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Fargo

Martin

Doctoral candidate Jason Martin and associate professor Anthony Fargo and will present “Anonymity on the Internet: Free speech and shield laws” at the next Research Colloquium at 4:30 p.m. April 14 in the Ernie Pyle lounge. All are welcome.

The abstract describes the research as a look at how media outlets are turning to shield laws to protect the identities of anonymous contributors on their Web sites. While anonymous speech has long been protected by the First Amendment, protection for Web speech presents different issues. “Is this development a misuse of the definition of confidential sources, or is it an attempt by both journalists and courts to adapt to a new type of journalism?" the researchers ask.

The colloquium program was started early this year as a way to provide a venue for researchers to present their work and garner feedback and comments from their colleagues.

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