Public-Private Partnerships After Murthy v. Missouri

Authors

Danielle Keats Citron, University of Virginia School of LawFollow
Jeff Stautberg, University of Virginia School of LawFollow

Document Type

Lecture

Publication Date

Winter 2025

Publication Citation

100 Indiana Law Journal 791

Abstract

This Essay considers the future of public-private collaboration in the wake of the Murthy v. Missouri litigation, which cast doubt on the constitutionality of information sharing between federal agencies and social media companies. The litigation has been a good and a bad teacher. On one hand, the lower court decisions made legible the risks to free expression, accountability, transparency, and intimate privacy posed by government-industry collaborations. On the other hand, the litigation chilled information sharing between federal agencies, state election officials, and social media companies at the moment that such collaboration could and should help protect against foreign malign influence operations designed to undermine the integrity of the 2024 elections and beyond. We must rebuild public-private collaborations that protect democratic processes, guided by these lessons. Government can work cooperatively with tech companies without sacrificing free speech, but it must do so with commitments to accountability, transparency, and intimate privacy in mind.

Recommended Citation

Citron, Danielle Keats and Stautberg, Jeff (2025) "Public-Private Partnerships After Murthy v. Missouri," Indiana Law Journal: Vol. 100: Iss. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol100/iss2/7