Class materials
• Digital Media Law Project. (2019). Fair use. http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/fair-use
• Burgess, M. (2017, August 22). Silicon Valley can’t handle hate. Should the state take over? https://www.wired.co.uk/article/hate-speech-online-fines-regulation-germany WIRED.
• Rainie, L., Anderson, J., & Albright, J. (2017, March 29). The future of free speech, trolls, anonymity, and fake news online. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/03/29/the-future-of-free-speech-trolls-anonymity-and-fake-news-online/
• United Nations Human Rights Council. (2018). Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. https://freedex.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/2015/files/2018/05/G1809672.pdf
• Polyakova, A. (2018, October 3). What do Russian disinformation campaigns look like, and how can we protect our elections? The Brookings Institution.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brookings-now/2018/10/03/what-do-russian-disinformation-campaigns-look-like-and-how-can-we-protect-our-elections/
Videos
• Center for Strategic and International Studies. (2018, September 10). Countering disinformation: Interdisciplinary lessons for policy makers [Video file].
https://youtu.be/bApRkWDPJNA
Instructions
After reviewing the Study Materials for this module on free speech, trolls, and disinformation campaigns, consider your own experience online. Have you or someone you know ever had an experience with challenging online phenomena like trolling, cyber-hate speech, or disinformation campaigns? Who do you think should be responsible for overseeing the web—individuals, online communities, corporations, governments, or international coalitions?
Choose one of the themes discussed in The Future of Free Speech,Trolls, Anonymity, and Fake News Online and, in a paper of 500 to 750 words (approximately 2 to 3 pages), develop a policy to address the issues raised by your selected theme. Discuss steps that individuals, online communities, scholars, corporations, governments, and/or international coalitions can take to successfully address the issues. Support your analysis with one or more of the ethical frameworks (utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, social justice and social contract theory). Use properly cited evidence from the Study Materials to support your points.
