A central impact of the rise of social media has been an undermining of traditional institutions of knowledge and governance. Print and broadcast media have been hit particularly hard, as purveyors of quality journalism suffered a catastrophic drop in revenues and market share. In response, governments around the world are considering a range of proposals aimed at supporting information integrity, which are ripe for consideration in terms of their likely effectiveness and their impact (positive or negative) on democracy and democratic institutions.
Some potential areas for examination may include:
- Legislative strategies for redirecting funds in support of journalism or journalists, particularly where these funds are sourced from online platforms.
- Transparency and other regulatory strategies targeting the platform economy, particularly related to advertizing and the surveillance economy.
- Anti-trust enforcement, and its impact on the information economy.
- Defamation law, and potential reconsideration of NYT v. Sullivan.
- Other efforts to combat misinformation or promote integrity in the online discourse.
Papers should be received by October 15, 2022 to ensure full consideration. We welcome participation from a diversity of global perspectives, though submissions will need to conform with Bluebook standards.
Please submit papers to Jolt@lawnet.UCLA.edu. The PDF should be named Last Name_First Name_JOLT Special Issue. If you have any questions, please send a message to the JOLT email.
We look forward to reviewing your submission.
