Law Commons^™

The End Of An Era: The Uncertain Future Of Section 230 Immunity For Social Media Platforms, Lillian H. Rucker

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Major social media platforms (SMPs), such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, have become the primary means of communication for billions of people worldwide. They are the largest modern news distributors and the primary curators of online public discourse. However, the expanding influence of SMPs has led many to publicly scrutinize the content moderation decisions of such platforms, as SMPs regularly remove, block, censor, and ban user-generated content (UGC), including third-party written messages, photos, and videos, at their discretion. Because SMPs exercise immense power and are largely self-regulated, there has been growing public sentiment that SMP content moderation violates Users’ free …

Regulating Social Media In The Global South, Zahra Takhshid

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In recent years, the disinformation crisis has made regulating social media platforms a necessity. The consequences of disinformation campaigns are not only limited to election interferences or political debates, but have also included fatal consequences. In response, scholars have generally focused on regulating social media companies in the United States without paying much attention to these companies’ global impact, particularly in the Global South. Lost in the quest to fight disinformation is addressing the social media companies’ neglect of consumer rights in the Global South.

Countries in the Global North, such as the United States, have the power to regulate …

Freedom To Discriminate: Assessing The Lawfulness And Utility Of Biased Broadband Networks, Rob Frieden

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article assesses the potential for harm to broadband consumers and competitors when Internet service providers (ISPs) tier service by combining so-called "unlimited usage" with reduced video image resolution and also by not metering usage when subscribers access specific content sources. ISPs previously generated no regulatory concerns when they developed different tiers of service and price points based on content transmission speeds and monthly allotment of data consumption.

However, recent "zero rating" and "unlimited" data offers have triggered questions as to whether ISPs engage in unlawful paid prioritization of certain traffic from specific sources or in traffic degradation by receiving …

Corporate Cybersecurity: The International Threat To Private Networks And How Regulations Can Mitigate It, Eric J. Hyla

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Cyberattacks are occurring at an accelerating pace. Foreign nations are increasingly utilizing hacking as a tool for economic gain, acts of aggression, or international political expression. At risk are US consumers'personal data, private firms' bottom line, and the economies'integrity. In response, federal and state lawmakers have issued a series of disparate, uncoordinated policies seeking to strengthen cybersecurity practices. However, recent events indicate that these policies are less than ideal. This Note suggests that a unified response to cybersecurity is required and calls for the establishment of a single, central federal agency with authority over all cybersecurity regulations. Such an agency …

"I Call Alexa To The Stand": The Privacy Implications Of Anthropomorphizing Virtual Assistants Accompanying Smart-Home Technology, Christopher B. Burkett

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note offers a solution to the unique privacy issues posed by the increasingly humanlike interactions users have with virtual assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa, which accompany smart-home technology. These interactions almost certainly result in the users engaging in the cognitive phenomenon of anthropomorphism--more specifically, an assignment of agency. This is a phenomenon that has heretofore been ignored in the legal context, but both the rapidity of technological advancement and inadequacy of current applicable legal doctrine necessitate its consideration now. Since users view these anthropomorphized virtual assistants as persons rather than machines, the law should treat them as such. To …

Taming The Internet Pitchfork Mob: Online Public Shaming, The Viral Media Age, And The Communications Decency Act, Kristine L. Gallardo

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Accompanying the explosive growth of the Internet, one lamentable trend is the rise of online public shaming. While online public shaming may positively incentivize individuals to modify their behavior in accordance with socially acceptable norms, there has also been the emergence of an online "pitchfork mob" that can have a real impact on individuals' livelihoods and overall well being. Due to the lack of legal remedies available to victims of certain types of online shaming, this Note suggests that web hosts are empowered by the expansive protections of the Communications Decency Act to develop and implement policies to curb the …

An Immovable Object And An Unstoppable Force: Reconciling The First Amendment And Antidiscrimination Laws In The Claybrooks Court, Erin A. Shackelford

