Ars Technica: “Want to know exactly what Twitter’s fleet of text-combing, dictionary-parsing bots defines as “mean”? Starting any day now, you’ll have instant access to that data—at least, whenever a stern auto-moderator says you’re not tweeting politely. On Wednesday, members of Twitter’s product-design team confirmed that a new automatic prompt will begin rolling out for… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Free Speech
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Characterizations of the Press: An Empirical Study
Andersen Jones, RonNell and West, Sonja, The U.S. Supreme Court’s Characterizations of the Press: An Empirical Study (February 17, 2021). University of Georgia School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Forthcoming, University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 419, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3787709 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3787709 “The erosion of constitutional norms in the United… Continue Reading
Libraries and Pandemics: Past and Present
JSTOR: “The 1918 influenza pandemic had a profound impact on how librarians do their work, transforming libraries into centers of community care. In 1918, World War I was coming to a close, and widespread changes were afoot. It was in some ways a moment similar to today: rapid technological development brought sweeping changes to workplaces… Continue Reading
Columbia Launched Democracy Reform and Voting Rights in the United States Web Archive
“Columbia University Libraries is pleased to announce the launch of the Democracy Reform and Voting Rights in the United States Web Archive. The ongoing struggle in the United States between advocates for voting rights and official proponents of voter suppression measures intensified in 2020 during a bitter presidential election campaign conducted amidst the substantial additional… Continue Reading
Corporate America Bankrolls Voter Suppression
“Some of the biggest names in corporate America are backing state lawmakers who are pushing bills to make it more difficult to vote, a new Public Citizen report shows. Corporations have contributed $50 million since 2015 to state legislators supporting anti-voter bills, including $22 million over the past two years, according to the report, “The… Continue Reading
ODNI Releases Intelligence Community Assessment of Foreign Threats to the 2020 U.S. Elections
“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) today released the declassified Intelligence Community (IC) assessment of foreign threats to the 2020 U.S. federal elections. The document is a declassified version of a classified report that the IC provided to the President, senior Executive Branch officials, and Congressional leadership and intelligence oversight committees on… Continue Reading
Misinformation and Technology: Rights and Regulation Across Borders
Post, Robert and Maduro, Miguel, Misinformation and Technology: Rights and Regulation Across Borders (November 17, 2020). Global Constitutionalism: 2020 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3732537 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3732537 “The “virtual” public sphere has taken on unprecedented importance, exposing a variety of legal questions regarding the governance of the internet and its relationship to democracy and freedom of… Continue Reading
Social Media: Misinformation and Content Moderation Issues for Congress
CRS Report. Social Media: Misinformation and Content Moderation Issues for Congress, January 27, 2021: “Social media platforms disseminate information quickly to billions of global users. The Pew Research Center estimates that in 2019, 72% of U.S. adults used at least one social media site and that the majority of users visited the site at least… Continue Reading
Lawmakers are scrambling to figure out how to rein in social media platforms
Fast Company – “In the days after the insurrection at the Capitol building, security was tighter than usual. On the phone with Senator Mark Warner, I could hear his driver trying to explain to a guard that he had the senator with him. Yeah, tell him he’s good, the guard told the driver as he… Continue Reading
Why Is Big Tech Policing Speech?
The New York Times – “Because the Government Isn’t. Deplatforming President Trump showed that the First Amendment is broken — but not in the way his supporters think….The giants of social media — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram — had more stringent rules. And while they still amplified huge amounts of far-right content, they had started… Continue Reading
Impeachable Speech
Katherine Shaw, Impeachable Speech, 70 Emory L. J.1 (2020). Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/elj/vol70/iss1 “Rhetoric is both an important source of presidential power and a key tool of presidential governance. For at least a century, the bully pulpit has amplified presidential power and authority, with significant consequences for the separation of powers and the constitutional order more… Continue Reading
The Capitol riot and its aftermath makes the case for tech regulation more urgent, but no simpler
TechCrunch: “Last week and throughout the weekend, technology companies took the historic step of deplatforming the president of the United States in the wake of a riot in which the US Capitol was stormed by a collection of white nationalists, QAnon supporters, and right wing activists. The decision to remove Donald Trump, his fundraising and… Continue Reading
