Law Commons^™

We Hold These Distruths To Be Self-Evident: How Legal History Could Save America From Itself, William Murphy

Journal of Global Awareness

This paper explores the threat of disinformation to American society. Focusing on social and cable news media as the primary disseminators of disinformation, it examines how the very design and nature of these two mediums promote and stimulate the intentional and viral spread of wholly inaccurate information as well as the significant and tangible negative consequences experienced across American society as a result. The paper subsequently proposes a legal solution to this dilemma in the form of a repeal of Section 230 paired with a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine. The background, history, and effect of each are thoroughly discussed, …

Speech Regulation By Algorithm, Enrique Armijo

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The rapid convergence of speech and technology on social media platforms means it is likely the case that, either now or soon, more expressive activity will be regulated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) than by any legislature, regulator, or other government entity. Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly told Congress and other audiences that AI is the key to resolving Facebook's content moderation challenges, envisioning a moderation regime where algorithms detect and take down speech infringing Facebook's Community Standards ex ante, that is, prior to its public posting and before it reaches other users. According to Zuckerberg, this would eventually replace its initial …

Reforming The Visual Artists Rights Act To Protect #Streetart In The Digital Age, Ellen Matthews

William & Mary Law Review

Consider the following: Building Owner commissions Artist to paint a mural on the wall of his building. A decade later, Business buys that building from Building Owner and, unaware of details relative to Artist’s wall mural, develops plans to renovate the building for a new use. Upon hearing of Business’s attempt to alter its newly acquired property, Artist seeks an injunction to prevent Business from restoring its building in a way that would change or destroy her mural. Would a court prevent Business from altering its building due to Artist’s moral rights to her work? If the court follows the …

Free Speech Has Gotten Very Expensive: Rethinking Political Speech Regulation In A Post-Truth World, John A. Barrett, Jr.

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Protecting free speech has been a foundational principle of American democracy since the nation’s founding. A core element of free speech has long been a prohibition on regulating political speech. The principle behind this protection holds that citizens are free to make whatever political pronouncements they wish and that their speech shall remain free from government suppression. Even within the limited exceptions to unfettered political speech, like defamation or libel, the speech is not banned but may merely result in liability. A premise underlying this view is that competing viewpoints, by being made available to us all, will allow …

Negative Commentary—Negative Consequences: Legal Ethics, Social Media, And The Impact Of Explosive Commentary, Jan L. Jacobowitz Ms.

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Connecting and sharing on social media has opened communication channels and provided instantaneous information to billions of people worldwide. Commentary on current events, cases, and negative online reviews may be posted in an instant, often without pause or thought about the potential repercussions. This global phenomenon may not only provide news of the day updates, humor, and support for those in need but also is replete with ethical landmines for the unwary lawyer. Lawyers commenting on current events, their cases, or responding to a client’s negative online review, have suffered damage to their careers. In some instances, they have even …

Copyrighting Tiktok Dances: Choreography In The Internet Age, Ali Johnson

Washington Law Review

TikTok is a video-sharing social media application that launched in 2018 and has grown wildly since its inception. Many users are drawn to the platform by “dance challenges”—short dance routines of varying complexity set to popular songs that are recreated by other users, eventually going “viral” (i.e., recreated on a massive scale by other users) on the app. Going viral can provide young dancers and choreographers an opportunity to break into the highly competitive entertainment industry. However, there is a problem: due to TikTok’s interface and community practices, the original creators of a dance (who, significantly, are often young women …

Explaining Florida Man, Ira P. Robbins

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

"Florida Man" is a popular cultural phenomenon in which journalists report on Floridians'unusual (and often criminal) behavior, and readers relish in and share the stories, largely on social media. A meme based on Florida Man news stories emerged in 2013 and continues to capture people's attention nationwide. Florida man is one of the latest unique trends to come from the Sunshine State and contributes to Florida's reputation as a quirky place.

