Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-30-2018

Abstract

Three philosophical rationalessearchfortruth selfgovernance and selffulfillmenthave animated discussions of free expression for decades Each rationale emerged and attained prominence in American jurisprudence in specific political and cultural circumstances Moreover each rationale shares a foundational commitment to the classical liberal modernist self But the three traditional rationales are incompatible with our digital age In particular the idea of the classical liberal self enjoying maximum liberty in a private sphere does not fit in the postmodern information society The time for a new rationale has arrived The same sociocultural conditions that undermine the traditional rationales suggest a selfemergence rationale built on the feminist concept of relational autonomy This novel rationale constitutionally protects expression that fosters the ongoing creative and dynamic process of selfemergence As such the rationale justifies protecting expression concerned with the emergent selfs struggle to define itself and the broader culture The selfemergence rationale has important ramifications especially for freeexpression issues related to the Internet The Roberts Court has invoked the traditional rationales in granting expansive firstamendment protections to corporations Many Internetrelated issues involve multinational corporations such as Google Verizon and Facebook But under the selfemergence rationale publicly held business corporations should not have freespeech rights for two reasons First they have fixed rather than emergent natures Second they manipulate and limit the sociocultural space available for the autonomous selfemergence of individuals

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