Our weekly SRI Seminar Series welcomes Anna Su, an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto with a cross-appointment in the Department of History. Su’s primary areas of research include the law and history of international human rights law, U.S. constitutional law, and law and religion.
In this talk, Su will explore the recent phenomenon of digital constitutionalism—the development of legal principles to protect and safeguard the rights and activities of users, and to balance powers within the digital realm—and to what extent international human rights law can serve as a global framework for these initiatives.
Talk title:
“A constitution for the digital age? Some notes on the field”
Abstract:
The rise of the information society and the ubiquity of digital technologies in our lives makes it imperative that our rights and activities online be protected and safeguarded as they are in the offline world. In this talk, I examine the phenomenon of digital constitutionalism in which various norms, laws, regulations and principles are now being articulated in order to limit the exercise of power—whatever the source—and to balance those powers in the digital realm. I will discuss current developments in this area, and try to consider possible scenarios of where it is likely headed. I also consider the question of to what extent international human rights law has emerged as a global constitutional framework for these initiatives. Are human rights laws, as they are currently interpreted, up to the task? Do we need to create new rights for the digital age? How can we not merely adapt contemporary constitutionalism to the digital realm, but rather let itself be transformed in the process?
Recommended readings:
Dennis Redeker, Lex Gill, Urs Gasser, “Towards digital constitutionalism? Mapping attempts to craft an Internet Bill of Rights,” International Communication Gazette, February 16, 2018.
Edoardo Celeste, “Digital Constitutionalism: A New Systematic Theorisation,” International Review of Law, Computers and Technology, vol. 33, no. 1 (2019).
Francisco De Abreu Duarte, Francesca Palmiotto, Marco Almada, Yeliz Döker, Giovanni de Gregorio, “Welcome to the Digital Constitutionalist,” The Digital Constitutionalist (2022).
About Anna Su
Anna Su is an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto, with a cross-appointment in the Department of History. Her primary areas of research include the law and history of international human rights law, U.S. constitutional law (First Amendment), and law and religion.
Su holds an SJD from Harvard Law School where her dissertation was awarded the John Laylin Prize for best paper in international law. She received her JD and AB degrees from the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. Prior to coming to Toronto, she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy based in SUNY Buffalo Law School, and a graduate fellowship in ethics with the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. She worked as a law clerk for the Philippine Supreme Court and was a consultant to the Philippine government negotiating panel with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
About the SRI Seminar Series
The SRI Seminar Series brings together the Schwartz Reisman community and beyond for a robust exchange of ideas that advance scholarship at the intersection of technology and society. Seminars are led by a leading or emerging scholar and feature extensive discussion.
Each week, a featured speaker will present for 45 minutes, followed by 45 minutes of discussion. Registered attendees will be emailed a Zoom link approximately one hour before the event begins. The event will be recorded and posted online.
Anna Su