Why Online Harassment of Sexual-Assault Survivors Is a Free Speech Issue

It is a testament to the highly misogynistic nature of social media that, shortly after horrific sexual misconduct allegations against seven Cornell University fraternity members broke in the news last month, people online immediately began trying to identify the victims.

Over the past few weeks, right-wing agitators and random troll accounts alike have attempted to publicize the identity of an anonymous former Cornell University student, Jane Doe, who accused seven members of the Chipi fraternity of sexually assaulting her in 2024. The effort to release her name and other personal information is upsetting, but Mary Anne Franks says it is all too common in the age of social media, given her history of researching sexual assault and online abuse.

The fight over Jane Doe’s identity

Franks is a professor at George Washington University Law School who specializes in the intersection of civil rights, free speech, and technology. She is also the chair and director of legislative technology policy for the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, which has a long history of fighting online abuse and image-based sexual abuse.

For decades, Franks has had a front-row seat to countless acts of abuse perpetrated by men against women on the internet, as well as to the constitutional arguments raised by independent commentator Michael Tracy, who argued that providing Jane Doe’s personal information was legal under the First Amendment.

“When you culturally fetishize an abstract concept of free speech, it means that it doesn’t embody the conversation,” Franks said. “Somehow physical safety becomes antithetical to this supreme value of speech.”

How sexual abuse silences women online

Drawing on her work at the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and her career advocating for laws to criminalize the distribution of non-consensual intimate images in all 50 states, Franks wants to reframe the conversation by making clear that “sexual abuse is a free speech issue.”

“It silences people. Tolerating sexual abuse is essentially saying, ‘We don’t care about women’s voices.’”

I spoke with Franks as the Cornell story was spreading across social media. During our discussion, we talked about the attempted Jane Doe reveal, the Elon Muskization of the internet, the terrifying world of the far-right Burnerverse, and Cornell University’s troubled history of turning a blind eye to the abuse and objectification of women.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview with Mary Anne Franks

E.J. Dixon: Mary Anne Franks, thank you so much for being here.

Mary Anne Franks: Thank you so much for having me on board.