Albany Law School Government Law Review Symposium: Federalism, Social Media, and Free Speech

In the face of inaction at the national level, state actors have ventured into areas with profound potential impacts on the future of digital media, free speech, the internet, and mobile technologies. Some states have passed legislation to protect digital privacy, while others have sought to prohibit what is perceived as discriminatory content moderation. Some have sought to ban popular apps, like TikTok. In contrast, others have sought legal action that comes squarely up against the protections afforded platform companies from liability under Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act. In each instance, states are pushing up against the boundaries of, and testing the reach of their powers against, the First Amendment’s free speech protections and the potential preemptive effect of federal laws. This symposium will delve into whether such state actions could be construed merely as endeavors to combat discrimination by social media platforms, or if they might be viewed as an unprecedented exertion of governmental authority over expression such that it infringes upon the First Amendment on multiple fronts. Facilitator Prof. J. Stephen Clark Professor of Law, Albany Law School Speakers Prof. Leslie Y. Garfield Tenzer Professor of Law at Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law Prof. Roy Gutterman Director of the Tully Center for Free Speech and Professor of Magazine, News and Digital Journalism and Communications at Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications Prof. Anupam Chander Professor of Law and Technology at Georgetown Law Gilad Mills S.J.D. Candidate at Harvard Law School