Explanations for Florida Man center on Florida'sPublic Records Law, which is known as one of the most expansive open records laws in the country. All states and the District …

Taking Exception To Assessments Of American Exceptionalism: Why The United States Isn’T Such An Outlier On Free Speech, Evelyn Mary Aswad

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

One of the most significant challenges to human freedom in the digital age involves the sheer power of private companies over speech and the fact that power is untethered to existing free speech principles. Heated debates are ongoing about what standards social media companies should adopt to regulate speech on their platforms. Some have argued that global social media companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, should align their speech codes with the international human rights law standards of the United Nations (“U.N.”). Others have countered that U.S.-based companies should apply First Amendment standards. Much of this debate is premised on …

The New Editors: Refining First Amendment Protections For Internet Platforms, Mailyn Fidler

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

This Article envisions what it would look like to tailor the First Amendment editorial privilege to the multifaceted nature of the internet, just as courts have done with media in the offline world. It reviews the law of editorial judgment offline, where protections for editorial judgment are strong but not absolute, and its nascent application online. It then analyzes whether the diversity of internet platforms and their functions alter how the Constitution should be applied in this new setting. First Amendment editorial privilege, as applied to internet platforms, is often treated by courts and platforms themselves as monolithic and equally …

Toleration Of Free Speech: Imposing Limits On Elected Officials, Amos N. Guiora

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Tolerance is a nuanced issue, inevitably raising concerns regarding tolerant of what and whom. There is a sense of subjective judgment in the tolerance-intolerance debate; the terminology reflects particular norms, mores, customs, and traditions. What one might perceive as a healthy and tolerable challenging of existing acceptable “ways,” another would not tolerate because of the very challenge it poses to society. That split between tolerance-intolerance applies to both speech and conduct. It reflects everyday tensions, challenges, and conflict. In examining the tolerance-intolerance debate in the speech context there are a number of assumptions integral to a robust, liberal democracy: the …

How Should We Regulate The Internet? A Proposal, Natalie Petruzelli

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

With the invention of the internet providing newfangled methods of spreading information around the world, misinformation has also found home in these pathways, disrupting the general public’s ability to discern fact from fiction and creating divides in society. Regulation must be enacted to stop the effects of misinformation, but the efforts of technology companies and the general public have been insufficient thus far. Regulatory control of the internet and its content should be the responsibility of the government, based on their constitutional right to intervene under certain circumstances and the fact that previous efforts by other parties to mitigate misinformation …

Federal Rules Of Platform Procedure, Rory Van Loo

Faculty Scholarship

Tech platforms serve as private courthouses for disputes about speech, lodging, commerce, elections, and reputation. After receiving allegations of defamatory content in top search results, Google must decide between protecting one person's public image and another's profits or speech. Amazon adjudicates disputes between consumers and third-party merchants about defective or counterfeit items. For many small businesses, layoffs and bankruptcy hang in the balance. This Article begins to uncover the processes that these platforms use to resolve disputes and proposes reforms. Other important businesses that intermediate, such as credit card companies ruling on a disputed charge between a merchant and consumer, …

Regulating The Digital Resonance, Hassan Salman

Upper Level Writing Requirement Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Lawyers Response To Covid-19 Infodemic On Social Media, Jibran Jamshed

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to examine and analyze the skills and practices of lawyers in response to the misinformation/Infodemic of COVID-19 on Social Media platforms.

