Section 230, the twenty-six words that created the internet, has become the twenty-six words that are breaking the First Amendment. Section 230’s blanket liability shield for social media platforms is harming our children and our democracy. In this essay, I narrate the story of what Section 230 enabled—the rise of the virtual public square, a circumstance that the framers could never have imagined—and explore its consequences for human well-being and freedom of expression. I conclude that Section 230 must be repealed to unleash First Amendment jurisprudence to confront the threats to the republic in the age of generative AI, as well as to usher in the next round of internet innovation in service of constitutional democratic sustainability. Bipartisan legislation has been introduced to sunset Section 230 as of December 31, 2025. Those who believe in the enduring promise of American constitutional democracy should support its passage.

Areas and systems affected by compounded crises, protracted conflicts, and structural violence often struggle to reform education for social reconstruction. At the forefront, we observe tireless and ambitious ventures among donor agencies, government institutions, and international and local organizations. However, in many of these cases, we also witness deepening political gridlock, stagnation, and marginalization that undermine the progress of an empowering education for citizenship that upholds principles of human rights. Causal factors to these institutional failures are often either overlooked, redacted, or undocumented in research. Evidence from Morocco, Iraqi Kurdistan, and, most of all, Lebanon illustrates the extent to which governance systems in education can either hinder or even prevent equity in education.