Paul M. Barrett
Paul Barrett is the former Deputy Director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern School of Business. At the Center, he focused primarily on researching and writing reports on the role and obligations of the social media industry in a democracy. Specific topics included foreign and domestic disinformation, outsourced content moderation, the liability of social media platforms for harmful content, social media's role in political polarization, and how Congress could strengthen the FTC's authority to regulate social media companies. Before joining the Center, Paul spent more than three decades as a journalist and author, including 12 years at Bloomberg Businessweek and nearly 20 years at The Wall Street Journal. He is also the author of four nonfiction books and an adjunct professor at NYU School of Law.
Publications
‘We Want You To Be A Proud Boy’ How Social Media Facilitates Political Intimidation and Violence
As a volatile election nears, our report reveals that social media is consistently exploited to facilitate political intimidation and violence, and recommends crucial changes that social media companies and governments can implement to reduce these harms.
Digital Risks to the 2024 Elections: Safeguarding Democracy in the Era of Disinformation
A new report by Paul M. Barrett, Justin Hendrix and Cecely Richard-Carvajal highlights that this year's primary tech-related threat to elections isn't AI-generated content, but the spread of false, hateful, and violent content on social media platforms.
NetChoice Amicus Brief
In this brief, the Center urged the Supreme Court not to grant the social media industry full immunity from regulation, while also arguing that content moderation laws in Florida and Texas violate the First Amendment.
Safeguarding AI: Addressing the Risks of Generative Artificial Intelligence
Our report on safeguarding AI argues that the best way to prepare for potential existential risks in the future is to begin now to regulate the AI harms right in front of us.
Gonzalez v. Google Amicus Brief
The Center's amicus brief urged the Supreme Court not to limit social media platforms' liability protections to permit lawsuits over their recommendation systems.
Quick Takes
Press
