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Join Dr. Mary Anne Franks as she unpacks the complexities of civil rights, technology, and online harm, shedding light on the urgent need for change in the digital landscape. Gain valuable insights into the legal and ethical dimensions of these issues and explore potential solutions for a safer and more responsible online world. Dr. Mary Anne Franks is a renowned legal scholar, expert, author, activist, media commentator, and law professor. She recently joined the George Washington University School of Law as the Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor in Intellectual Property, Technology, and Civil Rights Law. Prior to that, she taught at the University of Miami School of Law as the Michael R. Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair. Dr. Franks teaches classes that delve into cutting-edge and feminist legal theories about First Amendment law, Second Amendment law, criminal law, criminal procedure, family law, and law, and technology. And her scholarly work focuses on online harassment, free speech, discrimination, and violence. She also serves as President and Legislative and Technology Policy Director of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI - www.cybercivilrights.org), a non-profit organization that works to combat online abuses that threaten civil rights and civil liberties. Its vision is a world in which law, policy, and technology align to ensure the protection of civil rights and civil liberties for all. CCRI turns 10 years old in August 2023. Dr. Franks' work in advocating for legislative, technological, and social reform on the issue of nonconsensual pornography ("revenge porn") has been instrumental in drafting state legislation against the practice in the U.S. She has worked tirelessly on a federal criminal bill, first the Intimate Privacy Protection Act (IPPA), which evolved into the ENOUGH Act, and again into the SHIELD Act, which is still in the works. In May 2019, Dr. Franks published The Cult of the Constitution: Our Deadly Devotion to Guns and Free Speech (https://www.amazon.com/Cult-Constitution-Mary-Anne-Franks/dp/1503603229), which won a gold medal at the 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards as well as the 2020 Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Legal Studies and Excellence in Social Sciences. She is presently working on her second book, Fearless Speech. In this interview, Dr. Franks reflects on the progress made over the past decade in raising awareness about the non-consensual disclosure of intimate images, social media harms, and how to combat both the misconceptions and the grave consequences faced by those at the mercy of big tech and lobbyists (often the same). She opines on the various legal terminology as it's developed, as well as the legal framework that has emerged in both tort law (products liability) and privacy law. The conversation also delves into the broader spectrum of online abuses, including social media addiction, mob mentality, stalking, sexual extortion (or “sextortion”), and defamation, to name a few. Dr. Franks explains how social media platforms amplify the scale and reach of bad online actors engaged in internet-based abuses, as well as the critical role of social media platforms in combating social media harms. At the center of much of the social media liability debate is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. The law includes two main provisions. The first provision, known as the "Good Samaritan" provision, grants immunity to platforms that take action in good faith to moderate or remove content that they consider objectionable or harmful. This provision encourages platforms to engage in content moderation without fear of legal repercussions. The second provision protects platforms from being treated as the publisher or speaker of the user-generated content. This means that even if a platform chooses not to moderate or remove certain content, it cannot be held liable for that content as if it had created or endorsed it. CDA 230 has been a subject of debate and controversy in recent years, as some argue that it allows platforms to evade responsibility for harmful content, while others maintain that it is crucial for enabling free expression and innovation on the internet. The law has faced calls for reform and revision to address issues such as online harassment, misinformation, and the spread of illegal content. According to Dr. Franks, at the core of this debate is the need to question whether the level of immunity Section 230 provides to internet intermediaries is justified. While she acknowledges the challenges faced by social media platforms in moderating an enormous volume of user-generated content, Dr. Franks suggests that platforms should in fact be held responsible based on their knowledge, intent, and contribution to harmful actions. There are, however, concerns about the lack of proactive measures implemented by social media platforms, as well as the lack of incentives for platforms to prioritize user safety. Dr. Franks underlines the necessity of holding platforms accountable and creating safer online environments, particularly for minors. She emphasizes the need to reevaluate current legislation and industry practices to align them with the collective responsibility of reducing harm and promoting user well-being. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anne_Franks CCRI: www.cybercivilrights.org SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1224353 Book: The Cult of the Constitution https://www.amazon.com/Cult-Constitution-Mary-Anne-Franks/dp/1503603229 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ma_franks Don't forget to like and subscribe to stay updated on the latest developments in this complex legal battle. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mass-tort-news Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/masstortnewsorg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/masstortnews.org
