Free Speech at the Crossroads: A Silicon Valley Dialogue
In September 2024, the Free Speech Project at Georgetown University held Free Speech at the Crossroads: A Silicon Valley Dialogue at San José State University, a convening of expert opinion panels and discussions on modern and pressing challenges at the intersection of the First Amendment and technology.
This event was made possible by its collaborators and co-sponsors: Georgetown University, San José State University, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and The John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University.
The Condition of Free Speech in America: A View from Silicon Valley
Amidst political upheaval and cultural conflict, Free Speech remains hotly debated in the United States. How is the First Amendment holding up in Silicon Valley, where tech innovation has reshaped how the nation and the world communicate?
Featured:
Margaret M. Russell, associate professor of law, Santa Clara University School of Law; Alex Stamos, Chief Information Security Officer, SentinelOne; Eugene Volokh, professor of law, UCLA School of Law/Hoover Institution at Stanford University; and Sanford J. Ungar (moderator), director, Free Speech Project, Georgetown University
Recorded on Sept. 19, 2024
Artificial Intelligence and Free Expression
While AI and emerging technologies create new opportunities, they also risk disrupting politics and democracy, exacerbating the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Can we use AI to enhance democracy, rather than erode it?
Featured:
Étienne Brown, professor of philosophy, San José State University; Lisa Femia, attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Roxana Marachi, professor of education, San José State University; Drew Liebert, director, California Initiative for Technology & Democracy; Ethan Baron (moderator), news reporter, The Mercury News
Recorded on Sept. 19, 2024
Can We Talk? The Future of Protest on Campus
How should universities protect students’ Free Speech rights to protest while maintaining order on campus and defending the educational process? What can be done to foster reasonable discussion around issues that provoke deep and tense disagreements?
Featured:
Carol Christ, departing chancellor, University of California, Berkeley; Cynthia Teniente-Matson, president, San José State University; Sanford J. Ungar (moderator), director, Free Speech Project
Recorded on Sept. 19, 2024
Will Section 230 Live Forever, or is Government Regulation of Social Media Inevitable
Since 1996, Section 230 has protected online publishers from liability for third-party content. Will the law hold up in an age where controversial algorithms and widespread disinformation on social media are more intensely scrutinized?
Featured:
Monika Bickert, head of global policy management, Facebook/Meta; Eric Goldman, professor of law, Santa Clara University School of Law; Sanford J. Ungar (moderator), director, Free Speech Project
Recorded on Sept. 19, 2024
Parental Rights, Book Banning, and Education
In the name of parental rights, school boards and state governments have restricted certain books from being taught in classrooms or circulating in libraries, actions that critics condemn as modern “book banning.” Can parental concerns be respected without censorship?
Featured:
Assemblymember Ash Kalra, 25th District, California State Assembly; Allison Lee, Los Angeles director, PEN America; David Loy, legal director, First Amendment Coalition; Michael Meth, dean, San José State University Library; John McCabe (moderator), associate director and policy analyst, Free Speech Project, Georgetown University
Recorded on Sept. 20, 2024
Is Privacy Obsolete in the Digital Age?
Is the constitutional right to privacy merely a fantasy in the age of mass surveillance and data collection? What societal consequences arise when governments and corporations wield unprecedented and unchecked information-gathering powers?
Featured:
Smita Hashim, chief product officer, Zoom; Tiffany Li, associate professor of law, University of San Francisco; Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, editor-in-chief, San Francisco Chronicle; Gloria Duffy (moderator), co-president and co-CEO, Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California
Recorded on Sept. 20, 2024