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note broadly addresses the problem of racial stereotyping and racial roles in the media. It is viewed through the lens of Claybrooks v. ABC, Inc., a recent federal district court decision of first impression. In Claybrooks, the court dismissed the plaintiffs discrimination claims, ruling that casting decisions were protected under the First Amendment. This Note will address the problem of racial discrimination by focusing on racial misrepresentations in the media and the role of reality television programs in that landscape. Specifically, this Note will propose a new solution for the Claybrooks court. This analysis will assert that cast members …

Trading Rabbit Ears For Wi-Fi: Aereo, The Public Performance Right, And How Broadcasters Want To Control The Business Of Internet Tv, Jacob Marshall

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Aereo, a start-up company that allows consumers to stream free, over-the-air broadcasts to their phones and computers, seems rather innocuous. Yet the major broadcasting networks have attempted to shut Aereo down since its inception, claiming that Aereo infringes on their copyright. Aereo claims that its unique technology--where each user is assigned their own, individual antenna--ensures that Aereo does not infringe on the broadcasters' public performance rights. The United States Supreme Court has granted certiorari on the matter. The broadcasters are approaching the case as an existential battle, claiming that Aereo threatens retransmission fees, licensing fees broadcasters collect from cable companies. …

The New World Of Mobile Communication: Redefining The Scope Of Warrantless Cell Phone Searches Incident To Arrest, Samuel J.H. Beutler

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In many jurisdictions, law enforcement officials may conduct a warrantless search of the contents of an arrestee's cell phone incident to an arrest. The judicial precedent for this policy dates back to the early 1990s when courts equated early mobile technology, such as pagers and first generation cell phones, to physical containers capable of storing a limited number of calls or messages. Supreme Court precedent had long permitted the warrantless search of such containers incident to arrest. However, due to advancements in technology, mobile devices, such as smart phones, now have the capacity to hold a larger amount of personal …

Hit And Miss: Leverage, Sacrifice, And Refusal To Deal In The Supreme Court Decision In Trinko, Nicholas Economides

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Under the rules of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, incumbent local exchange carriers, including Verizon, were obligated to lease parts of their local telecommunications network to any firm, at "cost plus a reasonable profit" prices, that could combine them at will, add retailing services, and sell local telecommunication service as a rival to the incumbent. AT&T, an entrant into the local telecommunications market, leased parts of Verizon's network. Curtis Trinko, a local telecommunications services customer of AT&T, sued Verizon, alleging various anti-competitive actions of Verizon against AT&T, including that Verizon raised the costs of AT&T, its downstream retail rival. The …

Calling All Angles: Perspectives On Regulating Internet Telephony, Melissa Winberg

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act, substantially revising the Communications Act of 1934 to reflect technological advances, including the Internet, and Congress's deregulatory goals. Currently, however, new technologies are challenging the viability of the statutory definitions and regulatory schemes of the statute. Internet telephony, commonly called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is both a replacement for traditional telephone service and a new web-based technology. Given the current competitive political climate and the magnitude of the interests involved, Congress is unlikely to succeed in altering the telecommunications regime. Thus, the Federal Communications Commission, which has the authority to regulate interstate …

"Did You Want Fries With That?" The Unanswered Question Of Federal Product Placement Regulation, Raghu Seshadri

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note argues that the structure of existing FCC and FTC regulatory regimes is not effective in addressing challenges posed by certain types of product placement. Thus, a specific disclosure requirement targeting non-visual product placement is needed. Part I presents an overview of the existing federal regulatory structure governing product placement, and the current arguments for and against affirmative disclosure requirements. Parts II and III identify the various categories of product placement and argue that non-visual placement presents unique challenges that are absent in other categories of product placement. Finally, Part IV argues that the current regulatory regime is insufficient, …

Bring It On: The High-Stakes Battle Over Whether The Courts, Congress Or The Fec Should Muzzle Independent "527" Television Advertising, Christopher G. Johnson

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note analyzes possible FEC actions, pending court decisions, and proposed legislation that could once again dramatically change the landscape of political advertising. Section I of this Note examines the BCRA and the Supreme Court's subsequent ruling in McConnell v. FEC that created the environment that caused 527's to flourish. Section II focuses on FEC enforcement of campaign finance laws and examines a pending court case considering whether the FEC acted arbitrarily by failing to require all 527's to register as political committees. Section III considers whether courts or law-makers should require 527's to register as political committees in light …

