# Sexual Assault Is a Free Speech Issue

> Mary Anne Franks explains how sexual assault silences women and why free speech debates often ignore this reality.
- Title: Sexual Assault Is a Free Speech Issue · WIRED | Shortify
- Summary: Mary Anne Franks explains how sexual assault silences women and why free speech debates often ignore this reality. Sexual assault is a free speech issue that…
- Keywords: mary anne franks, cyber civil rights initiative, revenge porn, image-based sexual abuse, deepfake sexual abuse, cornell university, fraternity sexual assault, doxing, free speech, first amendment, burnerverse, Sexual
- Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/the-big-interview-mary-anne-franks
- Author: Ej Dickson
- Published: 2026-10-20T10:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: mary anne franks, cyber civil rights initiative, revenge porn, image-based sexual abuse, deepfake sexual abuse, cornell university, fraternity sexual assault, doxing, free speech, first amendment, burnerverse
## Jane Doe's Identity Doxing
Right-wing groups and troll accounts have tried to publicly identify Jane Doe, a Cornell student who accused seven Chi Phi fraternity members of sexual assault in 2024.
## Mary Anne Franks' Background
Franks is a professor at George Washington University Law School specializing in civil rights, free speech, and technology, and leads the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.
## Free Speech Disembodies Safety
Franks says cultural fetishization of free speech disembodies conversations, making physical safety oppositional to this supreme value.
## Sexual Assault as Free Speech Issue
Franks argues sexual abuse silences people, and allowing it to happen with impunity means society doesn't care about women's voices.
## Evolution of Terms
The term 'revenge porn' was used by perpetrators but is now replaced with 'nonconsensual pornography' to emphasize lack of consent in sexual expression.
## Cornell Fraternity Case
A Cornell student filed a lawsuit in 2024 alleging seven Chi Phi fraternity members raped her over seven hours in their frat house.
## Snapchat Doxing
One of the accused posted an explicit photograph of Jane Doe to his frat Snapchat group, announcing she was upstairs and available.
## Snapchat's Role
Snapchat encouraged girls to send nude photos with the confidence they would disappear, creating a gamified environment for nonconsensual sexual activity.
## Cornell's History
Cornell University has a history of ignoring sexual assault, including an email list from 1995 that included '75 Reasons Why Women Shouldn't Have Free Speech.'
## First Amendment Questions
Private universities are not bound by the First Amendment, so Cornell's punishment of students for sexual assault jokes is not a free speech violation.
## Free Speech Warping
Elon Musk's promotion of free speech has been used by right-wing groups to justify doxing and sexual violence without accountability.
## Doxing Consequences
Doxing Jane Doe has led to harassment of innocent people who were mistakenly associated with the accused fraternity members.
## Burnerverse
The burnerverse is a community of college sports fan accounts that have made doxing young women a recreational sport.
## Maddie Kowalski Case
A 20-year-old girl named Maddie Kowalski had a nonconsensual intimate video circulated at the University of Florida, leading to harassment.
## Social Media Impact
Social media has created a culture where men treat women as lower on the hierarchy, leading to increased sexual violence and dehumanization.
## Self-Defense Advice
Franks recommends physical self-defense training for women to protect against sexual assault and to reinforce that 'no' is a complete sentence.
## Key takeaway

Sexual assault is a free speech issue that silences women, and allowing it to happen with impunity means society doesn't care about women's voices.