If you are in Austin and registered for SXSW Interactive, check out this session today at 3:30 – Commercial Threats to Freedom of Speech Online
Friday, March 13
3:30PM – 4:30PM
Austin Convention Center, Room 10AB
Globally, there has been much attention paid to the threat that government entities may pose to individuals’ rights to speak and share information freely. However, far less attention has been placed on the role that bad acting companies and other commercial interests play in trying to squelch or suppress public statements and expressions online. From corporations suing respected journalists and news media for speech that they claim is libelous, to bad businesses suing users of online review sites for negative reviews, more and more often, people are finding their freedom of speech threatened online.
This panel of experts will discuss the current commercial threats to freedom of speech online and the possible solutions to this growing issue.
Presenters
- Amy Austin is the Publisher of Washington City Paper, an influential and award-winning alternative news media company in Washington DC.
- Evan Mascagni graduated, summa cum laude, from the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law in 2011.
- Laura Prather is an attorney with Haynes and Boone LLP in the Litigation Practice Group in the Austin office
- Paul Alan Levy is an attorney with Public Citizen’s Litigation Group
