Social media has become an integral part of most people’s daily interactions and difficult questions continue to arise about its usage and governance. As a result, social media law is growing in importance, and correspondingly among law school offerings. A number of elite law schools now include social media law courses in the curriculum, and interdisciplinary research opportunities (often led by law schools) on the topic are growing in popularity. A small sampling of available courses and centers for research are highlighted below:
Harvard Law offers a course titled, Social Media and the Law, which considers a wide range of questions including: What values and principles ought to inform platforms as they evaluate what expression to regulate and how? What institutions should shape regulatory processes? How do plural global actors (of varied legal systems and values) influence content governance?
Pace Law offers a course titled, Internet Law-Regulation of Social Media, which explores the legality of social media within the contexts of legal disputes and the practice of law, including jury selection, employment, defamation, and e-discovery.
Columbia Law offers a seminar titled, Law and Regulation of Social Media, which aims to provide students with an understanding of the legal issues associated with social media use by companies, employees, students, and the government, and to shift students’ mindsets from those of social media end-user to lawyer. It also explores ethical and professional issues stemming from social media in the judicial process and in legal practice.
Harvard also hosts the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, which was initially founded as a part of the Harvard Law School and then elevated to an Interfaculty Initiative. The Center hosts the Institute for Rebooting Social Media, which is a targeted research initiative focused on issues related to social media including: misinformation, privacy breaches, harassment, and content governance.
The Yale Law Justice Collaboratory is a science-based research group hosted by Yale Law School, which facilitates interdisciplinary research on improving the criminal justice system. The group works closely with the Social Media Governance Initiative, which considers what social media governance could and should look like, with an end goal of a social media network that promotes healthy online interactions and the betterment of society.
Purdue University’s Global Concord School of Law is unveiling a free online course on social media law. The course, which is geared towards lay people, law students, and lawyers, consists of four self-paced modules: Introduction to Social Media Law, Intellectual Property, Free Speech and Its Limitations, and Social Media Policy and Ethics. Martin Pritikin, Dean of Concord Law School, describes the reasoning behind the course. “Social media is such a pervasive part of our lives, but most people aren’t aware of the numerous legal issues that may be raised, both as individuals and as employees, any time they post, share or comment,” he said. “Concord is pleased to be able to offer a free micro-credential in social media law that can provide useful background for lay people and legal professionals alike.”