Free Speech

Libel Cases and Public Debate–Some Reflections on whether Europe Should be Concerned about SLAPPs

by Fiona Donson

Trattamento dei dati personali e diritto a conoscere le proprie origini: due recenti provvedimenti del Garante della «Privacy»

by Maurizio Di Masi

published in Rivista critica del diritto privato, n. 1/2011

SOMMARIO: 1. Protezione dei dati personali v. identità personale? – 2. Alla ricerca della ratio dell’art. 27 l. adoz.... more SOMMARIO: 1. Protezione dei dati personali v. identità personale? – 2. Alla ricerca della ratio dell’art. 27 l. adoz. – 3. Condizioni e limiti della conoscenza delle proprie origini nel nuovo art. 28 l. adoz. – 4. Conoscenza delle ‘radici’ rispetto ai ‘non adottati’: asimmetrie fraterne… – 5. Ricerca tramite i mass media: rapporto tra diritto di cronaca e diritto alla conoscenza delle origini. – 6. Note conclusive.

Weaving a New 'Net: A Mesh-Based Solution for Democratizing Networked Communications

by Aram Sinnreich

Published in "The Information Society," 2011. Coauthored with Nathan Graham and Aaron Trammell.

Although the Internet is largely decentralized in its commu- nication and social patterns, its technical and... more Although the Internet is largely decentralized in its commu- nication and social patterns, its technical and regulatory appara- tuses are highly centralized and hierarchical. Consequently, digital communications are vulnerable to a degree of surveillance and censorship that would be unthinkable in traditional social are- nas, threatening “Internet freedom” and cyberliberties in both democratic and politically repressed societies. We believe a new architecture is required in order to protect the continuance of civil liberties in networked society. In this article, we propose 10 “social specifications” describing the requirements of such a network, and outline an architecture called MondoNet that meets these specifica- tions using ad hoc, wireless mesh networking technologies. We also address the legal and technical challenges facing the MondoNet project, and anticipate future developments in this field.

New challenges to empower international norms and practices in preventing mass atrocities and crimes? An analysis about violence and hate speech through media.

by Enzo Maria Le Fevre Cervini

Co-authored by Prof. Cristiana Carletti (Professor of International Organization and Human Rights' Protection at the University "Roma Tre", Faculty of Political Sciences, Rome, Italy) and Enzo Maria Le Fevre Cervini (Associate at the Center for International Conflict Resolution, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University in the City of New York), Submitted to IPRA global conference ‘COMMUNICATING PEACE’, University of Sydney, Australia 6-10 July 2010

The capacity to communicate hate and anger has contributed enormously to the deployment of massive violent measures... more The capacity to communicate hate and anger has contributed enormously to the deployment of massive violent measures during conflict that often leaded to genocide and mass atrocities. The memory of Radio Mille Collines in Rwanda contributes to the argument of experts of how media and communication does lead to social reaction and, in the specific case, to social anger, revenge and “willingness to kill” the “enemy”.
The necessity of international law mechanisms to deploy a concrete message for the prevention of such crimes has not yet come to force. The path for the construction of a preventive framework to avoid future genocide and mass atrocities requires the empowerment of international regulations for the enforcement of hate speeches, messages and signs. A research approach that visualize this problematic in the overall framework of the emerging norm of the Responsibility to Protect, and in particular with the evolution of a institutionalization of the preventive action pillar that empowers in particular the UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, will try to cope with an existing dilemma in the field of communication between the freedom of speech and the necessity to avoid hate and violence through the media. The result of the research, conducted through the international norms of communication and the acknowledgement of new characteristics of the global community in the field of media will contribute to the evolution of a preventing genocide and mass atrocities.

Portfolio: ON THE RIGHTS OF MOLOTOV MAN: Appropriation and the art of context

by Joy Garnett

Harper's February 2007
PORTFOLIO: [pp.53-58]

On the Rights of Molotov Man:
Appropriation and the art of context
By Joy Garnett and Susan Meiselas

Joy Garnett is a painter and the arts editor of the journal Cultural Politics. Susan Meiselas is a photographer best... more Joy Garnett is a painter and the arts editor of the journal Cultural Politics. Susan Meiselas is a photographer best known for her documentation of human-rights issues in Latin America. Both artists live in New York City, and their work has appeared previously in Harper's Magazine. This portfolio is drawn from their conversation at the New York Institute for the Humanities' "Comedies of Fair U$e" symposium, which took place in Spring 2006 at New York University.

