The papers published here are “discussion papers” that were submitted at one of three discussion fora held in 2018. The papers, written by prominent scholars from three different continents, offer unique perspectives on free speech and privacy issues. One forum, the Free Speech Discussion Forum, was held in Luxembourg in June 2018. This forum focused on two topics: “Free Speech and Democracies” and “The Media’s Role and Relevance in the Internet Era.” The second forum, the Privacy Discussion Forum, was held in Paris, France, also in June 2018. This forum involved an examination of privacy issues from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Participants were given the freedom to look at such diverse topics as the Google Spain decision on the right to be forgotten, the Snowden revelations, the WikiLeaks disclosures, the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers. Participating scholars could also choose to look at media intrusions on individual autonomy, as well as governmental and private uses of information (not only collection issues, but also distribution and use issues). They could also look at the challenges (and benefits) to privacy created by the internet. The third forum, the Free Speech/Criminal Law Discussion Forum, was held in Louisville, Kentucky, in December2018. That forum focused on two topics: recent controversies regarding free speech and criminal law and the intersection free speech and crime.
