COM 5200:Digital Media Law

3 Class Hours 0 Laboratory Hours 3 Credit Hours
Prerequisite: Admission to certificate program or permission of the instructor.
This course provides an in-depth examination of the existing legal structure within which digital and social media operates, and the antecedent statutory and case law through which this structure has evolved. This course also addresses ethical concepts and considerations surrounding digital and social media. This course focuses on the First Amendment as it applies to free speech and the media, specific to online content.

This course introduces students to different legal issues such as libel, disruptive speech, invasion of privacy, and copyright. It also teaches about different approaches to the First Amendment and how far freedom of speech and of the press goes in different legal scenarios. As a graduate course, students read several cases involving digital and social media. Students analyze texts and discuss the implication of law from theoretical and practical perspectives.