In this podcast, David Garland, Professor of Sociology, Law at New York University and author of Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition talks to Benjamin Concannon Smith, co-host of the American Studies channel of the New Books Network. They explore.... - Why is it that the United States continues to enforce the death penalty when the rest of the Western world abolished its use a little over three decades ago? - Many US states were in the vanguard of the 20th century abolition movement - what changed? - Why does a country so concerned to contain the power of the state, nevertheless allow the state to take the lives of its citizens. - Why are the majority of death sentences (which are always discretionary, never mandatory) meted out to black men convicted of killing white people - so that the death penalty is widely seen as 'legal lynching' among African Americans and Latinos. - How come only 'Death Qualified Jurors', those who approve of the death penalty, get to sit on juries in murder cases, making murder juries overwhelmingly white and male? - What is the role of aggravating evidence, 'victim impact statements'? - In the past, executions (burning at the stake, firing squad, beheadings) were violent and public, designed to demonstrate power and control . What is the role of lethal injection in relative privacy? Dr Garland's provocative study highlights the uneven application of capital punishment in America––a phenomenon widely discussed but rarely understood––and offers a succinct and thoughtful analysis of the historical roots of this contemporary issue. The featured photograph concerns the execution of Troy Davis in 2011, in which Troy Davis was put to death for the 1989 killing of police officer, Mark McPhail. Troy Davis's case illustrates many of the issues explored in this interview - the black man convicted of a white person's murder in a southern US state, the lengthy appeal process, the issue of doubt about the conviction and the the involvement of the victim's family in 'aggravation' statements. Professor Garland is Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Peculiar Institution is the recipient of numerous awards including: 2012 Michael J. Hindelang Award (American Society of Criminology), 2012 Edwin H. Sutherland Award (American Society of Criminology), 2011 Barrington Moore Book Award (American Sociological Association), Co-Winner 2011 Mary Douglas Prize (American Sociological Association), A Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2011, and the 2010 Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence.
Why is it that the United States continues to enforce the death penalty when the rest of the Western world abolished its use a little over three decades ago? That question, along with many other equally important questions, is at the heart of Dr. David Garland‘s recent book Peculiar Institution: America's Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition (Harvard University Press, 2010). His provocative study highlights the uneven application of capital punishment America–a phenomenon widely discussed but rarely understood–and offers a succinct and thoughtful analysis of the historical roots of this contemporary problem. Comparing the modern form of state execution (lethal injection) with original, brutal, forms of state execution (pressing, dismemberment, burning, beheading), Garland dissects the sociocultural and political uses of capital punishment and how they changed over the centuries, evolving to meet the needs of a modern liberal democracy. These liberal adaptations, as Garland explains, forced executions from the public gallows into private rooms within prisons, created a mandatory legal procedure of “super due-process,” and sought to diminish cruel and unusual bodily harm to the offender. But have these adaptations nullified its original purposes? For instance, various studies have shown that the death penalty does not act a deterrent to criminals or serve retributive purposes to the victims and their families. Given these facts, what purposes does it serve, if any? Do these reasons justify retention of the practice? Listen in for more! Dr. Garland is Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Peculiar Institution is the recipient of numerous awards including: 2012 Michael J. Hindelang Award (American Society of Criminology), 2012 Edwin H. Sutherland Award (American Society of Criminology), 2011 Barrington Moore Book Award (American Sociological Association), Co-Winner 2011 Mary Douglas Prize (American Sociological Association), A Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2011, and the 2010 Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why is it that the United States continues to enforce the death penalty when the rest of the Western world abolished its use a little over three decades ago? That question, along with many other equally important questions, is at the heart of Dr. David Garland‘s recent book Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition (Harvard University Press, 2010). His provocative study highlights the uneven application of capital punishment America–a phenomenon widely discussed but rarely understood–and offers a succinct and thoughtful analysis of the historical roots of this contemporary problem. Comparing the modern form of state execution (lethal injection) with original, brutal, forms of state execution (pressing, dismemberment, burning, beheading), Garland dissects the sociocultural and political uses of capital punishment and how they changed over the centuries, evolving to meet the needs of a modern liberal democracy. These liberal adaptations, as Garland explains, forced executions from the public gallows into private rooms within prisons, created a mandatory legal procedure of “super due-process,” and sought to diminish cruel and unusual bodily harm to the offender. But have these adaptations nullified its original purposes? For instance, various studies have shown that the death penalty does not act a deterrent to criminals or serve retributive purposes to the victims and their families. Given these facts, what purposes does it serve, if any? Do these reasons justify retention of the practice? Listen in for more! Dr. Garland is Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Peculiar Institution is the recipient of numerous awards including: 2012 Michael J. Hindelang Award (American Society of Criminology), 2012 Edwin H. Sutherland Award (American Society of Criminology), 2011 Barrington Moore Book Award (American Sociological Association), Co-Winner 2011 Mary Douglas Prize (American Sociological Association), A Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2011, and