The Volokh Conspiracy

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent

Who's Afraid of Josh Hawley?

Berin Szoka and I help the good Senator understand how the First Amendment applies to tech companies

|The Volokh Conspiracy |


Today, I debunk Sen. Josh Hawley's purported victim status and First Amendment theories in an op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch with Berin Szoka, president of TechFreedom.

The First Amendment doesn't give Sen. Hawley the right to force tech platforms to carry the speech of white supremacists and/or those who incite violence, as Berin and I break down both in the op-ed and accompanying Twitter thread.

Irina Manta is a Professor of Law and the Founding Director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.