Panel discussion at The Commons will address free speech

LAWRENCE — The Commons, the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and the Office of the Provost will host a dialogue titled "Data & Democracy: What is Free Speech in the Age of Social Media?" at 7 p.m. March 25, 2014, in The Commons, Spooner Hall.

Amid a changing social landscape of connectivity and communication, the legal and societal landscape of what is meant by "free speech" may be shifting as well. The First Amendment guarantees free speech, but what are the substance and forms of that protection in the age of social media? 

As the use of social media in daily life grows exponentially, participants will consider what free speech and privacy mean in an era of immediate and unfettered access to wide dissemination, and whether there are new rules that characterize social engagement and free expression today.

The discussion will be moderated by Deanell Reece Tacha, a KU alumna and the Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of the School of Law and professor of law at Pepperdine University.