ACLU & Net Neutrality

by Adam Knowlton

The purpose of this study was to explore the rhetorical constructions of the political discourse surrounding the 2010... more The purpose of this study was to explore the rhetorical constructions of the political discourse surrounding the 2010 Internet Neutrality debates. To do so, this paper first reviews the significant metaphors and worldviews present within the books Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think by George Lakoff, and Myths America Lives By by Richard T. Hughes, second this paper explores the background of the ACLU and shows how the metaphors identified by Lakoff & Hughes can be seen within a case study illustrating the debate surrounding a recent ACLU publication concerning first amendment concerns surrounding internet censorship, before finally drawing some conclusions.

many of my articles

by Raphael Cohen-almagor

political science

Terminating Employees for Their Political Speech

by Dale E. Miller

I have argued here that a number of factors are relevant to the question of whether it is morally permissible for a... more I have argued here that a number of factors are relevant to the question of whether it is morally permissible for a given employee to be fired for a given instance of political speech. On the one hand, one cannot expect the use one makes of one's freedom of speech to be entirely consequence free. On the other, the exercise of one's First Amendment freedom to speak out on matters of public concern should not be a luxury enjoyed only by those fortunate enough not to need to work for someone else. Often it is not easy to know where to strike that balance. In at least some cases, however, for a firm to terminate an employee for his or her political speech is clearly morally wrong.

Speech, media and ethics: the limits of free expression: critical studies on freedom of expression, freedom of the press and the public's right to know

by Raphael Cohen-almagor

La libertà di espressione negli Stati Uniti d'America

by Riccardo de Caria

in Rivista Trimestrale di Diritto Pubblico, 2010, f. 2, 607-612 (Giuffrè, Milano)

L’articolo costituisce un resoconto della John E. Sullivan Lecture 2009, tenuta dall’illustre costituzionalista... more L’articolo costituisce un resoconto della John E. Sullivan Lecture 2009, tenuta dall’illustre costituzionalista americano Akhil Reed Amar. In questa lezione, il Professor Amar ha presentato un nuovo possibile argomento a sostegno della libertà di parola nell’ordinamento americano, libertà che com’è noto ha un ruolo assolutamente centrale nella costruzione di quel sistema giuridico. Amar ha definito questo argomento “the argument from enactment”, cioè derivato dal processo di approvazione stesso della Costituzione americana.
L’articolo ripercorre fedelmente il testo della lezione, con l’aggiunta di alcuni commenti e riflessioni ritenute utili per il lettore italiano. Dopo l’introduzione (1.), vengono esaminati gli argomenti tradizionali elaborati dalla dottrina costituzionale americana a fondamento della libertà di espressione, ovvero: a) l’analisi della giurisprudenza; b) la struttura del testo costituzionale; c) la sua storia; d) il dato testuale (2.).
Successivamente, viene presentata e argomentata la tesi sostenuta dal Professor Amar, ovvero che è necessario, come suggeriva lo stesso Madison, guardare al processo di approvazione della Costituzione americana: durante questo processo, che condusse infine alla protezione della libertà di parola nel Primo Emendamento, fu già esercitata una amplissima e quasi illimitata libertà di parola (3.), al punto che si può concludere che la pratica della libertà di espressione sia stata precedente al suo riconoscimento espresso nel testo costituzionale (4.).

The Concept of a Right to Privacy

by Eoin Carolan

First chapter of co-authored booked with Prof. Hilary Delany

Discusses how the right to privacy can be defined, justified and conceptualised. Examines different theories of... more Discusses how the right to privacy can be defined, justified and conceptualised. Examines different theories of privacy. Explores the relationship between privacy and free speech/freedom of expression. Also considers the relationship and the differences between individual free speech and the media's freedom of expression.

Private power and new media: the case of the corporate suppression of WikiLeaks and its implications for the exercise of fundamental rights on the Internet

by Angela Daly

Presented at 4th international conference on Information Law, ICIL 2011, 20-21 May 2011, Thessaloniki, Greece. Go to website, click 'Daly Angela' in the list of speakers and there are links to the abstract, full text of the paper and conference presentation.

An updated version of this piece is included in 'Human Rights and Risks in the Digital Era' published by IGI in April 2012 (http://www.igi-global.com/book/human-rights-risks-digital-era/60788).

The focus of this paper will be the recent conduct of various corporations in withdrawing Internet services provided... more The focus of this paper will be the recent conduct of various corporations in withdrawing Internet services provided to information portal WikiLeaks in light of the controversy surrounding WikiLeaks publishing classified documents of correspondence between the US State Department and its diplomatic missions around the world in late 2010. The implications for freedom of expression (especially the right to access information) on the Internet will be examined in the wake of WikiLeaks, particularly in the context of the infringer being a private actor, and one comprising a mono- or oligopoly. The motivation of these private actors in contributing to the suppression of WikiLeaks will be assessed to examine whether it constitutes an example of Birnhack and Elkin-Koren's 'invisible handshake' i.e. the 'emerging collaboration' between the state and multinational corporations on the Internet that they posit is producing 'the ultimate threat'. The legal recourse open to WikiLeaks and its users for the infringement of fundamental rights will be examined, especially the First Amendment to the US Constitution since the geographic location for these events has mostly been the USA. Finally, the postscript to the WikiLeaks controversy will be considered: the “information warfare” conducted by hackers will be examined to determine whether the exercise of power of these Internet corporations in a way which infringes fundamental rights can be checked by technological means, and whether hackers are indeed the true electronic defenders of freedom of expression.