Research Methodology: In this quantitative study an online survey was conducted among lawyers in Pakistan. The population of the study was made up of practicing lawyers from different District Bar Associations in Pakistan. A questionnaire was distributed to collect data regarding demographic information, use of social media, response to misinformation about COVID-19 on social media and to identify the methods employed by lawyers to check the authenticity of such …

Private Offerings In The Age Of Surveillance Capitalism And Targeted Advertising, Christina M. Claxton

Vanderbilt Law Review

Social media platforms, as well as the internet more broadly, have fundamentally altered many aspects of modern life. In particular, platforms’ targeted advertising mechanisms have revolutionized how companies reach consumers by providing advertisers more effective tools for reaching consumers and by tailoring content to consumers’ individual interests. Advertising, in many respects, has always been targeted—it has always sought to reach and influence a certain set of consumers. Today’s targeted advertising, however, allows advertisers to influence consumer behavior on an increasingly granular and intimate level, further skewing the power imbalance between advertisers and consumers. This new dynamic, together with changes to …

Duality In Digital Discourse: The History And Future Of The American Public Forum, Nicholas Weaver

Honors Theses

From the onset of the republic, the liberty to speak freely and debate openly has stood guard and helped preserve all other American rights. While this concept has endured, the means by which it exists in society has changed immensely. As the public forum has evolved to fit the modern needs of the citizenry, political discourse has become less a defense against tyranny and more a chaotic space of conflicting opinions.

In the United States, privately-owned social media companies have grown at an unprecedented rate, yet lawmakers have been slow to exercise any authority to regulate these corporations. For public …

The Futility Of Regulating Social Media Content In A Global Media Environment, Rick G. Morris

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

Social media reaches more people on the planet than any prior form of media and transmits more information world-wide than ever before. It is an empowering factor in establishing and growing communities, but at the same time, creates havoc and disseminates pernicious and perhaps dangerous speech. And so it has been with the media from the beginning of time. Throughout the media’s history, efforts at regulation or control of media speech has been fraught with difficulty, ineffectiveness, discrimination, and failure. The use of technology can deceive the consumer of the information, and the social media companies as well. Both government …

Book Review: Social Media And Democracy: The State Of The Field And Prospects For Reform, Cynthia W. Bassett

Faculty Publications

Social Media and Democracy illuminates the empirical social science research done to date to tease apart the effects social media has had on representative democracies. It is a collection of essays by academic social scientists researching the intersection of social media and democracy from a variety of angles.

Kewajiban Endorser Atas Penganjuran Suatu Produk Pada Media Sosial Menurut Peraturan Perundang-Undangan Di Indonesia Dalam Perbandingan Dengan Amerika Serikat, Inggris Dan India, Nurul Ain Mubarikah

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

Endorsement of products and services in social media is a lucrative business for celebrities or social media influencers. Producers of goods and services believe that celebrities or social media influencers has the power to influence purchasing decisions of many people. Social media endorsements are not specifically regulated in Indonesian laws and regulations. However, Indonesian Advertising Ethics – 2014 Amendment, compiled by Indonesian Advertising Board, specifies that an endorser is prohibited from using personal social media as an advertising medium to endorse goods and/or services, unless if the endorser clearly mention that it is a paid endorsement. The financial aspect …

Pornography: Social, Emotional And Mental Implications Among Adolescents, William Kelly Canady

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation will explain the historical development of pornography. It will highlight four segments: 1- Porn’s impact on brain development of reward pathways, ultimately increasing the appetite for more porn. 2- Porn can be a false substitute for real intimacy, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction with a real person and increased verbal and physical aggression. 3- Porn promotes sex trafficking, promotes multiple sex partners and reduced STD prevention. 4- A review of interventions available to assist clients in navigating a lifestyle away from pornography.

Athens News Matters: Cyber Abuse And Intimate Partner Violence, Thomas E. Kadri

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Admissions Against Pinterest: The First Amendment Implications Of Reviewing College Applicants' Social Media Speech, Frank D. Lomonte, Courtney Shannon

Hofstra Law Review

It has become an accepted commonplace that college admissions officers will view applicants’ social media profiles as part of the screening process. Between 25 and 40 percent of admissions employees, according to one annual survey, look at candidates’ social media feeds -- and, by one study, 8 percent of admissions officers at public institutions have made an adverse decision based on something they found on social media. Lost in this discussion is that state universities are bound by the First Amendment in every other speech-based decision they make. Is the admissions office immune from normal First Amendment principles? Should it …

