@schroeder1stabskys
Freedom of expression and emerging technologies. Author of "The Structure of Ideas: Mapping a New Theory of Free Expression in AI Era." (https://www.sup.org/books/law/structure-ideas). Associate professor, University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Open any undergraduate textbook and the judge would find this case. If we're concerned about defamation, then let them sue for defamation. (Narrator: It wasn't defamatory either).
This censorship is indefensible.
To quote Justice Black: "I believe that every moment's continuance of the injunctions against these newspapers amounts to a flagrant, indefensible, and continuing violation of the First Amendment."
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/u...
I'm thankful for the Free Speech Protection Act. SLAPPs really are a bipartisan problem. I'm encouraged about the added attention the bill will create about SLAPPs.
I'm not holding my breath that congress will actually pass this or any law the benefits the flow of ideas.
It's a long list of not-happening laws to address emerging problems. Two thoughts:
1) Do we trust our lawmakers to write competent and constitutional laws to address emerging problems?
2) Lawmakers' failures to act has put the courts in a concerning, lawmaking-like role.
There are no federal laws regarding non-consensual pornography and other forms of online harassment.
The Press Act (www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/u...), a reporter's shield law, is once again going to fail.
I research and teach in a field that has been transformed by technologies that fundamentally alter the flow of ideas -the very shape of the space for democratic discourse. But most of our laws are stuck in the 1970s.
Our copyright and privacy laws haven't been substantively updated since the 1970s.
I'm thankful this bi-partisan group of lawmakers has put a federal anti-SLAPP bill forward. It is desperately needed. SLAPP lawsuits are a growing threat.
Yet, I have no faith this or any law that legitimately benefits the flow of ideas will pass any time soon.
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
I just presented the 33rd Golden Gavel Award to the student with the highest grade going into the final in my undergraduate communication law course this fall.
The Golden Gavel, which is actually a poorly spray-painted rubber mallet, is the Oscar of comm. law awards.
Fair. I considered adding that context.
I'm still thinking about the differences between Bluesky and X.
In this piece, I framed it as two different visions of what the marketplace of ideas can or should look like.
overbycenter.com/news-and-ana...
I’ve been thinking about this. I teach and research free expression, but I left Twitter in 2022. Am I against free expression?
My answer has been no. I’m not calling for these spaces to be regulated by the government.
I’m making a personal choice to not be a part of that space for discourse.
This quote sort of brought out of my subconscious all the times I've thought about Hannah Arendt lately.
If you're looking for a history of 2024-2028, pick up Origins of Totalitarianism and read her description of Adolf Eichmann in Eichmann in Jerusalem.
I’m hearing Hannibal Lecter is being considered for surgeon general.
It seems like most of the framing post election is meant to troll me about what’s happening in the space for discourse. Like we’re doing the wrong-answers-only thing.
John Oliver implores the Senate to pass the PRESS Act! It's already passed the House unanimously.
It would protect journalists across the political spectrum from spying and the threat of jail time for doing their jobs.
Can you use your Blue Sky wizardry to add @sethdashley.bsky.social to this starter pack (or Part II)?
New, by me: U.S. senators have just a few weeks left to vote on the PRESS Act, a bipartisan federal "shield" law that protects journalists from giving up their sources, and more.
The House passed the bill unanimously(!) in January; it just needs a final Senate vote.
techcrunch.com/2024/11/10/i...
Thinking about how we should think about AI in college classrooms. I'm more concerned about students gaining AI literacy skills than I am about catching them using AI to cheat.
overbycenter.com/news-and-ana...
Welcome new followers. I post very little-but I think about your posts even when I don’t comment.
When I do post, it’s awkward. Usually about free expression and emerging technologies.
I’m glad we’re building a new community here.
Yes, I thought about you when I saw this earlier this semester. Really disappointed in how Penn State handled this.
Agree. No one should bring more attention to Maury Blackman's lawsuit against an independent journalist for reporting accurate information about his arrest.
I’ve heard that solves most problems.
Media literacy, for example, could address the initial concerns without running up against an inflexible First Amendment interpretation.
The traditional challenge is that any effort to compel or limit access to protect the space for discourse from distortion faces substantial First Amendment problems.
The legal framework, and its often unmoving nature, seems to set the boundaries we have to work in in trying to resolve this.
Fun Q&A about my book at Left Bank Books in St. Louis recently: (www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnkx...). Lots to think about regarding AI, free expression, and the space for discourse.
