Overview
For this assignment, you need to consider the following sources of information:
1. Class lectures both by Linz and by Stitzlein, posted on Canvas and as discussed in class.
2. The Supreme Court's decision regarding the ban of TikTok and the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech was posted on Canvas.
3. The outline for policy thinking which we have suggested in previous lectures, including A. Defining the problem, B.The psychology or philosophy, underlying the problem, C. The stakeholders, D. The law, regulation, or policy, E. The decision-makers.
4. Write a memo to your new employer, a small startup that relies on TikTok to promote its products and to increase awareness of its brand. This memo should be addressed to the head of the Legal Department, who has asked you if TikTok is a banned or not. What happened? What did the Supreme Court say? I heard the President did something, but I don't know exactly what it is. The memo should include the categories A through E section 3 above.
The longest and most well-elaborated section of your memo will be about the law and what was said by the members Supreme Court. Here you will rely heavily on the Court's written decision and Ella's remarks in class.
Make sure that the memo includes ideas about regulating communication companies that may be owned by foreign entities and national security threats, and b. the ideas put forth by the Supreme Court and Ella Stitzlein regarding "content neutrality," and "levels of scrutiny."
Keep the memo around 750 words.
This shoudl be the format for the paper:
What is the problem or issue, why is it important?
Give a concise overview of the problem or issue being addressed. This overview should be given as the introduction, the reader should be able to walk away and describe the problem and why it matters. Note that when describing the importance of the issue it may be a good place to tie in its intersection with media psychology. Keep the PEST factors in mind.
Describe what you have learned in your reading and from class lectures, and provide an analysis. This is where you will present what you have learned and give an analysis or explanation of what each finding means. Take into account PEST: political, economic, social, and technological factors. All may not always apply but thinking of and addressing the ones that do will help guide your analysis. By completing this section you should have laid out evidence for what your proposed policy solutions or recommendations are.
What are your solutions or recommendations based on your findings? Describe the pros and cons. It is required that you account for different interest groups or stakeholders that would want to get involved on either side of the issue. Lastly, it will be helpful to again keep the PEST factors in mind when summarizing.