Anupam Chander and Uyen P. Le, The Free Speech Foundations of Cyberlaw

Anupam Chander and Uyen P. Le, The Free Speech Foundations of Cyberlaw

Comment by: Vince Polley

PLSC 2013

Published version available here: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2320124

Workshop draft abstract:

A First Amendment-infused legal culture that prizes speech offered an ideal environment on which to build the speech platforms that make up Web 2.0. Executive, congressional and judicial interventions during the first decade of the World Wide Web manifested a clear desire to protect the speech potential of a media platform that allowed individuals to speak directly to each other outside the confines of newspapers or broadcasters. While interest group pressures were certainly relevant to the legislative process, the First Amendment provided normative force to the arguments of Silicon Valley enterprises, both in the halls of Congress and in the courtroom. A commitment to free speech also helped ward off strict privacy obligations like those imposed in Europe and Asia. Free speech thus establishes the normative foundation of American cyberlaw.