Global Censorship Conference – March 2012 @yaleisp #netfreedom #censorship

Global Censorship Conference

The Information Society Project is hosting a conference on Global Censorship at Yale Law School on March 30, 31, and April 1, 2012. We welcome your attendance at this exciting event.

Censorship has long been a means to silence “harmful speech.” What governments consider to be “harmful” has varied across time and regime. Whether it’s the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts or the more overt uses of force such as in Tiananmen Square, governments have shown time and time again that they are capable of deploying whatever means necessary to eliminate so called “harmful speech.”

The ubiquity of the Internet has added an additional layer of complexity to issues of government censorship. It is both an unrivaled tool for speech and an incredible tool for monitoring and surveillance. This conference will consider how censorship has changed in a networked world, exploring how networks have altered the practices of both governments and their citizens. Panels will include discussions of how governments can and do censor and how speakers can command technical and legal tools to preserve their ability to speak. The conference will conclude with a discussion of new controversies in censorship, including laws designed to prevent online bullying and intellectual property infringement.

Panelists include Rebecca MacKinnon, Jack Balkin, Yochai Benkler, and many other wonderful people: http://www.law.yale.edu/intellectuallife/panelists.htm

CLE and MCLE credit is offered. Registration and conference info are available here: http://www.law.yale.edu/intellectuallife/14889.htm