# Event Details

- **Event Name**: Can Middleware Save Social Media?
- **Event Start and End Date**: Fri, 27 Mar, 2026 at 09:00 am – Fri, 27 Mar, 2026 at 12:00 pm
- **Event Description**: Can middleware save social media? Exploring third-party tools that give users more control and privacy.About this EventIn wrestling with the enormous power that social media platforms exert over the system of free expression, Congress has repeatedly debated legislation that would protect user privacy and give users more control over their experience online. Time after time these efforts have faltered—sometimes because the proposed interventions raised genuine free speech concerns. As a result, little has changed for the millions of individuals anxious about the collection and use of their personal information, and about who or what decides the kind and quality of information they see.In seeking avenues to address these concerns without impinging on First Amendment rights, many free speech and technology advocates are looking to middleware, third-party software that operates between users and platforms. Middleware’s proponents say that this kind of software could permit users to enhance their ability to shape their online experience, including by curating their timelines and by exercising more control over what data they share. Skeptics say that middleware raises privacy concerns of its own and that more fundamental changes are needed to address the pathologies of the digital public sphere. Can middleware really deliver the improvements that its boosters envision?On March 27, 2026, the Knight Institute will host “Can Middleware Save Social Media?” a half-day convening focusing on these questions and the future of these go-between tools. This convening is a collaboration between the Knight Institute and the Institute’s Senior Policy Fellow Olivier Sylvain and will include discussions with academics, policymakers, and technologists.Registration is required to attend in-person or to watch the livestream.Note: Registration does not guarantee admission. Seating is first-come, first-served.Speakers will include:Luke Hogg, The Foundation for American InnovationDaphne Keller, Stanford UniversityRamya Krishnan, Knight InstituteOlivier Sylvain, Fordham UniversityEthan Zuckerman, University of Massachusetts at AmherstAdditional speakers to be announced
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/washington/can-middleware-save-social-media/100001981340280114
- **Event Categories**: Sports, virtual
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 0

## Ticket Details

- **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD

## Event venue details

- **city**: Washington
- **state**: DC
- **country**: United States
- **location**: National Press Club
- **lat**: 38.8970756
- **long**: -77.031311
- **full address**: National Press Club, 529 14th Street Northwest, Washington, United States

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: Can Middleware Save Social Media?
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events2/banners/281d2cc2196632a53d5b24d036618b82cca41631e7d2c6126b0a9fc28912690d-rimg-w1200-h800-dcffffff-gmir.jpg?v=1771768995

## FAQs

- **Q**: When and where is Can Middleware Save Social Media? being held?
  - **A:** Can Middleware Save Social Media? takes place on Fri, 27 Mar, 2026 at 09:00 am to Fri, 27 Mar, 2026 at 12:00 pm at National Press Club, 529 14th Street Northwest, Washington, United States.
- **Q**: Who is organizing Can Middleware Save Social Media??
  - **A:** Can Middleware Save Social Media? is organized by Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

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