Professor Jack Balkin Delivers Central Valley Foundation First Amendment Lecture

Jack M. BalkinJack M. Balkin, the Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School, delivered the Central Valley Foundation/James B. McClatchy Lecture on the First Amendment in King Hall's Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom on March 12.  Speaking to an appreciative audience that included numerous King Hall faculty and students as well as Central Valley Foundation co-founder Susan McClatchy, Balkin discussed the First Amendment in relation to concerns regarding privacy protections in the digital age.

Following a brief introduction by Dean Kevin R. Johnson, Balkin talked about the privacy considerations that arise when online service providers and other digital-age companies use information voluntary submitted to them by users for various purposes. Using examples involving companies like Facebook, Uber, and Google, Balkin said that despite dissent among some analysts, the use of this information generally has been understood to implicate free expression guarantees. 

But Balkin then explained how the concept of "information fiduciaries" might be used to address consumer privacy concerns without coming into conflict with the First Amendment. The law recognizes that the speech of fiduciaries -- doctors, lawyers, and others who enter into trust relationships with clients in order to provide services -- may be regulated, consistent with the First Amendment, in ways that other expression is not. For example, doctors may not disclose confidential medical information about their patients.  Twenty-first century companies such as Facebook and Google are similarly entrusted with confidential information and could be subject to similar regulation, Balkin said.

"When online media create relationships of trust, they take on greater duties than they would if they were perfect strangers," said Balkin. "The nature of the duty and the degree of protection depends upon the nature of the service provided and the reasonable expectations of the customer when they enter into these relationships with online service providers."

The Central Valley Foundation and UC Davis School of Law established the Central Valley Foundation/James B. McClatchy Lecture to promote discussion and understanding of First Amendment issues.  Professor Balkin's lecture was the fifth in the series of annual events. The lecture drew a large turnout of King Hall faculty including Professors Vikram Amar, Ashutosh Bhagwat, Madhavi Sunder, Anupam Chander, Mario Biagioli, Christopher Elmendorf, Rex Perschbacher, Floyd Feeney, Gabriel "Jack" Chin, Richard Frank, and Darien Shanske.

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