First Amendment Law Review Symposium: Social Media and the First Amendment – The Regulation of Content Moderation Practices

Date/Time
Date(s) - 11/17/2023
9:00 am - 4:00 pm

On November 17, 2023, the Center for Media Law and Policy will be joining with the First Amendment Law Review to present a symposium on “Social Media and the First Amendment: The Regulation of Content Moderation Practices.”  As the title suggests, the symposium will focus on the First Amendment implications of government efforts to influence, both directly and indirectly, the content moderation practices of social media companies. The discussion will range from Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to political neutrality, algorithms, and mandatory disclosures.

The day will consist of a keynote speaker and three panels that will explore whether the First Amendment permits the government to dictate what content social media platforms publish; whether the government can proscribe how platforms moderate the content of third parties; and whether the government can mandate that social media companies provide transparency about their content moderation practices.

Keynote Address:

• Rep. Deborah Ross, United States Congress (NC 2nd District)

Panel 1: Can the government dictate what content social media platforms publish?
Moderated by Mary-Rose Papandrea, Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, UNC School of Law

• Ashutosh Bhagwat, Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law, University of California, Davis School of Law
• Matt Perault, Director, UNC Center on Technology Policy, and Professor of the Practice, UNC School of Information and Library Science
• Blake Reid, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School

Panel 2: Can the government proscribe how platforms moderate the content of third parties?
Moderated by Teresa Artis, Adjunct Professor of Law, UNC School of Law

• Gautum Hans, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
• Ashkhen Kazaryan, Senior Fellow of Free Speech & Peace, Stand Together
• Dawn Nunziato, Pedas Family Endowed Professor and William Wallace Kirkpatrick Research Professor, George Washington University Law School

Panel 3: Can the government mandate that social media companies provide transparency about their content moderation practices?
Moderated by David Ardia, Reef C. Ivey II Excellence Fund Term Professor of Law, UNC School of Law, and Co-Director of the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy

• Evelyn Douek, Assistant Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
• Eric Goldman, Associate Dean of Research; Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law
• Daniel Kreiss, Edgar Thomas Cato Distinguished Professor, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
• Ramya Krishnan, Senior Staff Attorney, Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University

This event is free and open to the public. If you are not able to join us in person, the symposium will be streamed live on Zoom.  Check out the First Amendment Law Review’s event page for information on how to attend remotely.