Grindr and Data Trafficking: Theorizing consent in data localization

This article offers a framework to discuss when a community’s data is moved abroad without their clear, informed consent, a practice I term data trafficking. I offer a comparative policy analysis of the case of Grindr, an LGBTQIA+ dating platform that has changed hands between China and the United States to demonstrate what data trafficking is, how it undermines national sovereignty, and how it erodes human rights. In the United States, corporate policies are the leading indicator for data governance practices, influencing a system known as multi-stakeholderism (DeNardis, 2013). In China, forced localization to government servers drives data governance practices (Mueller, 2017; Zeng et al., 2017; Kokas, 2018; Kokas, 2019). This article extends how we think about the relationship between the commercial data generated by individuals across multiple platforms, and how we understand transnational consumer data security

CCCI Feb 29 2018 Aynne Kokas, 2018 lecture

Video of full lecture with presentation slides edited into the video.Cornell Contemporary China Initiative Lecture Series: Aynne Kokas (Assistant Professor of Media Studies, University of Virginia) - “Hollywood Made in China: Platforms of Influence”. February 25, 2018 China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 ignited a race to capture new global media audiences. Hollywood moguls began courting Chinese investors to create entertainment on an international scale—from behemoth theme parks to blockbuster films. Hollywood Made in China examines these new collaborations, where the distinctions between Hollywood’s “dream factory” and Xi Jinping's "Chinese Dream" of global influence become increasingly blurred. With insightful policy analysis, ethnographic research, and interviews with CEOs, directors, and film workers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Los Angeles, Aynne Kokas offers an unflinching look at China’s new role in the global media industries. A window into the partnerships with Chinese corporations that now shape Hollywood, this book will captivate anyone who consumes commercial media in the twenty-first century.Cornell East Asia Program1_mwr93bq

Shot in Shanghai: Sino-U.S. Media Co-Production in the Post-WTO Era

"Shot in Shanghai" examines Sino-U.S. media co-production to reveal the complex negotiation between transnational commercial interests, state regulation of media, and the reform of the Chinese state-run film industry. By situating the study in the commercial center of Shanghai, the dissertation argues that the transformation of media industries exists as part of a delicate compromise between China's "hexie shehui" (harmonious society--a euphemistic explanation for government control of media content) and the forces of global capital. To form a foundation for future scholarship in the fields of media studies and Chinese studies, the dissertation articulates the complexity of film co-production in the ten years between China's accession to the WTO and the PRC's 2011 twelfth five year plan. The dissertation introduces three central concepts that are crucial to understanding the growth of media collaboration between China and the U.S. These include the role of the urban brand, the importance of latter day compradors (maiban), and the growth of global production ecosystems in the PRC. By discussing the international brand of Shanghai as a place for international business in China, the dissertation argues that co-production in Shanghai de-centralizes the system of state-run film and TV production based in Beijing. Rehabilitation of the term late Qing term "comprador" (maiban) for the media co-production process engages with debates about globalization in China by highlighting how industrial collaborations (and collaborators) act as a bridge, not just a wedge, between cultures. Finally, the dissertation's discussion of the production ecosystem reveals the studio co-production system as a site-based hierarchy of flexible cultural intermediaries who facilitate the production process. Together, these frameworks stimulate further critique of the notion of national cinemas by demonstrating the complex transcultural power dynamics imbedded within the Sino-U.S. co-production process. Ultimately, the dissertation argues that the cultural phenomena that shape film co-production--city branding, the comprador class, and the production ecosystem are not only essential for understanding Sino-U.S. media co-production, but also for comprehending cultural relations between two of the world's largest economies

Inferring Atmospheric Particulate Matter Concentrations from Chinese Social Media Data.

Although studies have increasingly linked air pollution to specific health outcomes, less well understood is how public perceptions of air quality respond to changing pollutant levels. The growing availability of air pollution measurements and the proliferation of social media provide an opportunity to gauge public discussion of air quality conditions. In this paper, we consider particulate matter (PM) measurements from four Chinese megacities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu) together with 112 million posts on Weibo (a popular Chinese microblogging system) from corresponding days in 2011-2013 to identify terms whose frequency was most correlated with PM levels. These correlations are used to construct an Air Discussion Index (ADI) for estimating daily PM based on the content of Weibo posts. In Beijing, the Chinese city with the most PM as measured by U.S. Embassy monitor stations, we found a strong correlation (R = 0.88) between the ADI and measured PM. In other Chinese cities with lower pollution levels, the correlation was weaker. Nonetheless, our results show that social media may be a useful proxy measurement for pollution, particularly when traditional measurement stations are unavailable, censored or misreported

Correlation between observed and estimated PM_2.5 for Beijing during learning (black) and testing (red) period.

<p>Correlation between observed and estimated PM_2.5 for Beijing during learning (black) and testing (red) period.</p