Ellysse and Ashley Break the Internet

Neil Chilson, tech policy expert at the Charles Koch Institute and former FTC chief technologist, joins Ellysse and Ashley to forecast where the debate surrounding Section 230 is heading and present a vision for the future of content and online speech regulation.MentionedNeil Chilson, “Statement of Neil Chilson: Section 230 – Nurturing Innovation or Fostering Unaccountability?”, Department of Justice, February 19, 2020.Neil Chilson, “Why Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both wrong about Section...

Andrew Bolson, privacy lawyer advocating for Section 230 reform, joins Ellysse and Ashley to evaluate the need for Section 230 reform in order to protect consumers and limit online abuse, suggest what form that should take, and explain the risks of taking a subjective approach to reforming online intermediary liability.MentionedAndrew P. Bolson, “Flawed But Fixable: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act at 20,” Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal 42 (2016).Andrew P. Bolson, ...

Jennifer Huddleston, tech policy expert at the American Action Forum, joins Ellysse and Ashley to highlight the benefits of Section 230 for free speech, competition, and innovation and explore the potential implications of new regulations for civil liberties.MentionedBrent Skorup and Jennifer Huddleston, “The Erosion of Publisher Liability in American Law, Section 230, and the Future of Online Curation,” Oklahoma Law Review 72, no. 3 (2020).Billy Easley, “Revising the Law That Lets Platforms ...

Elisa D’Amico, co-founder of the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project—which provides pro bono legal assistance to victims of nonconsensual pornography—joins Ellysse and Ashley to explain the unique challenges the Internet poses for combatting online abuse, the struggles victims face seeking justice, and the role online platforms play in moderating abusive content.Mentioned“Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution (SHIELD) Act of 2021,” Office of Congresswoman Jackie Speier.Re...

David Kaye, free speech expert at the University of California, Irvine, joins Ellysse and Ashley to explore the challenges of developing effective and culturally relevant content moderation policies in different countries and how intermediary liability laws like Section 230 impact online speech for billions of users around the world.MentionedDavid Kaye, Speech Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet(New York: Columbia Global Reports, 2019).Jack Goldsmith and John Wu, Who Controls t...

David Chavern, CEO of a news industry trade association representing nearly 2,000 publishers, joins Ellysse and Ashley to discuss the impact of Section 230 on traditional media and the spread of misinformation, as well as how the news industry handles the issue of intermediary liability.MentionedDavid Chavern, “The News Media and Section 230,” News Media Alliance, February 19, 2020.David Chavern, “Section 230 Is a Government License to Build Rage Machines,” Wired, September 14, 2020.Sacha Bar...

Jessica Ashooh, Director of Policy at Reddit, joins Ellysse and Ashley to explore the impact of Section 230 on small to mid-sized companies and explain its importance for innovation and competition in the Internet economy.Mentioned “H.R.1865 - Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017,” Congress.gov.RelatedEmily Birnbaum, “Reddit worries it’s going to be crushed in the fight against Big Tech,” Protocol, October 28, 2020.

Daphne Keller, platform regulation expert at Stanford University and former Associate General Counsel for Google, joins Ellysse and Ashley to explain Section 230’s role in shaping how large companies approach content moderation on a massive scale, and how intermediary liability protections allow platforms of all sizes to thrive.MentionedJennifer M. Urban, Joe Karaganis, and Brianna L. Shofield, Notice and Takedown in Everyday Practice(Berkeley Law, 2016).Maarten Sap et al., “The Risk of Racia...

Aaron Mackey, staff attorney and free speech expert at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, joins Ellysse and Ashley to evaluate recent proposals to amend or repeal Section 230 based on their potential impact and effectiveness. Mentioned “S.3398 - EARN IT Act of 2020,” Congress.gov. “S.4534 - Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act,” Congress.gov. “S.4632 - Online Content Policy Modernization Act,” Congress.gov. “S.4066 - PACT Act,” Congress.gov. Related A...

Klon Kitchen, a tech policy expert at the American Enterprise Institute who authored the Heritage Foundation’s Section 230 reform proposal, joins Ellysse and Ashley to unpack the political debate surrounding Section 230 and the treatment of political speech online.MentionedKlon Kitchen, “Section 230—Mend It, Don’t End It” (Heritage Foundation, October 2020).RelatedAshley Johnson and Daniel Castro, “Proposals to Reform Section 230” (ITIF, February 2021).