Digital Commons Network^™

Granting Legal Personality To Artificial Intelligences In Brazil’S Legal Context: A Possible Solution To The Copyright Limbo, Victor Habib Lantyer

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

This Article investigates the feasibility and consequences of granting legal personality to Artificial Intelligences (AIs) in the context of Brazilian law, with a special focus on copyright law. It conducts a thorough analysis of how such a grant can enhance legal security and encourage innovation in AI technologies. Through an integrative review of the literature and a comparative analysis of national and international legislation and jurisprudence, the study explores the implications of this legislative innovation. This Article highlights the importance of legal clarity for companies and investors in the AI sector, emphasizing that granting legal personality to AIs can simplify …

Choice Of Law Issues In Eleventh Circuit Insurance Cases Arising From Lex Loci Contractus, Tom Schulte, Andrea Defield, Jorge Aviles

University of Miami Law Review

A growing number of cases have emerged from the Eleventh Circuit struggling with the application of lex loci contractus to choice-of-law issues in the insurance context. And while the federal courts continue to struggle, the state courts in the Eleventh Circuit have not yet offered definitive guidance on when to apply lex loci contractus, and when to depart from it. In light of this choice-of-law issue, which can be and often is outcome determinative, this Article offers practical guidance on how policyholders can avoid application of an unfavorable state’s law to their insurance dispute, both before and after litigation …

Understanding Cyber Risk: Unpacking And Responding To Cyber Threats Facing The Public And Private Sectors, Lawrence J. Trautman, Scott Shackelford, Brian Elzweig, Peter Ormerod

University of Miami Law Review

Cyberattacks, data breaches, and ransomware continue to pose major threats to businesses, governments, and health and educational institutions worldwide. Ongoing successful instances of cybercrime involve sophisticated attacks from diverse sources such as organized crime syndicates, actors engaged in industrial espionage, nation-states, and even lone wolf actors having relatively few resources. Technological innovation continues to outpace the ability of U.S. law to keep pace, though other jurisdictions including the European Union have been more proactive. Nation-state and international criminal group ransomware attacks continue; Sony’s systems were hacked by a ransomware group; MGM Resorts disclosed that recovery from their September 2023 hack …

Understanding Cyber Risk: Unpacking And Responding To Cyber Threats Facing The Public And Private Sectors, Lawrence J. Trautman, Scott Shackelford, Brian Elzweig, Peter Ormerod

University of Miami Law Review

Cyberattacks, data breaches, and ransomware continue to pose major threats to businesses, governments, and health and educational institutions worldwide. Ongoing successful instances of cybercrime involve sophisticated attacks from diverse sources such as organized crime syndicates, actors engaged in industrial espionage, nation-states, and even lone wolf actors having relatively few resources. Technological innovation continues to outpace the ability of U.S. law to keep pace, though other jurisdictions including the European Union have been more proactive. Nation-state and international criminal group ransomware attacks continue; Sony’s systems were hacked by a ransomware group; MGM Resorts disclosed that recovery from their September 2023 hack …

Prefatory Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

From Alpha To Omegle: A.M. V. Omegle And The Shift Towards Product Liability For Harm Incurred Online, Preston Buchanan

University of Miami Business Law Review

But for the Internet, many of our interactions with others would be impossible. From socializing to shopping, and, increasingly, working and attending class, the Internet greatly facilitates the ease of our daily lives. However, we frequently neglect to consider that our conduits to the Internet have the potential to lead to harm and injury. When the Internet was in its infancy, and primarily was a repository of information, Congress recognized the threat of continual lawsuits against online entities stemming from the content created by their users. The Communications Decency Act of 1996 arose to mitigate the seemingly Herculean task for …

Virtual Stardom: The Case For Protecting The Intellectual Property Rights Of Digital Celebrities As Software, Alexander Plansky

University of Miami Business Law Review

For the past several decades, technology has allowed us to create digital human beings that both resemble actual celebrities (living or deceased) or entirely virtual personalities from scratch. In the near future, this technology is expected to become even more advanced and widespread to the point where there may be entirely virtual celebrities who are just as popular as their flesh-and-blood counterparts—if not more so. This raises intellectual property questions of how these near-future digital actors and musicians should be classified, and who will receive the proceeds from their performances and appearances. Since, in the near-term, these entities will probably …

