Dr. Chelsea L. Horne is a communication scholar examining media, technology, and their critical intersections with law, policy, and public life. Her work focuses on the global, political, and policy implications of digital media and emerging technology, with specialized expertise in privacy, design, digital ethics, and online trust and safety. Across her scholarly portfolio, she interrogates how technological architectures and governance frameworks shape public discourse, digital rights, and user autonomy.
Chelsea L. Horne
Assistant Professor
chh526@lehigh.edu
Education:
Ph.D. in Communication, American University
M.A. in Media, Technology, and Democracy, American University
M.F.A. in Creative Writing, American University
M.A. in Literature, Binghamton University
B.A. in English, Binghamton University
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Research Areas
Additional Interests
- Privacy
- Artificial Intelligence
- Social Media
- Internet Governance
- Information Integrity
Research Statement
Biography
Dr. Chelsea L. Horne is an Assistant Professor of Media Law and Policy in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Lehigh University.
She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from American University, as well as a Certificate in AI and Media Policy from Oxford University and a Certificate in AI Policy with Distinction from the Center for AI and Digital Policy. Prior to joining the faculty at Lehigh, she was a Senior Professorial Lecturer at American University, where she taught courses across media, culture, and technology.
Horne’s research spans communication, media and AI policy, privacy, emerging technology, information integrity, and internet governance. Her research agenda examines the global, political, and policy implications of digital media and emerging technology, with a specialization in privacy, design, trust, and safety. Her work considers media, communication, and technology through the lens of design and governance, attending to questions of privacy, fairness, law, and policy. In her current book project (under contract at MIT Press), she analyzes privacy at the intersection of media, design, policy, and platform governance to demonstrate how often-overlooked privacy settings hold major technological significance.
Recent peer-reviewed scholarship has been published in Telecommunications Policy, Routledge Studies in Shakespeare, and Writing Spaces. Horne’s essays have appeared in outlets such as The Atlantic, LitHub, The Rumpus, The Buffalo News, Washington Independent Review of Books, and Café Americain.
A frequent invited speaker and moderator, Dr. Horne regularly addresses global audiences on data governance, online trust and safety, and privacy, including recent presentations at the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Norway and the Internet Governance Forum USA (IGF-USA). Her leadership in the field extends to serving as Vice-President of the Internet Society-DC Chapter. Horne is also a member of the Steering and Programming Committees for IGF-USA, where she is Director of Academic and Youth Engagement.
Fun fact: Horne competed as a Division I student-athlete, playing softball at Binghamton University.
In progress:
Book under contract at MIT Press.
Select Recent Publications:
Horne, C. L. (2025). “Memes, Streams, and Conspiracy Machines: How Viral Disinformation is Producing a Shadow-Marketplace of Ideas.” Book Chapter for The Lizard People Don’t Want You To Read This: Essays on Conspiracy Theory in Popular Culture. McFarland Books. https://doi.org/10.57912/30442733
Horne, C.L. (2025).“Who has the Power?: A Comparative Analysis to Parental Controls on Social Media Platforms.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2024i0.13964.
Horne, C.L. (2025).“A Game of Privacy Tug of War: A Historical Analysis of Privacy Settings.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2024i0.13963.
Horne, C.L. (2023). “Rule by Default: A Cross-Platform Analysis of Platform Privacy Settings.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2022i0.13022.
Anastácio, K., Sanchez, M., and Horne, C. (2023). “A cross-country analysis of internet policies: trends in internet-related bills in Brazil, Chile, and the United States (1997-2021).” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2022i0.12971.
Horne, C.L. (2021). “Choice and Control: An Analysis of Privacy Values and Privacy Controls.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2021i0.11944.
Horne, C. L. (2021). Internet governance in the “post-truth era”: Analyzing key topics in “fake news” discussions at IGF. Telecommunications Policy, 45(6), 102150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2021.102150
Bernstein, A., and Horne, C. L. (2021). (alphabetical order). “Playing with Paywalls: Information Literacy in Theory and Practice.” Writing Spaces Assignments & Activities Archive. writingspaces.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Bernstein-Horne-AAA-contribution.pdf.
Horne, C., and A. Sinnreich. (2020). “The Internet is a Series of Analogies: Comparative Language as Power in Online Governance.” AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11237.
