Graduate Student Research Focus: Kaiyi Yu, Ph.D. Candidate

What inspired you to pick your topic of research?

My research interest was ignited by my empirical experience as a new media intern at a news agency and by conducting empirical field studies among online content creators. Through these experiences, I found that people are often confused about online content governance. Content creators struggle to navigate the rules and policies enacted by platforms and relevant laws. Private governance has also created confusion about online free speech. On the other hand, many characteristics of the internet and other technologies make some forms of speech difficult to control, causing harm to individuals. It remains a matter of debate what the best model of content moderation is and how to develop a balanced model that reconciles different interests. This has motivated my research to examine and evaluate policies related to online speech, whether they achieve their intended goals, and what unintended side effects they may have.

What contribution do you hope your research makes to the field?

I hope my research can make both theoretical and empirical contributions. My research examines how the First Amendment applies to and interacts with the internet era and new technologies. It also aims to engage with existing theoretical debates on internet governance mechanisms, such as multistakeholderism. From a practical perspective, it seeks to inform real-world internet policies and content moderation models.

What support did you receive from the School to be able to do this research?

I have received tremendous support from the Hubbard School throughout my master's program and continue to receive support now that I have embarked on my Ph.D. at Hubbard. With the Kriss Grant and other fellowships, I have been able to conduct research for my master's thesis and another independent study I am pursuing. I also greatly appreciate the support from the faculty at Hubbard. I am particularly thankful to my advisor, Dr. Christopher Terry, who has helped me tremendously in developing my research projects and scholarly identity. Some of my current work in progress originated from class projects in courses taught by Professor Matt Carlson, Professor Emerita Jane Kirtley, Associate Professor Colin Agur and Associate Professor Claire Segijn. They have all provided tremendous support throughout the development of these projects.