The Offensive Internet

Reviews / Votes

[This book] is for those who care how the internet has complicated privacy, speech and reputation, and for those who may have to rescue it from itself. -- Liz Else New Scientist 20110115 Much writing about the Internet focuses on its remarkable capacity to democratize access to information, to provide a platform for previously marginalized voices, and to otherwise lower barriers and promote freedom. Levmore and Nussbaum explore the dark side of all this unregulated freedom and expose the truly vile and harmful speech that can flourish online. The roster of contributors, including many major thinkers on Internet policy and culture, is impressive. The book takes up the serious questions we must face as the net becomes not some specialized tool for technology enthusiasts but ubiquitous. What policies can we put in place to curb bullying and harassment while protecting free speech? What provisions can be made to protect individuals' privacy or to prevent false and malicious rumors from forever tarnishing reputations? This book is an essential read for anyone interested in exploring these questions. It is particularly powerful in its treatment of privacy, reputation, and speech (both the protection of speech and the regulation of it) as inextricably linked concepts...Indispensable! Scholars of Internet law and general readers alike will find this book informative, illuminating, and disturbing. -- Rachel Bridgewater Library Journal (starred review) 20110101 If the evils of the internet are to be addressed without jeopardizing its benefits, an approach of just this sort is what's needed. -- Michael Kerrigan The Scotsman 20110129 [The Offensive Internet] poses a provocative thesis: though the freedoms bestowed by the Internet are universally recognized and generally lauded, a lack of regulation has allowed for radicalism, and nothing short of a Kafkaesque solution would be able to establish control now... This collection exposes the "double-edged sword" of the World Wide Web, poses pertinent questions about the legal quandaries overshadowing free speech, and even offers some pragmatic solutions. Publishers Weekly 20110214 The internet may be "offensive," and in some instances so repellent that international pressures can operate. But privacy, with its attendant injunctions, lacks any common definition that works in a global digital context, as this remarkably useful book--detailed, thoughtful debate at a level we haven't begun to approach yet in this country--irresistibly shows. -- Peter Preston The Observer 20110529 Levmore and Nussbaum collected 13 stimulating and highly readable essays by leading legal scholars and social observers that describe the cultural roots of cyberspace misconduct and suggest possible solutions. The contributors present varied perspectives about the proper balance between free speech and protection of the vulnerable. These authors generally value vigorous social and political discussions in cyberspace. However, they worry that freeing online posters from legal penalties for deleterious statements and from the social norms that restrain individuals from injurious speech in the bricks and mortar world results in excessive amounts of harmful, low-value communication. They propose numerous creative approaches to encourage civility, ranging from new torts to compensate victims to structural changes, such as revised search algorithms to guide users away from cyber-cesspools. -- T. H. Koenig Choice 20111001