Overview

"A broad explanation of the various dimensions of the problem of ""bad"" speech on the internet within the American context.One of the most fiercely debated issues of this era is what to do about ""bad"" speech-hate speech, disinformation and propaganda campaigns, and incitement of violence-on the internet, and in particular speech on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. In Social Media, Freedom of Speech, and the Future of our Democracy, Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey R. Stone have gathered an eminent cast of contributors--including Hillary Clinton, Amy Klobuchar, Sheldon Whitehouse, Newt Minow, Cass Sunstein, Jack Balkin, Emily Bazelon, and others--to explore the various dimensions of this problem in the American context. They stress how difficult it is to develop remedies given that some of these forms of ""bad"" speech are ordinarily protected by the First Amendment. Bollinger and Stone argue that it is important to remember that the last time we encountered major new communications technology-television and radio-we established a federal agency to provide oversight and to issue regulations to protect and promote ""the public interest."" Featuring a variety of perspectives from some of America's leading experts on this hotly contested issue, this volume offers new insights for the future of free speech in the social media era."

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9780197621097

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Reviews

Lee Bollinger and Geoffrey Stone have done a great public service by assembling this extraordinary group of contributors to think through the risks to democracy posed by social media and the internet. Protecting our constitutional traditions, in the face of seismic technological change, and the unmooring of democratic foundations is one of the greatest challenges of our times. Yet, what emerges from this volume's thoughtfully constructed collection of essays, and the hard choices made by a commission tasked with synthesizing the many perspectives presented here, is invaluable guidance for what must be done now if we are to preserve meaningful public discourse and our democracy. The fact that so many distinguished leaders from government, academia, the tech industry, and journalism devoted their time to this project underscores the urgent need to chart a new course. * Valerie Jarrett, Former Senior Advisor to the President of the United States * I can think of no better introduction to the highly consequential question of regulating speech on social media. Bollinger and Stone have assembled an outstanding array of authors who, with clarity, felicity, and deep knowledge, cover the many facets of this pressing problem. * Robert Post, , Sterling Professor of Law, Yale Law School * Events in recent years have made plain the challenges that social media platforms present to our democracy-harmful speech, divisive speech, misinformation, foreign interference, and more. The First Amendment stands as both an ideal and a potential obstacle in addressing these challenges. Bollinger and Stone have enlisted an extraordinary array of leading experts to tackle these issues from all angles. This volume is invaluable for understanding and charting the future of American democracy. * Jack Goldsmith, Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard University *

In this elegant volume, equally valuable to specialists and lay readers, two lifelong scholars of First Amendment jurisprudence gather an array of experts to explore the problems presented by digital technology and their possible solutions. * Jessica T. Mathews, Foreign Affairs * Lee Bollinger and Geoffrey Stone have done a great public service by assembling this extraordinary group of contributors to think through the risks to democracy posed by social media and the internet. Protecting our constitutional traditions, in the face of seismic technological change, and the unmooring of democratic foundations is one of the greatest challenges of our times. Yet, what emerges from this volume's thoughtfully constructed collection of essays, and the hard choices made by a commission tasked with synthesizing the many perspectives presented here, is invaluable guidance for what must be done now if we are to preserve meaningful public discourse and our democracy. The fact that so many distinguished leaders from government, academia, the tech industry, and journalism devoted their time to this project underscores the urgent need to chart a new course. * Valerie Jarrett, Former Senior Advisor to the President of the United States * I can think of no better introduction to the highly consequential question of regulating speech on social media. Bollinger and Stone have assembled an outstanding array of authors who, with clarity, felicity, and deep knowledge, cover the many facets of this pressing problem. * Robert Post, , Sterling Professor of Law, Yale Law School * Events in recent years have made plain the challenges that social media platforms present to our democracy-harmful speech, divisive speech, misinformation, foreign interference, and more. The First Amendment stands as both an ideal and a potential obstacle in addressing these challenges. Bollinger and Stone have enlisted an extraordinary array of leading experts to tackle these issues from all angles. This volume is invaluable for understanding and charting the future of American democracy. * Jack Goldsmith, Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard University *

Author Information

Lee C. Bollinger became Columbia University's 19th president in 2002 and is the longest serving Ivy League president. He is Columbia's first Seth Low Professor of the University, a member of the Law School faculty, and one of the nation's foremost First Amendment scholars. Bollinger's books include: Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide Open: A Free Press for a New Century; Eternally Vigilant: Free Speech in the Modern Era; Images of a Free Press; The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech in America. And, his books co-edited with Geoffrey R. Stone include The Free Speech Century and National Security, Leaks and Freedom of the Press. Bollinger serves as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board. As president of the University of Michigan, Bollinger led the school's landmark civil rights litigation in Grutter v. Bollinger, a Supreme Court decision that for the first time upheld the constitutional right of colleges and universities to engage in affirmative action to advance diversity in higher education. Bollinger is a fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and the recipient of ten honorary degrees and numerous awards, including the National Humanitarian Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice and the National Equal Justice Award from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Geoffrey R. Stone is the Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. Mr. Stone earned his J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School in 1971, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of The University of Chicago Law Review. After serving as a law clerk to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States, Mr. Stone joined the faculty of The University of Chicago Law School in 1973. Mr. Stone has served as Dean of The University of Chicago Law School (1987-1994) and Provost of The University of Chicago (1994-2002). Mr. Stone is the author or co-author of many books on constitutional law. Among them are Democracy and Equality: The Enduring Constitutional Vision of the Warren Court (2020), The Free Speech Century (2018) co-authored with Columbia University President Lee Bollinger; Sex and the Constitution (2017); Top Secret: When Government Keeps Us In the Dark (2007); and Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime (2004), which received eight national book awards. Mr. Stone is the co-editor of one of the nation's leading constitutional law casebooks, chief editor of a twenty-volume series, Inalienable Rights, which is published by the Oxford University Press, and an editor of the Supreme Court Review.

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