Townsquare/Dstillery pixel
91B0FBB4-04A9-D5D7-16F0F3976AA697ED
C9A22247-E776-B892-2D807E7555171534
“What Does Freedom Mean in Online Speech?,” Hamilton’s next Common Ground presentation, will take place on Monday, March 27, at 7 p.m., in the Fillius Events Barn. The program, which is free and open to the public, features two experts who will examine the issue of online speech from different perspectives.

Members of the in-person audience will be able to ask questions of the presenters at the conclusion of their remarks. The program will also be accessible via Zoom here (registration required).

The evening’s speakers are David Brody, managing attorney of the Digital Justice Initiative, and Shoshana Weissmann, R Street’s digital director. The Digital Justice Initiative works at the intersection of racial justice, technology, and privacy. R Street is a leading think tank engaged in policy research in support of free markets and limited, effective government.

The Common Ground program hosts speakers who provide cross-boundary dialogue on hot-button issues. Topics intertwined with the College’s curriculum are chosen to foster critical thinking and holistic examination of difficult and often contentious national and global policy issues. Previous speakers have included Karl Rove and David Axelrod, Condoleezza Rice and Susan Rice, Max Boot, and Jim Messina and Reince Priebus, among others.

Brody focuses on the point where technology and racial justice issues meet, such as consumer privacy, algorithmic bias, discriminatory advertising, election disinformation, free speech, online hate group activity, content moderation, and government surveillance. He launched the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee in 2019 and previously worked on privacy issues at the Federal Communications Commission and Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Expand your Perspectives

Serious intellectual inquiry and informed engagement with our ever-changing world depend on open dialogue.  Common Ground brings highly respected thought leaders to campus to discuss topics that foster critical thinking and holistic examination of difficult and often contentious national and global policy issues.

Weissmann manages the R Street Institute’s social media, email marketing, and other digital assets. She also works on occupational licensing reform, social media regulatory policy, Section 230, and other issues and has written for various publications, including The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

The College is grateful to Mary Helen and Robert Morris ’76, P’16,’17 for their generous support of Common Ground.

Related News

Jessica Rich, former director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and former head of the FTC’s division of privacy and identity theft, speaks during the Common Ground panel.

Common Ground Panel Discusses Privacy and Data Concerns

The Common Ground series returned to Hamilton on February 22 with panelists discussing the question, "Who should set the rules regarding privacy and data? "

University of Rhode Island scholar Nicolai Petro, Professor of Government Alan Cafruny, and former foreign minister of Russia Andrei Kozyrev discuss the war in Ukraine.

Russia-Ukraine War: “Cultivating Compassion Toward Adversaries”

Former foreign minister of Russia Andrei Kozyrev and University of Rhode Island scholar Nicolai Petro discussed the war in Ukraine with Professor of Government Alan Cafruny on Nov. 15.

The $400 million campaign to provide students with a life-altering education.

Learn More About the Campaign

Site Search