Prevent Phishy Business: Comparing California’S And The United Kingdom’S Age-Appropriate Design Code To Protect Youth From Cybersecurity Threats, Morgan Comite

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

Cybersecurity is the safeguarding of computer systems and networks against information disclosure, theft, or damage to users’ hardware, software, or electronic data, as well as disruption or misdirection of the services computers and networks provide. Knowing privacy would be breached due to the impact of COVID, in 2020, the United Kingdom got ahead of the game and passed rules/regulations requiring online services to protect children under the age of eighteen from scams, phishing, and security attacks. However, currently, the United States does not have a sufficient uniform privacy law governed to protect children under the age of eighteen from cybersecurity …

The Ideal Approach To Artificial Intelligence Legislation: A Combination Of The United States And European Union, Dane Chapman

University of Miami Law Review

The evolution of Artificial Intelligence (“A.I.”) from a speculative concept depicted in science fiction to its integration into various aspects of everyday life has brought about complex challenges for contemporary legislators. The proliferation of A.I. technology has led to a growing recognition of the need for regulation, as it poses both promises and threats to society. On the one hand, A.I. has the potential to enhance efficiency in various fields, such as medicine and automation of routine tasks. On the other hand, if left unregulated, A.I. has the potential to undermine democratic principles and infringe upon fundamental rights. Thus, legislators …

Standing Up To Hackers: Article Iii Standing For Victims Of Data Breaches, Kendall Coffey

University of Miami Law Review

Despite the increasing amount of data breaches, there is no liability for parties who do not adequately protect victim’s information. In federal court, plaintiffs must show that their injury was concrete, particularized, and imminent. But, when plaintiffs’ information has been stolen, but not yet criminally used, they may be unable to establish a right to relief. Victims face challenges when seeking damage for this future harm, because despite their destroyed privacy, they may not have evidence of a perpetrator’s actual misuse of purloined data. This Article analyzes multiple court decisions, generally in the setting of class-actions, and discusses outcomes of …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Domestic Violence And Digital Abuse: Addressing The Problem Through A National Action Plan, Kayla Bokzam

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

This Article discusses the impact of COVID-19 on domestic violence and digital abuse around the world, with a focus on the United States. Violence against women has increased since the start of the pandemic largely due to lockdown restrictions and other measures taken by governments to slow the spread of the virus. Further, with an increase in the use of technology throughout our daily lives, digital abuse has become more prevalent and particularly impacts women and girls. This paper analyzes the national action plans on gender-based violence in Australia and South Africa and explores how the United States can create …

Gender Justice And Human Rights Symposium: Holistic Approaches To Gender Violence, Denisse Córdova Montes, Tamar Ezer, Reem Ali, Kayla Bokzam, Renu Sara Nargund, Megan Norris, Maxwell Zoberman

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Immunization And Indemnification: Rethinking The Us Approach To Liability Protections For Vaccine Manufacturers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Samantha Topper Berns

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

This note analyzes the legal mechanisms in the United States that provide compensation for vaccine injuries sustained as a result of inoculation against pandemic viruses when a public health emergency has been declared. While the United States has an every-day compensation scheme that deters litigation by providing just compensation yet upholds the right of injured parties to seek damages in court, it has a special compensation scheme applicable to vaccines developed to address public health emergencies that bars litigation by effectively providing vaccine manufactures with complete indemnification and severely restricts the ability of injured parties to receive compensation. Meanwhile, in …

Investing In Human Futures: How Big Tech And Social Media Giants Abuse Privacy And Manipulate Consumerism, Brett Dembrow

University of Miami Business Law Review

Social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram originated with one seemingly innocent goal: “to bring the world closer together.”1 Now, these Big Tech giants own and operate some of the most powerful platforms in the world simply because of their unethical yet effective strategies to maintain their users’ attention. Social media companies have monetized the amount of time their users spend on their platforms by honing in on the individual preferences of each user and selling that access to advertisers. This heightened access to potential consumers and their preferences has become the most valuable marketing tool for digital …