Bumper Stickers and Boobs: Why the Free Speech Argument for Pornography Fails

by J.K. Miles

This is published in the popular anthology Porn: Philosophy for Everyone

http://www.amazon.com/Porn-Philosophy-Everyone-Think-Kink/dp/1405199628/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320268392&sr=8-1

However I'm working on turning the main idea into an article.

A Perfectionist Defense of Free Speech

by J.K. Miles

(Forthcoming) in Social Theory and Practice (July 2012) For copywright reasons I cannot post a copy of this paper now that it is accepted. Please message me and I can send you an uncorrected draft.

It is often said that if free speech means anything it means freedom for the thought we hate. This core idea is... more It is often said that if free speech means anything it means freedom for the thought we hate. This core idea is generally referred to as “viewpoint neutrality” and is consistent with the liberal intuition that governments should remain neutral with regard to conceptions of the good life. None of the traditional defenses of free speech secure viewpoint neutrality, however. Instead, each justification leaves room to censor some viewpoints. Ironically my defense of viewpoint neutrality does not come from the liberal assumption that governments should remain neutral about the good life. I defend a version of the virtue argument for free speech that is explicitly perfectionist—government does not have to remain neutral when promoting good lives for its citizens. Free speech is not just a means to promote virtue but is part and parcel of intellectual virtue—a decidedly perfectionist value.

The Deployment of "Anti-Semitism,"" Controversy," and "Neutrality" in Ginsberg v. NCSU

by Terri Ginsberg

Arab Studies Quarterly 33.3-4 (Summer/Fall 2011): 228-243

A Perfectionist Defense of Free Speech

by J.K. Miles

Here is a copy of my Dissertation on Political Perfectionism and Free Speech

"Authority, Progress, and the 'Assumption of Infallibility' in On Liberty" [DRAFT]

by Piers Turner

Final version is forthcoming in the Journal of the History of Philosophy

The Impact of the Tort of Defamation on Public Discourse About Racism

by Kate Sutherland

(2009) 44 Supreme Court Law Review (2d) 135-159.

Where once ascriptions of race gave rise to defamation suits, now it is allegations of racism that are apt to prompt... more Where once ascriptions of race gave rise to defamation suits, now it is allegations of racism that are apt to prompt legal action. On the one hand, it is gratifying to see validated in tort law the notion that allegations of racism lower individuals in the estimation of ordinary members of the public. On the other, the content, structure, and practical dynamics of defamation law give rise to concerns about the potential of such suits to suppress public discourse about racism. Defamation is an easy claim to make and a difficult one to refute. This should be of concern to anyone who values freedom of expression, particularly so when the statements sought to be suppressed through a defamation suit involve allegations of racism leveled against powerful individuals and organizations. When a doctrinal tilt in favor of plaintiffs is combined with unequal race relations, defamation law becomes a very effective means by which to intimidate equality seekers into silence. If, as a society, we are committed to rooting out racism, we must first have the freedom to name it. At present, the tort of defamation operates to compromise that freedom. Reform is required to better balance the important values that defamation law protects against the value of freedom of expression so as to encourage rather than suppress public discussion of racism.

Book Reviews, the Tort of Defamation, and the Suppression of Scholarly Debate

by Kate Sutherland

(2010) 11 German Law Journal 656-670.

Professor Joseph Weiler last year stood trial for criminal libel in France for refusing to remove a book review from a... more Professor Joseph Weiler last year stood trial for criminal libel in France for refusing to remove a book review from a website associated with an academic journal for which he serves as editor. Though ultimately found innocent, his case has disturbing implications for all those who write, edit, and publish critical scholarly work. In this article, I explore those implications for Canadian scholars at home and as members of a global scholarly community. I assess the likelihood of success of a similar complaint under Canadian defamation law, and I consider the impact of libel chill and libel tourism. I conclude that although the defendant in such a case would have a good chance of prevailing under Canadian law through the defense of fair comment, a threat to academic freedom remains that requires action on the part of individuals and institutions committed to its preservation and enhancement.

A Right to Speak Out: The Morin Case and its Implications for Teachers' Free Expression

by David Waddington