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131 Yale L.J. F. 427 (2021-2022)
Beyond the Public Square: Imagining Digital Democracy

handle is hein.journals/yljfor131 and id is 429 raw text is: THE YALE LAW JOURNAL FORUM NOVEMBER 16, 2021 Beyond the Public Square: Imagining Digital Democracy Mary Anne Franks A B S T RA C T. To create online spaces that do not merely replicate existing hierarchies and rein- force unequal distributions of social, economic, cultural, and political power, we must move be- yond the simplistic clich6 of the unregulated public square and commit to the hard work of de- signing for democracy. When we say 'public square,' ... we need to ask- who or what is this public? Who owns this space, what makes it public? . . . This is the es- sence of democracy: the ability to question power, and the power to do so.1 - Tom Wilkinson INTRODUCTION In the 2017 case Packingham v. North Carolina, the Supreme Court declared that the internet is the modern public square.2 This claim has been repeated so often by politicians, tech industry leaders, civil libertarians, and scholars that it has achieved the status of conventional wisdom. Proponents of the claim point not only to the vast array of activities now conducted online, but also to the pub- lic's increasing reliance on social-media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for discussion and debate on matters of public importance. The public square, in this view, is presumed to be the quintessential site of democratic deliberation and civic participation - a physical marketplace of ideas. 1. Tom Wilkinson, Typology: Public Square, ARCHITECTURAL REV. (Mar. 2, 2017), https://www .architectural-review.com/essays/typology-public-square [https://perma.cc/M5GA-249F]. 2. Packingham v. North Carolina, 137 S. Ct. 1730, 1737 (2017). 427

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