Gambling On Video Games: The Global Esports Betting Market And The Dawn Of Legalized Esports Gambling In The United States, Jake Bland

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

This Note compares eSports gambling regulations in the United States with regulations implemented in various foreign countries. eSports is a rapidly growing form of sport competition centered around video games. Video games have been a widely popular form of entertainment spanning the globe for many years. However, treating video games as a professional sport and form of monetized competition is a very recent phenomenon in the global mainstream market. Like traditional sports such as football and basketball, eSports have garnered significant attention in the gambling market. Sports betting has long been prevalent in the underworld of the United States, but …

Tiktok, Cfius, And The Splinternet, Jake T. Seiler

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

This note will discuss the role that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or “the Committee”) has played in foreign relations and how it contributes to the balkanization of the internet today. The Committee is an interagency body that reviews foreign investments for potential national security threats. Recently, CFIUS has been in the spotlight for its role in the sale of TikTok, a cellphone app owned by a popular Chinese corporation, ByteDance. While much of CFIUS’ review in the past has been focused on Chinese-owned corporations, there is much debate about whether or not countries should …

Big Data, Both Friend And Foe: The Intersection Of Privacy And Trade On The Transatlantic Stage, Gabrielle C. Craft

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

This Note analyzes the data privacy protection initiatives implemented by the European Union and the United States and their effects on international trade. As technology develops, the feasibility of data collection increases, allowing for the collecting of inconceivable amounts of data information. Consequently, this data includes personal information, thus implicating privacy concerns and the need for data privacy protection regulations. Data privacy focuses on the use and governance of personal data and how the data is gathered, collected, and stored. In 2018, the European Union enacted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which sets out highly stringent standards for how …

The Increased Use And Permanency Of Technology: How Those Changes Impact Attorneys’ Professional Responsibility And Ethical Obligations To Clients And Recommendations For Improvement, Scott B. Piekarsky

University of Miami Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Revengence Taken: Russian Active Measures And Our Entrenched Racial Divide, Erin Berhan

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

Our racial divide has always been a national security threat. An early observer of our American project, Alexis de Tocqueville, wrote about this threat to our future union in “Democracy in America,” learned by merely travelling the young nation thirty years before our Civil War.1 Despite generations of societal and legal evolution, our nation has not overcome the wounds and disabilities that our racial divide left behind — now ripe for modern security threats. In 2019, the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released Volume II of their years long investigation into Russian Active Measures of interference with our …

Fear, Loathing, And The Hemispheric Consequences Of Xenophobic Hate, Ernesto Sagás, Ediberto Román

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

“When you have fifteen thousand people marching up . . . how do you stop these people?” “You shoot them” [crowd member shouts] [chuckling, Trump responds:] “[O]nly in the Panhandle can you get away with that thing.”¹
President Donald Trump

“Thousands of criminal aliens. They’re pouring into our country.”²
President Donald Trump

“They’re not people, these are animals.”³
President Donald Trump

“Take a look at the death and destruction that’s been caused by people coming into this country caused by people that shouldn’t be here.”⁴
President Donald Trump

“ [We] have millions and millions of people …

Defend Forward & Sovereignty: How America’S Cyberwar Strategy Upholds International Law, Elya Taichman

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

To thwart a seemingly neve rending bombardment of cyberattacks, the U.S. Department of Defense recently implemented a new strategy – defending forward. This approach demands persistently engaging the enemy on a daily basis to disrupt cyber activity. Rather than waiting to be attacked, the United States is bringing the fight to the enemy. However, this strategy poses fascinating and complex questions of international law. In particular, because most defend forward operations fall within the gray zone of warfare, it remains unclear whether these operations violate the sovereignty of American adversaries or even third party nation states in whose cyberspace U.S. …

Information Age Imperialism: China, ‘Race,’ And Neo-Colonialism In Africa And Latin America, James Dever, Jack Dever

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Using Election Forecasts To Understand The Potential Influence Of Campaigns, Media, And The Law In U.S. Presidential Elections, Peter K. Enns, Julius Lagodny

