Course overview
This course will consider socio-legal and critical perspectives on contemporary global developments related to the legal regulation of media, and freedom of speech and expression. Topics to be covered may include theoretical approaches to the legal regulation of freedom of speech and expression; sedition, hate speech, pornography and obscenity; theoretical and global perspectives on platform governance and content regulation on social media platforms; continuities and distinctions between the legal regulation of online speech and speech on older forms of media; law and policy debates around internet shutdowns; law and platform virality; the regulation of end-to-end encrypted platforms; the intersection between the regulation of content on social media and issues related to privacy and surveillance; and the relationship between the regulation of media content and media infrastructures. This course will draw on case studies that relate to governance mechanisms that regulate speech on global platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp.
Course learning outcomes
- Analyse advanced principles of media law (especially on themes related to platform regulation and free speech), undertake self-directed legal research at an intermediate level, and evaluate complex legal information
- Apply media law principles to complex legal problems through individual and group work
- Structure and sustain concise and cohesive written arguments for a legal audience in the field of media law
- Conduct legal research in the field of media law
- Reflect on their abilities to effectively undertake work as a legal practitioner in the field of media law