Speech Police

The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet

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Pub Date 03 Jun 2019 | Archive Date 03 Jun 2019

Description

"David Kaye's book is crucial to understanding the tactics, rhetoric and stakes in one of the most consequential free speech debates in human history." - Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized, Walkaway, and Little Brother

The internet was designed to be a kind of free-speech paradise, but a lot of the material on it turned out to incite violence, spread untruth, and promote hate. Over the years, three American behemoths—Facebook, YouTube and Twitter—became the way most of the world experiences the internet, and therefore the conveyors of much of its disturbing material.

What should be done about this enormous problem? Should the giant social media platforms police the content themselves, as is the norm in the U.S., or should governments and international organizations regulate the internet, as is the case in parts of Europe? How do we keep from helping authoritarian regimes to censor all criticisms of themselves? David Kaye, who serves as the United Nations’ special rapporteur on free expression, has been has been at the center of the discussions of these issues for years. He takes us behind the scenes, from Facebook’s “mini-legislative” meetings, to the European Commission’s closed-door negotiations, and introduces us to journalists, activists, and content moderators whose stories bring clarity and urgency to the topic of censorship. Speech Police is the most comprehensive and insightful treatment of the subject thus far, and reminds us of the importance of maintaining the internet’s original commitment to free speech, free of any company’s or government’s absolute control, while finding ways to modulate its worst aspects.

David Kaye is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. A clinical professor of law at the University of California, Irvine, he began his legal career with the U.S. State Department. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, his writing has appeared in American and international law journals, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Guardian and other publications.


"David Kaye's book is crucial to understanding the tactics, rhetoric and stakes in one of the most consequential free speech debates in human history." - Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized...


Advance Praise

"We're at a critical juncture, in which the long-overdue techlash is being co-opted to put more power in the hands of Big Tech, in the guise of forcing the tech giants to take on more responsibility. Getting this right will have implications for decades. David Kaye's book is crucial to understanding the tactics, rhetoric and stakes in one of the most consequential free speech debates in human history." — Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized, Walkaway and Little Brother

"Speech Police is an essential primer for understanding the toughest global governance problem of our digital age. The future of human rights and democracy depends on whether the exercise of government and private power across globally networked digital platforms can be constrained and held accountable." — Rebecca MacKinnon, author, Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom

"In this accessible, urgent volume, Kaye takes us on a whirlwind global tour of social media’s sites of impact, from on-the-ground reports of activists in dangerous political climates to the candid conversations behind the closed doors of corporate boardrooms and the halls of government alike. His access allows us an unprecedented and often unguarded view of the players at all echelons, be they corporate scions, heads of state or rabble-rousing resistance journalists. In all cases, Kaye unveils the competing interests, hidden motivations, factions and forces influencing these platforms and introduces us to the many actors with a stake in their proliferation or restriction. All are given an unvarnished analysis by the individual charged with advancing the principles of human rights for a worldwide constituency. ... A must-read for anyone invested in the issues this book touches: in other words, all of us." — Sarah Roberts, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Information Studies

"This is an important, timely, and provocative book on a hugely important topic. Everyone interested in free expression and social media should (and will) read it." -- Noah Feldman, Felix Frankfurter Professor at Harvard Law School

"We're at a critical juncture, in which the long-overdue techlash is being co-opted to put more power in the hands of Big Tech, in the guise of forcing the tech giants to take on more responsibility...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780999745489
PRICE $15.99 (USD)
PAGES 144

Average rating from 5 members


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