While the new media appear to open up many new opportunities for communication, the accelerated proces of change raises at least one red flag. This is that the First Amendment is not only about an environment of enhanced communication but is about a system of rights and a right of free expression. Rights need to be articulated clearly and they need to be enforced. Rights, by definition, are not routinely updated. They may be interpreted and they may evolve, but it is not accidental that it is more difficult to change a constitution than it is to repeal a statute.
Rights are a concept that implies stability over time.
The new media provide us many opportunities for expression. It is not as clear that they provide firm support for rights of expression. Although it is not exactly on point, it is interesting to keep in mind a story told by the late legal philosopher Lon Fuller, in his book The Morality of Law. Rex, we are told came to the throne filled with the zeal of a reformer. He considered that the greatest failure of his predecessors had been in the field of law.