Today's decision by the US Supreme Court sent a clear message about the importance of context for making decisions about what we see online. It was bad news for victims of online harassment and their advocates but good news for parents of kids not thinking about the impact of their online speech and actions. "The Supreme Court ruled in favor of "a Pennsylvania man who posted several violent … [Read more...] about Supreme Court decision & our kids: About context not free speech
free speech
The global free speech experiment for participants of all ages
We don't hear about it much, but an important, historically unprecedented experiment is being conducted in Internet-connected schools, libraries, homes and workplaces in every country under every sort of government on the planet. It's about how to protect people and their right of free expression – e.g., children and other protected classes – at the same time in social media. It's unprecedented … [Read more...] about The global free speech experiment for participants of all ages
Of free speech in global social media
I'll probably come back around to this important topic again, but right now I have only two points to add to what's partly a discussion about free speech in social media, fueled in the past week by feminist Soraya Chemaly in the Huffington Post. It's difficult to talk about "controversial humor" pages in the context of free speech because this content on Facebook (and now on Tumblr, its creators … [Read more...] about Of free speech in global social media
State law about teachers on Facebook repealed
Apparently due to teachers' protests, a Missouri law banning them from using Web sites that all "exclusive access" to students has been repealed, KiwiCommons.com reports. State lawmakers, who had voted overwhelmingly to pass the law last spring, "voted with equal enthusiasm to repeal it." KiwiCommons adds that " Many teachers are relieved. The law, in their view, would have had unintended and very … [Read more...] about State law about teachers on Facebook repealed
Where students are learning about free speech: Study
Not so much in school. But I'll get to that in a minute. In its fourth report on the future of the First Amendment since 2004, the Knight Foundation found that "social media are good for the [US] Constitution." The study, which surveyed more than 12,000 high school students and 900 teachers, found that 91% of students who use social networking to get news and information on a daily basis believe … [Read more...] about Where students are learning about free speech: Study