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Pacifica

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Full-Text Articles in First Amendment

Technologies Of Control And The Future Of The First Amendment, Christopher S. Yoo Jan 2011

Technologies Of Control And The Future Of The First Amendment, Christopher S. Yoo

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The technological context surrounding the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation allowed the Court to gloss over the tension between two rather disparate rationales. Those adopting a civil libertarian view of free speech could support the decision on the grounds that viewers’ and listeners’ inability to filter out unwanted speech exposed them to content that they did not wish to see or hear. At the same time, Pacifica also found support from those who more paternalistically regard indecency as low value (if not socially harmful) speech that is unworthy of full First Amendment protection. The arrival of …


Free Speech And The Myth Of The Internet As An Unintermediated Experience, Christopher S. Yoo Sep 2010

Free Speech And The Myth Of The Internet As An Unintermediated Experience, Christopher S. Yoo

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In recent years, a growing number of commentators have raised concerns that the decisions made by Internet intermediaries — including last-mile network providers, search engines, social networking sites, and smartphones — are inhibiting free speech and have called for restrictions on their ability to prioritize or exclude content. Such calls ignore the fact that when mass communications are involved, intermediation helps end users to protect themselves from unwanted content and allows them to sift through the avalanche of desired content that grows ever larger every day. Intermediation also helps solve a number of classic economic problems associated with the Internet. …