University of Miami Law Review

How do campaigns, media, and voting laws influence the outcome of U.S. Presidential elections? Political scientists often argue that these factors influence outcomes much less than commonly thought. To illustrate this argument, we show that we can predict the presidential vote in each state with a high degree of accuracy. Specifically, between 2004 and 2016, we correctly predict 94% of all state presidential vote outcomes. Our predictions are based on a forecasting model of the Electoral College, based primarily on each state’s approval rating of the incumbent president (using almost 90,000 survey responses from June and July of election years), …

The Cost Of Free Speech: Combating Fake News Or Upholding The First Amendment?, Brittany Finnegan

University of Miami Law Review

This Note examines the pervasive and evolving “fake news” problem. Specifically, it explores whether the United States government could pass legislation, modeled after a recently passed German law, regulating propagandistic social media posts. The answer to this question, in short, is no. By comparing the German Basic Law and the U.S. Constitution, this Note highlights the stringency of U.S. First Amendment protections and underscores the U.S. government’s inability to combat fake news through legislation. While this Note primarily focuses on the prevalence of fake news in the context of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, related developments and areas of research …

Coining New Tax Guidance: How The Irs Is Falling Behind In Crypto, David C. Mcdonald

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

In October 2019, the Internal Revenue Service offered its first guidance on cryptocurrency reporting standards in nearly five years. As digital investments become more commonly accepted, the need for regulation and guidance becomes clearer. Issues such as how to classify cryptocurrencies and how a transaction’s purpose impacts reporting standards are currently being addressed across the globe as governments work to develop protocols that organize this rapidly developing field. This note analyzes the developing reporting standards of select countries and the potential impacts on use as cryptocurrencies become more mainstream as a potential investment and method of payment.

Algorithms And Omertà: A Discussion Of Compatibility Between Seemingly Disparate Legal Spheres, Cameron Chuback

University of Miami Law Review

This Note assesses the viability of federal prosecutors’ use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) to prosecute spoofing, a market manipulating trading practice characterized by the cancellation of large orders meant to artificially alter market prices. Traditional spoofing convictions have been difficult to secure because of spoofing’s complicated and esoteric nature and difficult-to-prove elements. Now, for the first time, prosecutors in United States v. Smith have indicted alleged spoofers under RICO, which Congress designed with the intent to overcome evidentiary difficulties in organized crime prosecutions, particularly prosecutions of the American Mafia. However, the disparity between spoofing and …

Little Pink Flower With A Darker Story To Tell: The Role Of Emojis In Online Human Trafficking And Potential Fosta-Sesta Liability, Olivia Parise

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

There seems to be an emoji for every expression, thought, and feeling – even for human traffickers. Emojis have evolved into a primary lexicon for online human trafficking. This coded language has allowed online human traffickers to evade detection and prosecution. Courts and law enforcement are confused by the seemingly innocent use of emojis in advertisements and conversations that have serious human trafficking implications. Now, the code is cracked. Researchers have studied the intersection of emojis and human trafficking to such an extent that they have caught on to the secret online language of emojis. As the use of emojis …

Airdrops: “Free” Tokens Are Not Free From Regulatory Compliance, Bridgett S. Bauer Esq.

University of Miami Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cryptocurrencies, Cybersecurity And Bankruptcy Law: How Global Issues Are Globalizing National Remedies, Renato Mangano

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

The market for cryptocurrencies is interspersed with cases of loss, theft and fraud and a new transnational practice in bankruptcy law is emerging whereby cryptocurrency exchanges compensate the injured users on a collective basis. This paper will argue: first, that this trend has transplanted into Asia and Europe the US idea according to which bankruptcy law can be employed to avoid mass litigation; secondly, that this trend has transcended the debate about the characterization of digital assets, including the concerns of those scholars who maintain that digital coins cannot be objects of property; and thirdly that – since this practice …

The Future Is Today: Preparing The Legal Ground For The United States Space Force, Clayton J. Schmitt

University of Miami Law Review

The Space Race officially launched on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union placed Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite, into Earth’s orbit. The United States fired back four months later, on January 31, 1958, by launching its own satellite, Explorer I. While both superpowers’ programs facially focused on scientific research, each was funded and directed by their respective militaries. Military functions in space followed shortly, with the United States beginning to place its first reconnaissance satellites in space in 1959 as part of the Corona program. American and Soviet discussions following these initial military developments eventually led to the …