Hosted by Yale Law School's Information Society Project and Abrams Institute for Free Expression, the Freedom of Expression Scholars Conference stands as a beacon for First Amendment discourse. The invitation-only event assembles a small group of constitutional experts each year to discuss their forthcoming works with fellow First Amendment thought and scholarship leaders.
Belle Torek and Ariana Aboulafia, while having long studied the First Amendment and its applications to online speech, made their inaugural presentation to an audience whose scholarship they had long admired. Their paper, "On Falsely Shouting 'Fire' in a Crowded Theater: Misinformation and the First Amendment," proposes reimagining free speech legal precedent and Section 230 reform to combat harmful disinformation on social media.
In attendance during the presentation were several acclaimed First Amendment scholars, including Professor of Law and Michael R. Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair Dr. Mary Anne Franks, who also leads the renowned Cyber Civil Rights Initiative at Miami Law. Franks was not merely a FESC attendee but actively contributed to the conference's intellectual vigor, leading a headlining plenary discussion in conversation with Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment Jack Balkin and former Yale Law Dean Robert Post.
That Torek and Aboulafia were part of the FESC program with Franks was no coincidence: both benefited from Franks' instruction and guidance during their time at Miami Law. Under Franks' mentorship, they took courses including law, policy, and technology; and Franks' First Amendment fundamentalism seminar, and both served as legal fellows for the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, which afforded them firsthand experience in advocating to combat online harassment and abuse.
Torek and Aboulafia both credit Franks for igniting their passion for the First Amendment and technology and for inspiring them to pursue careers in tech policy, where they each advocate for vulnerable and marginalized communities disproportionately experiencing online harms. Since graduation, both served pivotal roles at the Knight Foundation, with Aboulafia supporting investments in legal protections for journalists as an officer in the journalism program and Torek serving as an officer in the media and democracy program, where she promoted information integrity and democracy online through field-building efforts, culminating in the creation of Knight's nationally acclaimed Informed conference.
Torek now serves as associate director of Technology Policy at the Anti-Defamation League, where her subject matter expertise propels ADL's tech policy strategy around promoting platform accountability and securing legal protections for victims of online abuse.
Aboulafia recently began a position as Policy Counsel for Disability Rights in Technology at the Center for Democracy & Technology, where their work focuses on incorporating disability rights and justice into technology policy.
"Ariana and I are deeply honored to have been able to workshop our disinformation scholarship before our longtime free speech heroes," said Torek, "and we're endlessly thankful to have worked with the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, and especially for our brilliant professor Dr. Franks, who inspired both of us to pursue advocacy in online spaces."
Torek attended Miami Law as a Dean's Merit Scholar; there, she discovered her passion for public interest and completed over 500 hours of pro bono service. She was recently selected as one of this year's University of Miami Alumni 30 Under 30 honorees.
Aboulafia graduated from Miami Law magna cum laude with a concentration in social justice and public interest; while at Miami Law, they served as the senior articles editor for the Race & Social Justice Law Review and were the recipient of both the Summer Public Interest Fellowship and HOPE Summer Fellowship, both programs overseen by Dean Marni Lennon.
Torek and Aboulafia continue to serve the greater Miami and South Florida communities outside of their professional capacities. Torek serves on the board of directors and chairs the development committees of the Miami Design Preservation League, whose preservation efforts protect Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District, and the Aqua Foundation for Women, an organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ women of South Florida. Aboulafia serves on the Board of SAVE LGBT, an organization dedicated to furthering equality for South Florida's LGBTQ+ community.
"Belle and I owe so many of our professional accomplishments to Miami Law," said Aboulafia, also a Miami Law Dean's Merit Scholars.
Read more about Miami Law’s social justice and public interest area of study
