Law students design a technical solution to social media’s fragmented public discourse and underrepresentation of marginalized groups
On Saturday, January 21, 70 students from Toronto’s three law schools, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, and the Lincoln Alexander School of Law, came together to design technical solutions to the 2023 Toronto Legal Hackfest problem. The event took place in person at the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto and was led by the Faculty of Law’s Josh Morrison, the Director of the Future of Law Lab.
This year’s problem centred around fragmented public discourse on social media platforms. With the increased use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as news outlets, polarized discussions and the underrepresentation of certain groups in discussions create and spread disinformation. When underrepresented groups, such as women, people of colour, the LGBTQ2S+ community, and religious minorities speak up, they face a disproportionate amount of online harassment and abuse. Students were tasked with designing creative solutions targeting this broader issue, with more specific guidance provided by assigned mentors on the day of the competition.
Students signed up individually or in pre-formed teams to participate in the Hackathon and did not need to have any previous knowledge of technology, law, business, or coding. However, some students with STEM backgrounds did incorporate actual code and technical concepts into their solutions. The competition was judged by professionals from law firms and legal technology companies, with the winning team taking home a $500 prize.
The winning team created a prototype of a social media app extension that uses natural language processing to assess all the content viewed by a user. They also presented an automated database that catalogues and reports the offending harmful content to the platform administrators. The winning team then identified the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act as the legislation that would dictate the terms of use of the app. The team created an opt-in feature users must agree to in order to access the extension. They also determined that the one-party consent rule within the Criminal Code would need to be followed if users wish to report offending content to outside authorities.
Damien Deng (2L JD/MBA), a co-organizer of the event, discussed how solving technical problems, like the one at issue at the Hackfest, can strengthen law students’ skills. “First, it helps with developing diverse perspectives. It is increasingly important for any law student to be able to understand the different aspects of an issue, legal or not. Second, by working through problems that law students are not necessarily already familiar with, they can improve their critical thinking and problem-solving skills—skills that are transferable to the study and practice of law.” Deng also commented on the benefits law students gain from exposure to technical problems, “…as technology becomes more advanced and sophisticated, it is inevitable that law students will be required to not only work with technology but also learn how to leverage technology to solve problems more efficiently.”
Morrison views these events as a unique type of experiential learning wherein students can work with corporate or not-for-profit clients to solve challenging problems. “In law school, we tend to focus on the theoretical, and most of our practical training is solely from a legal perspective. Hackathons and case-based workshops allow students to consider issues from a variety of angles, including strategic, operational, marketing, and public relations perspectives. Each of these areas are interconnected with law and can have a significant impact on the business. Understanding the business’ objective is critical to delivering value to your client and the lawyers that appreciate this are often the ones with the best long-term career prospects.”
Morrison hopes that students take the chance to get out of their comfort zone and try these types of sessions out, as they can be extremely helpful in understanding how the best lawyers balance mitigating risk with offering creative solutions.
If you are interested in getting involved in similar events in the future, Deng notes that the law school has many student-led organizations centred around technology that host events throughout the school year. The Legal Innovation & Technology Group (LIT), in collaboration with the Future of Law Lab and the Centre for Innovation Law and Policy, will host a multidisciplinary case competition this March. Look out for event information in the coming weeks!
