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Where's The Harm?: Free Speech And The Regulation Of Lies, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
Where's The Harm?: Free Speech And The Regulation Of Lies, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
False factual information has no First Amendment value, and yet the United States Supreme Court has accorded lies a measure of First Amendment protection. The First Amendment imposes something in the nature of a presumption against government interference in public discourse. This presumption is rooted in suspicion of the State's ability to distinguish facts from falsehoods as well as its motives for doing so. However, the presumption against regulation of false speech is not absolute. It can be overcome when verifiably false speech poses a direct threat of harm to individual interests. Unlike other countries, the United States has never …
Public Forum 2.0, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
Public Forum 2.0, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
Social media have the potential to revolutionize discourse between American citizens and their governments. At present, however, the U.S. Supreme Court's public forum jurisprudence frustrates rather than fosters that potential. This article navigates the notoriously complex body of public forum doctrine to provide guidance for those who must develop or administer government-sponsored social media or adjudicate First Amendment questions concerning them. Next, the article marks out a new path for public forum doctrine that will allow it to realize the potential of Web 2.0 technologies to enhance democratic discourse between the governors and the governed. Along the way, this article …