jolt-symposium-flyer-2026 (8.5 x 11 in) (1)

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Overview

February 13, 2026:

 

Join the University of Richmond Journal of Law & Technology for their annual symposium highlighting the ever-changing intersection of law and technology. This year’s theme, Platform Power: The Rise of Private Governance in Tech, explores how major technology companies increasingly function as private governors, shaping online speech, enforcing internal rules with legal significance, and influencing global regulatory landscapes.

Panels will examine the tension between content moderation and free-speech values, the emergence of “platform courts” and their legitimacy, and the growing power of terms of service as a form of private law. The program also considers how U.S. based platforms impose policies across borders, raising complex questions about conflict of laws, extraterritoriality, and the future of democratic oversight in a digitally interconnected world.

Event is free, but registration is required. This event will be held in-person (no virtual attendance option).

4.0 Virginia CLE credits done.

Check-in begins at 8 a.m.

Agenda

8:00 AM – 8:55 AM

    • Check-In

8:55 AM – 9:15 AM

    • Opening Remarks

9:15 AM – 10:15 AM

    • Panel – Content Moderation and Free Speech: Balancing Platform with First Amendment Concerns and Global Human Rights Standards
    • Mary Anne Franks, Michael Goodyear, Gabriel Walters, Moderated by Henry Chambers

10:15 AM – 10:25 AM

    • Break

10:25 AM – 11:25 AM

    • Panel – Digital Due Process: Questions of Legitimacy, Fairness, and Accountability Within Platforms
    • Cody Corliss, Colleen Chien, Moderated by Jessica Erickson

11:25 AM – 12:35 PM

    • Lunch

12:35 PM – 1:35 PM

    • Panel – Terms of Service as Private Law: Exploring How Companies Enforce Internal Rules with Legal Force, and the User’s Lack of Bargaining Power
    • Andrew Schwartz, James Gibson, Jim Moye, Moderated by Ashley Dobbs

1:35 PM – 1:45 PM

    • Break

1:45 PM – 2:45 PM

    • Panel – Cross-Border Regulation: When a U.S. Company Sets the Rules in Other Countries–Conflict of Law, Extraterritorial Application of Tech Policy
    • Peter Swire, Kenneth Propp, Brian Downing, Moderated by Rebecca Crootof

2:45 PM – 2:50 PM

    • Break

2:50 PM – 3:00 PM

    • Closing Remarks

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

    • Dessert Reception