Ammori on Sinclair Broadcasting Controversy

Marvin Ammori has posted “Shadow Government: Private Regulation, Free Speech, and Lessons from the Sinclair Blogstorm” on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

    This paper analyzes the apparently emerging phenomenon of private regulation through ad hoc online coalitions. It evaluates the online cost structures that permit and shape the collective action underlying this form of regulation. It also evaluates the motivations and capacity necessary in particular circumstances to inspire such regulation. The paper concludes that a necessary motivation is the perception of both a market and a government failure. The paper’s primary evidence comes from an internet-enabled campaign to change the behavior of a broadcast company weeks before the 2004 election. As this private regulation targeted speech, many of the paper’s conclusions are particularly relevant for future instances of private speech regulation.
    The paper also addresses some normative implications of these campaigns, especially when aimed at private speech. It concludes that internet-enabled private speech regulation can often undermine First Amendment values. Private speech regulation, however, is pervasive and often necessary. It always undermines some First Amendment values at the expense of other values. The question for policy-makers and judges is therefore which forms of private speech regulation are more or less desirable, or have more or less constitutional protection.
    The paper’s primary case study centers on the online coalition that coalesced and dissolved around the acts of Sinclair Broadcasting Group less than a month before the 2004 presidential election. The campaign attempted to punish a private party; other campaigns in the following weeks attempted to aid private parties. All such campaigns will become more common. This paper attempts an analysis of their mechanisms and possible effects.”

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