Is there Academic Freedom in an Online World?

Is there Academic Freedom in an Online World?

Webinar| June 22 | 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. PDT | LiveStream

Principles of academic freedom are central to the ethos of a university. They govern the conduct of the events that make up the life of a university, providing that classes, lectures, symposia, conferences and colloquia are venues of open discussion and free dissent. Over the past year, because of the Covid pandemic, these venues have largely migrated from in-person venues to on-line platforms, and these platforms will continue to play an essential role going forward. With the increasing importance of on-line venues, does academic freedom retain the same meaning and offer the same protections? Is it compromised by the interests of hosting platforms? Is there academic freedom, as it has traditionally governed the dissemination of academic content, in an on-line world? Our symposium will explore these questions, and discuss their academic and legal ramifications and repercussions.

Moderator: Robert C. May, Affiliated Faculty, Center for Studies in Higher Education

Kate Klonick joined the Law School faculty in 2018. She teaches Property, Internet Law, and a seminar on information privacy. Klonick's research centers on law and technology, using cognitive and social psychology as a framework. Most recently she has been studying and writing about private Internet platforms and how they govern online speech.

Sean L. Malloy is a Professor of History and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES) at the University of California, Merced. He received his Ph.D. and MA in History from Stanford University and a BA in History from the University of California, Berkeley. His current research project is a comparative study of the way in which American universities grappled with divestment in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980 and BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction) movement in response to the Israeli occupation of Palestine from 2005 to the present.

After joining Zoom in June 2020, Josh Parecki has taken on the role of Zoom’s Head of Trust & Safety. Prior to his time at Zoom, Josh’s career included time as a U.S. judicial clerkship, a local and U.S. federal prosecutor, a counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, a DOJ representative and the White House, National Security Counsel, and a senior counsel at a Fortune 10 company

Robert Post is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School. He served as the School's 16th dean from 2009 until 2017. Before coming to Yale, he taught at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

Brian Soucek is Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Fellow at UC Davis School of Law, where he teaches and writes about constitutional law, discrimination, civil procedure, asylum, and law and aesthetics. Brian is the current Chair of the University of California’s system-wide faculty Committee on Academic Freedom and, in 2020-2021, a Fellow at UC’s National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. Professor Soucek received his PhD in Philosophy from Columbia University and his JD from Yale Law School.