Regulate Social Media? A Conversation w/ Philip Napoli

Good Law | Bad Law

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Philip M. Napoli, of Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, to discuss new age media, social media regulation and content filtering, the history of social media, and the First Amendment.

In today’s conversation, Aaron and Phil talk about the relationship between the media and democracy, the “Trump years” and our former President’s unprecedented use of social media platforms, disinformation and misinformation, journalism, the marketplace of ideas, and much more. Should there be regulations on social media? Why? How? And moreover, who? Phil and Aaron delve into the history of social media, the notion of “big internet,” curation algorithms, Section 230, libel and slander, as well as “cancel culture,” audiences, and individual liberties.

Dr. Napoli is the James R. Shepley Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy; a Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research in the Sanford School of Public Policy; Professor of the International Comparative Studies Program; and an Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science and Society. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley (B.A.), Boston University (M.S.) and Northwestern (Ph.D.), Professor Napoli’s areas of expertise are media and democracy and his research focuses on media institutions, media regulation, and policy. He has provided formal and informal expert testimony on these topics to government bodies, such as the U.S. Senate, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Congressional Research Service.

Professor Napoli’s research has received awards from the National Business and Economics Society, the Broadcast Education Association, the International Communication Association, and the National Communication Association. His research has been funded by organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the Center for American Progress. Professor Napoli is a firm believer in engaged scholarship, and has engaged in research consultations and collaborations with a wide range of organizations, including the Federal Communications Commission, the New America Foundation, Free Press, the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council, the Center for Creative Voices in Media, the National Association of Broadcasters, and more. He has been interviewed in media outlets such as the NBC Nightly News, the Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Politico, and National Public Radio.

Listen now!

To learn more about Professor Napoli, and to access a full list of his publications, please click here.

To check out Professor Napoli’s book, Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age, please click here.

To explore Duke’s Science and Society Initiative, please click here.

To read the January article from Duke Today, “LESSONS FROM THE U.S. CAPITOL RIOT: Duke faculty discuss domestic terrorism, Trump, disinformation and social media,” please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guest: Philip M. Napoli

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