the 2010 Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why is it that the United States continues to enforce the death penalty when the rest of the Western world abolished its use a little over three decades ago? That question, along with many other equally important questions, is at the heart of Dr. David Garland‘s recent book Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition (Harvard University Press, 2010). His provocative study highlights the uneven application of capital punishment America–a phenomenon widely discussed but rarely understood–and offers a succinct and thoughtful analysis of the historical roots of this contemporary problem. Comparing the modern form of state execution (lethal injection) with original, brutal, forms of state execution (pressing, dismemberment, burning, beheading), Garland dissects the sociocultural and political uses of capital punishment and how they changed over the centuries, evolving to meet the needs of a modern liberal democracy. These liberal adaptations, as Garland explains, forced executions from the public gallows into private rooms within prisons, created a mandatory legal procedure of “super due-process,” and sought to diminish cruel and unusual bodily harm to the offender. But have these adaptations nullified its original purposes? For instance, various studies have shown that the death penalty does not act a deterrent to criminals or serve retributive purposes to the victims and their families. Given these facts, what purposes does it serve, if any? Do these reasons justify retention of the practice? Listen in for more! Dr. Garland is Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Peculiar Institution is the recipient of numerous awards including: 2012 Michael J. Hindelang Award (American Society of Criminology), 2012 Edwin H. Sutherland Award (American Society of Criminology), 2011 Barrington Moore Book Award (American Sociological Association), Co-Winner 2011 Mary Douglas Prize (American Sociological Association), A Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2011, and the 2010 Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why is it that the United States continues to enforce the death penalty when the rest of the Western world abolished its use a little over three decades ago? That question, along with many other equally important questions, is at the heart of Dr. David Garland‘s recent book Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition (Harvard University Press, 2010). His provocative study highlights the uneven application of capital punishment America–a phenomenon widely discussed but rarely understood–and offers a succinct and thoughtful analysis of the historical roots of this contemporary problem. Comparing the modern form of state execution (lethal injection) with original, brutal, forms of state execution (pressing, dismemberment, burning, beheading), Garland dissects the sociocultural and political uses of capital punishment and how they changed over the centuries, evolving to meet the needs of a modern liberal democracy. These liberal adaptations, as Garland explains, forced executions from the public gallows into private rooms within prisons, created a mandatory legal procedure of “super due-process,” and sought to diminish cruel and unusual bodily harm to the offender. But have these adaptations nullified its original purposes? For instance, various studies have shown that the death penalty does not act a deterrent to criminals or serve retributive purposes to the victims and their families. Given these facts, what purposes does it serve, if any? Do these reasons justify retention of the practice? Listen in for more! Dr. Garland is Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Peculiar Institution is the recipient of numerous awards including: 2012 Michael J. Hindelang Award (American Society of Criminology), 2012 Edwin H. Sutherland Award (American Society of Criminology), 2011 Barrington Moore Book Award (American Sociological Association), Co-Winner 2011 Mary Douglas Prize (American Sociological Association), A Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2011, and the 2010 Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why is it that the United States continues to enforce the death penalty when the rest of the Western world abolished its use a little over three decades ago? That question, along with many other equally important questions, is at the heart of Dr. David Garland‘s recent book Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition (Harvard University Press, 2010). His provocative study highlights the uneven application of capital punishment America–a phenomenon widely discussed but rarely understood–and offers a succinct and thoughtful analysis of the historical roots of this contemporary problem. Comparing the modern form of state execution (lethal injection) with original, brutal, forms of state execution (pressing, dismemberment, burning, beheading), Garland dissects the sociocultural and political uses of capital punishment and how they changed over the centuries, evolving to meet the needs of a modern liberal democracy. These liberal adaptations, as Garland explains, forced executions from the public gallows into private rooms within prisons, created a mandatory legal procedure of “super due-process,” and sought to diminish cruel and unusual bodily harm to the offender. But have these adaptations nullified its original purposes? For instance, various studies have shown that the death penalty does not act a deterrent to criminals or serve retributive purposes to the victims and their families. Given these facts, what purposes does it serve, if any? Do these reasons justify retention of the practice? Listen in for more! Dr. Garland is Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Peculiar Institution is the recipient of numerous awards including: 2012 Michael J. Hindelang Award (American Society of Criminology), 2012 Edwin H. Sutherland Award (American Society of Criminology), 2011 Barrington Moore Book Award (American Sociological Association), Co-Winner 2011 Mary Douglas Prize (American Sociological Association), A Times Literary Supplement Best Book of 2011, and the 2010 Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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