The Law Takes On Online Threats

The Social Network Show welcomes Professor Mary Anne Franks back for the December 16, 2014 episode.

Mary Anne Franks, an Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Law and Vice President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) talks about the Anthony Elonis case that is coming up before the supreme court. Mr. Elonis of Pennsylvania was convicted of making threatening statements on Facebook about his estranged wife, law enforcement officials and a Kindergarten. He claims that these were not real threats, but instead therapy to help him deal with his broken marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court is now determining what is protected by free speech versus what constitutes a true threat that is not protected by free speech. Professor Franks walks us through the details of this interesting case.

Mary Anne Franks is an Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Law. She teaches, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Family Law. Professor Franks is also the Vice President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative which is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about cyber harassment and advocates for legal and social reform. This work has allowed her to work with legislators to draft laws against "revenge porn".

Before working at the University of Miami Law School, Professor Franks was a Bigelow Fellow and lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School and a lecturer in Social Studies at Harvard University. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and received her D. Phil and M. Phil from Oxford University where she studied on a Rhodes Scholarship. (D. Phil and M. Phil, U. S. equivalent of doctor of philosophy and master of philosophy. Professor Franks earned her degrees in Modern Languages and Literature).