The Robed Tweeter: Two Judges' Views On Public Engagement, Stephen Louis A. Dillard, Bridget Mary Mccormack

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

Social Media User Relationship Framework (Smurf), Anne David, Sarah Morris, Gareth Appleby-Thomas

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The use of social media has spread through many aspects of society, allowing millions of individuals, corporate as well as government entities to leverage the opportunities it affords. These opportunities often end up being exploited by a small percentage of the user community who use it for objectionable or unlawful activities; for example, trolling, cyber bullying, grooming, luring. In some cases, these unlawful activities result in investigations where swift retrieval of critical evidence required in order to save a life.

This paper presents a proof of concept (PoC) framework for social media user attribution. The framework aims to provide digital …

Psychological Killing Through Social Media: A Comparative Jurisprudence Study, Dr. Hamza Abdelkarim Hammad

UAEU Law Journal

The purpose of this study is to explain the jurisprudential and legal position on the issue of the fact that the cause of death arose from informing the other - through the Social media- by the death of a relative falsely, whether that news was a joke or for the purposes of antagonism and aggression. The study followed the comparative analytical method, the result of this study is: That the sudden bad news for the heart patients is a lethal means, in addition to the agreement jurisprudence and legal position that the act is a murder deliberately and positive punishment …

Publish, Share, Re-Tweet, And Repeat, Michal Lavi

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

New technologies allow users to communicate ideas to a broad audience easily and quickly, affecting the way ideas are interpreted and their credibility. Each and every social network user can simply click “share” or “retweet” and automatically republish an existing post and expose a new message to a wide audience. The dissemination of ideas can raise public awareness about important issues and bring about social, political, and economic change.

Yet, digital sharing also provides vast opportunities to spread false rumors, defamation, and Fake News stories at the thoughtless click of a button. The spreading of falsehoods can severely harm the …

No Ifs, Ands, Or Juuls About It: Why Influencers Must Be Held Accountable, Krystina Dorta

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

This article analyzes how the FTC’s Endorsement Guide regulating the advertising of e-cigarette products should be applied to social media influencers. The struggle to regulate e-cigarettes by the FDA and the FTC has led to different advertising methods, which either comply with or neglect the FTC’s Endorsement Guide. This article evaluates the federal government’s reaction to the e-cigarette health crisis, followed by a review of the FTC’s previous actions addressing Endorsement Guide violations, along with the consequences on other companies’ marketing strategies. Finally, this article reviews influencer liability standards for Endorsement Guide violations and develops recommendations to improve those standards.

Moving Fast & Breaking Things: An Analysis Of Social Media’S Revolutionary Effects On Culture And Its Impending Regulation, Larissa Sapone

Duquesne Law Review

No abstract provided.

Regulating Social Media In The Global South, Zahra Takhshid

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In recent years, the disinformation crisis has made regulating social media platforms a necessity. The consequences of disinformation campaigns are not only limited to election interferences or political debates, but have also included fatal consequences. In response, scholars have generally focused on regulating social media companies in the United States without paying much attention to these companies’ global impact, particularly in the Global South. Lost in the quest to fight disinformation is addressing the social media companies’ neglect of consumer rights in the Global South.

Countries in the Global North, such as the United States, have the power to regulate …

Toward Racially Equitable And Accountable Tech, Andrea Giampetro-Meyer, Janae James, Sydney Brooke

Marquette Law Review

This Article examines three distinct areas to consider how we might move

toward racially equitable and accountable tech. The three distinct areas are:

(1) fair housing, (2) surveillance, and (3) social media. Fair housing raises

questions about where today’s racially biased algorithms fit within the context

of historical, racist government housing policy. Surveillance raises questions

about how some tech tools render Black faces invisible, while others render

Black faces dangerously conspicuous. Social media highlights the clash

between civil rights and civil liberties, especially when racial justice conflicts

with freedom of speech. Our analysis leads us to consider the extent to …