WASHINGTON, -- The National Religious Broadcasters' John Milton Project for Free Speech will be hosting a roundtable discussion on Thursday, October 3, on the future of free speech, free press, and freedom of religion on the Web platforms of Facebook, Google, and other new media companies.
The event will be held in the National Press Club's First Amendment Room in Washington, DC, and bring together panelists including Todd Starnes, Host of FOX News & Commentary; Eric Teetsel, Executive Director of the Manhattan Declaration; Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow with the Technology Policy Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University; and Trevor Burrus, Research Fellow at the Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies.
Moderating the discussion will be Craig Parshall, Senior Vice President & General Counsel at NRB and Director of the John Milton Project, which monitors the threats of viewpoint censorship on the Internet. Dr. Frank Wright, NRB President & CEO, will present opening remarks for the latest in this pioneering series of John Milton discussions.
The event will also feature some introductory comments from Gov. Mike Huckabee, who will share via video his experience of having his pro-traditional marriage Facebook page taken down during the Chick-fil-A debate last year.
"New media tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Apple have enjoyed a Goliath-like dominance over the digital information world. Yet we have documented how they continue to censor viewpoints on their sites that promote traditional values, conservative ideas, or Christian orthodoxy," shared Parshall. "These Web technology companies have promoted themselves as advocates of free speech. It is time for them to live up to that standard."
The October 3 event will be the latest in a string of efforts to address the threats of anti-Christian censorship and other free speech violations on the Internet, and especially on communication platforms established by new media tech companies in the private sector, including but not limited to Apple, Facebook, and Google.
The project produced a groundbreaking white paper report in 2011 titled True Liberty in a New Media Age, which explains how some of the policies and practices of new media tech giants have jeopardized fundamental values enshrined in the First Amendment. In 2012, the project released its Free Speech Charter for the Internet, laying out a model to be followed by new media technology and communication companies that can serve the interests of both free speech and free enterprise.
After the roundtable discussion on October 3, there will be a Q & A session, beginning with questions from the press in attendance as well as those from other attendees. Seating is limited, so members of the press and other interested individuals will need to RSVP to Jennifer Gregorin at jgregorin@nrb.org to secure a seat.
The event will officially begin at 9:30 a.m. and is scheduled to conclude by noon.