Horne, C. L. (2020). “Playing with Genre and Form: The “Magic Art” of Graphic Novel Adaptation in Shakespeare.” Playfulness in Shakespearean Adaptations, Aidan Norrie and Marina Gerzic (Ed.). Chapter. Routledge Studies in Shakespeare. doi:10.4324/9780429288807-6.
Select Recent Talks and Presentations:
Invited Panelist. “IGF-USA: Where Do We Go From Here.” Internet Governance Forum USA (IGF-USA) 2026, Philadelphia, PA, Sept. 9, 2026. https://tinyurl.com/3857kvxa.
Panel Chair and Panelist. “Hitting the Brakes or Learning to Steer: Fostering Informed AI Choices through Metacognition, Agency, and Inquiry.” 2026 College Composition and Communication Conference (CCCC), Cleveland, OH, Mar. 4-7, 2026.
Invited Panelist. “Local Data Governance for Global Public Good.” United Nations Internet Governance Forum, Oslo, Norway, June 22-27, 2025.
Invited Panelist. “Enhancing Data Governance in the Public Sector.” United Nations Internet Governance Forum, Oslo, Norway, June 22-27, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/ykymzc9f.
Horne, C. “Growing Up Governed: Parental Controls, Child Online Safety, and the Politics of Internet Regulation.” GigaNet Annual Symposium, Oslo, Norway, June 22, 2025.
Horne, C. “From Folios to Algorithms: Teaching Shakespeare in the Age of AI.” 56th Annual Convention of the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA), Philadelphia, PA, Mar. 6-9, 2025.
Horne. C. “Popular Conspiracy: American Myths & Misinformation.” Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA), Virtual Conference, Aug. 4, 2024.
Invited Moderator. “Internet Shutdowns and How to Stop Them.” ISOC-DC, ISOC-NY, Access Now, Online Webinar, June. 25, 2024. https://isoc.live/18092/.
Moderator. Access Now Report Release “Mapping Humanitarian Tech.” ISOC-DC, ISOC-NY, Access Now, Online Webinar, Mar. 6, 2024. https://isoc.live/17354/.
Moderator and Organizer. “Innovation for Good: A Conversation on the Internet’s Future.” Internet Society—DC and American University, Washington, DC, Feb. 13, 2024. https://isoc.live/17196/.
Invited Panelist. “The Internet, Hate Speech and Post-Truth” summit part of “Hate Speech: Crisis and Conversation” Project. University of Houston and Rice University, Houston, Texas, May 2023. https://youtu.be/06ma-_i2ZYI?si=MJXtAnbqSr6t8wWl.
Panel Chair and Panelist. “(Dis)Information Society: An Online Ecosystem in Peril.” 54th Annual Convention of Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA), Niagara Falls, NY, Mar. 23-26, 2023.
Panel Chair and Panelist. “Information, Technology, and Hope: Pedagogical Strategies for Empowering Student Researchers.” 2023 College Composition and Communication Conference (CCCC), Chicago, IL, Feb. 15-18, 2023.
Panel Chair and Presenter. “Information, Data, Media: Literacies and Cultures of Care.” 53rd Annual Convention of Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA), Baltimore, MD, Mar. 10-13, 2022.
Horne, C. “The ‘Regulatory Turn’ to Privacy: Implications for Privacy Settings of Digital Platforms.” International Communication Association (ICA) pre-conference Sovereignty and the Return of Governance for Digital Platforms. Paris, France (Online), May 25, 2022.
Horne, C. “Dark Patterns and Privacy Harms: Accountability and Agency in an Age of Disappearing Privacy.” GigaNet Annual Symposium, Katowice, Poland (Online), Dec. 6, 2021.
Presenter. “Norm Entrepreneurship in Internet Governance.” Paris, France (online). July 14, 2021.
Panel Chair and Presenter. “Digital Rhetoric in a Digital World: Cultures of Writing, Information, and Communication.” 52nd Annual Convention of Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA), Philadelphia, PA (Online), Mar. 11-14, 2021.
Horne, C. “Internet Governance in the “Post-Truth Era”: analyzing key topics in “Fake News” discussions at IGF.” GigaNet Annual Symposium, Katowice, Poland (Online), Nov. 2, 2020.
Teaching
JOUR 122: Media Ethics and Law