, and policy;
  • Graduate work in policy-related fields (law, management, policy, etc.)
  • IS students of all types seeking a better understanding the ethical, legal and policy dimensions of their work.

Information Ethics, Law, and Policy Courses

Please reference the Cornell Class Roster for details on the below courses.

A. Frameworks and Institutions (choose one) 

  • INFO 4113: Technology and Law Colloquium
  • INFO 4140 (previously 4940): Law, Policy, and Politics of Cybersecurity
  • INFO 4200: Information Policy: Applied Research and Analysis
  • INFO 4250: Surveillance and Privacy
  • INFO 4301: Ethics in New Media, Technology, and Communication
  • INFO 4940: Special Topics in Information Science - Law, Policy and Politics of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • INFO 4940: Special Topics in Information Science - U.S. Copyright Law
  • HADM 4890: The Law of the Internet and E-Commerce
  • PUBPOL 3460: Culture, Law, and Politics of Information Policy

B. Methods and Analysis (choose one)

  • INFO 2921: Inventing an Information Society
  • INFO 4240: Designing Technology for Social Impact
  • INFO 4940: Special Topics in Information Science - Clockwork: Infrastructure, Work, and Time
  • ​INFO 4940: Special Topics in Information Science - Technology and Social Change Practicum
  • PUBPOL 2300: Introduction to Policy Analysis
  • PUBPOL 2301: Introduction to Public Policy

C. Cases/Topics (choose one)

  • INFO 3200: Technology, Behavior and Society (previously New Media and Society)
  • INFO 4145: Privacy and Security in the Data Economy
  • INFO 4260: Computing on Earth: Planetary Dimensions and Consequence of Computing
  • INFO 4390: Practical Principles for Designing Fair Algorithms
  • ​INFO 4561: Stars, Scores, and Rankings: Evaluation and Society
  • COMM 4940: Special Topics in Communication - Human-Algorithm Behavior
  • STS 4040: Due Process Clinic

D. Tools and Technical Domains (choose one)

  • INFO 3300: Visual Data Analytics for the Web
  • INFO 3350: Text Mining History and Literature
  • INFO 3370: Studying Social Inequality Using Data Science
  • INFO 4100: Learning Analytics
  • INFO 4120: Ubiquitous Computing
  • ​INFO 4300: Language and Information
  • INFO 4350: Conversations and Information

Students may petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies to allow any upper-level (3000 or above) technical IS course relevant to their work in ELP to satisfy Category D.