Recently, the Supreme Court seemingly put an end to the legal battle over whether President Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking people on Twitter by instructing the lower court to declare the case moot. Justice Thomas authored a separate concurring opinion that expanded on the language of the Court’s decision to discuss the power of social media platforms over free speech. This week, we discuss that opinion and the potential broader impacts of this case—now known as Biden v. Knight First Amendment Institute due to the change in administrations—on the future of the First Amendment. Katie Fallow, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute who led litigation of this case since its inception, and Eugene Volokh, professor of law at UCLA Law, joined host Jeffrey Rosen.
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PARTICIPANTS
Katie Fallow is a senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. She is one of the lead lawyers in this case, now known as Biden v. Knight First Amendment Institute.
Eugene Volokh is Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA Law where he teaches First Amendment law. He blogs at The Volokh Conspiracy on Reason.com, where he authored the piece “Justice Thomas Suggests Rethinking Legal Status of Digital Platforms.”
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
TRANSCRIPT
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This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Justice Thomas’ concurring opinion in Biden v. Knight First Amendment Institute (2021)
- Briefs by the Knight First Amendment Institute (including Katie Fallow):
- Eugene Volokh, Reason.com, "Justice Thomas Suggests Rethinking Legal Status of Digital Platforms"
This episode was produced by Jackie McDermott and engineered by Greg Scheckler. Research was provided by Alexandra "Mac" Taylor and Jackie McDermott.
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