Digital Commons Network^™

Coca-Cola Curses: Hate Speech In A Post-Colonial Context, Brittan Heller

Michigan Technology Law Review

Hate speech is a contextual phenomenon. What offends or inflames in one context may differ from what incites violence in a different time, place, and cultural landscape. Theories of hate speech, especially Susan Benesch’s concept of “dangerous speech” (hateful speech that incites violence), have focused on the factors that cut across these paradigms. However, the existing scholarship is narrowly focused on situations of mass violence or societal unrest in America or Europe.

This paper discusses how online hate speech may operate differently in a postcolonial context. While hate speech impacts all societies, the global South—Africa in particular—has been sorely understudied. …

Private Censorship, Disinformation And The First Amendment: Rethinking Online Platforms Regulation In The Era Of A Global Pandemic, Tzu- Chiang Huang

Michigan Technology Law Review

The proliferation of online disinformation and the rise of private censorship are paradigmatic examples of the challenges to traditional First Amendment jurisprudence in an algorithmic society. The limitations of traditional First Amendment jurisprudence are amplified by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in two ways. On the one hand, in the wake of the pandemic, we have entered an “infodemic” era where the volume of disinformation, as well as the harm it causes have reached unprecedented levels. For example, health disinformation has contributed to vaccine hesitancy. On the other hand, even though the proliferation of online disinformation seems to suggest …