Protecting The Future: A Strategy For Creating Laws Not Constrained By Technological Obsolescence, Jay Campbell

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note will examine the obsolescence of laws through the lens of recent cases relating to "wiretapping laws" and propose the creation of laws that protect certain rights independent of technology. Recently, a number of courts have held that laws created in the mid-1980's to protect communications do not apply to Internet-related communications, reasoning that the method of transmission falls outside the language of the statutes. As a result, e-mail and other forms of Internet-based communications are treated differently from older forms of communication such as telephone conversations. This note will propose a broad legislative solution with the aim of …

New Media, New Rules: The Digital Performance Right And Streaming Media Over The Internet, Joseph E. Magri

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Streaming music over the Internet, or what otherwise is known as webcasting or Internet radio, has the potential to become the single most revolutionary means of music transmission ever developed.' In order to appreciate the potential impact of Internet radio, it is helpful to understand that Internet radio has the ability to venture far beyond the at-home personal computer that is tethered to a wall and logged-on to the Internet. With advances in wireless broadband technologies, such as wireless fidelity or Wi-Fi, and the growing availability of Internet content via mobile devices,' Internet radio will soon become widely available on …

Applying Pen Register And Trap And Trace Devices To Internet Communications, Rich Haglund

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note will explain how the different surveillance methods work: wire taps, pen register and trap and trace devices. It will outline the development of case law and legislation defining what constitutes unlawful searches and seizures involving electronic communications. After explaining how email and internet addresses are collected (and whether the FBI's tool for collection works within the bounds set by the law), this note will discuss the provisions of the Patriot Act that regulate collection of that information. This note will show, using the application of pen register and trap and trace devices to the Internet as an example, …

Digital Performance Royalties: Should Radio Pay?, Bruce H. Phillips, Carl R. Moore

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

We must acknowledge that some questions remain unanswered. Have we entered an era in which record labels, recording artists, record producers, and musicians will finally earn royalties for the public performance of their creations? Will the recent Copyright Office action be a watershed development in United States copyright law? Or will the broadcasters and their well-funded and powerful lobbying arm, the NAB, prevail in the end--if not in the courts, then in Congress? The only clear answer is simply this: not if the RIAA, the record labels' own well-funded and powerful lobbying arm, has anything to do with it. It …

Changing Horses In Mid-Stream: The Copyright Office's New Rule Makes Broadcasters Pay For "Streaming" Their Signals Over The Internet, Samuel Fifer, Gregory R. Naron

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

With traditional, over-the-air broadcasts, radio stations do not have to start paying license fees to rights holders if they get a bigger transmitter or technology allows their signal to reach more listeners. That much, not even the RIAA will dispute. So why should it matter if stations use the Internet to reach additional listeners? The law shouldn't be interpreted to discourage radio stations from using new Internet technology to do the same thing they're doing now--especially since Congress itself expressly said it did not want to "[hamper] ... new technologies" or "impose new and unreasonable burdens" on broadcasters. And make …

Pay For Play: An Old Tactic In A New Environment, Douglas Abell

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Promotional strategies involving payola --the payment of cash, drugs, or any other consideration to radio stations and their employees in exchange for airplay-- are generally illegal under federal law. Theoretically, these laws prohibit only undisclosed payola practices. Payola scandals of the late 1980s, however, illustrate that such practices have not ended. In fact, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the "Act") created an environment in which pay-for-play, a disclosed and fully legal form of payola, could thrive. The possibility of returning to practices reminiscent of illegal payola has, however, sparked debate as to whether record labels should ever pay radio stations …

Rebroadcast Rights: The Coming Battle In The War Between The Networks And The Affiliats, Harland R. Schreiber

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note will analyze the present rebroadcast dispute, examining the legal and practical issues that will arise and recommend how the parties should proceed in the controversy. The analysis will place this controversy within the larger context of how networks and affiliates are attempting to redefine their roles in the television industry.

The first section will address the history of networks and affiliates and how their relationships have changed as technology has advanced. The second section will then place the present controversy regarding cable rebroadcasts within the framework of the larger industry. It will also address how the present controversy …