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Full-Text Articles in Law
Defining And Regulating Cryptocurrency: Fake Internet Money Or Legitimate Medium Of Exchange?, Susan Alkadri
Defining And Regulating Cryptocurrency: Fake Internet Money Or Legitimate Medium Of Exchange?, Susan Alkadri
Duke Law & Technology Review
Digitalization makes almost everything quicker, sleeker, and more efficient. Many argue cryptocurrency is the future of money and payment transfers. This paper explores how the unique nature of cryptocurrencies creates barriers to a strict application of traditional regulatory strategies. Indeed, state and federal regulators remain uncertain if and how they can regulate this cutting-edge technology. Cryptocurrency businesses face difficulty navigating the unclear regulatory landscape, and consumers frequently fall prey to misinformation. To reconcile these concerns, this paper asserts cryptocurrency functions as “currency” or “money” and should be treated as such for regulatory purposes. It also proposes each state implement a …
The Future Of Freedom Of Expression Online, Evelyn Mary Aswad
The Future Of Freedom Of Expression Online, Evelyn Mary Aswad
Duke Law & Technology Review
Should social media companies ban Holocaust denial from their platforms? What about conspiracy theorists that spew hate? Does good corporate citizenship mean platforms should remove offensive speech or tolerate it? The content moderation rules that companies develop to govern speech on their platforms will have significant implications for the future of freedom of expression. Given that the prospects for compelling platforms to respect users’ free speech rights are bleak within the U.S. system, what can be done to protect this important right? In June 2018, the United Nations’ top expert for freedom of expression called on companies to align their …
Dialing It Back: Why Courts Should Rethink Students’ Privacy And Speech Rights As Cell Phone Communications Erode The ‘Schoolhouse Gate’, Nicholas J. Mcguire
Dialing It Back: Why Courts Should Rethink Students’ Privacy And Speech Rights As Cell Phone Communications Erode The ‘Schoolhouse Gate’, Nicholas J. Mcguire
Duke Law & Technology Review
The ubiquity of cell phones in today’s society has forced courts to change or dismiss established, but inapplicable analytical frameworks. Two such frameworks in the school setting are regulations of student speech and of student searches. This Article traces the constitutional jurisprudence of both First Amendment off-campus speech protection and Fourth Amendment search standards as applied to the school setting. It then analyzes how the Supreme Court’s ruling in Riley v. California complicates both areas. Finally, it proposes a pragmatic solution: by recognizing a categorical First Amendment exception for “substantial threats” against the school community, courts could accommodate students’ constitutional …
Big Brother Is Listening To You: Digital Eavesdropping In The Advertising Industry, Dacia Green
Big Brother Is Listening To You: Digital Eavesdropping In The Advertising Industry, Dacia Green
Duke Law & Technology Review
In the Digital Age, information is more accessible than ever. Unfortunately, that accessibility has come at the expense of privacy. Now, more and more personal information is in the hands of corporations and governments, for uses not known to the average consumer. Although these entities have long been able to keep tabs on individuals, with the advent of virtual assistants and “always-listening” technologies, the ease by which a third party may extract information from a consumer has only increased. The stark reality is that lawmakers have left the American public behind. While other countries have enacted consumer privacy protections, the …
Online Terrorist Speech, Direct Government Regulation, And The Communications Decency Act, Steven Beale
Online Terrorist Speech, Direct Government Regulation, And The Communications Decency Act, Steven Beale
Duke Law & Technology Review
The Communications Decency Act (CDA) provides Internet platforms complete liability protection from user-generated content. This Article discusses the costs of this current legal framework and several potential solutions. It proposes three modifications to the CDA that would use a carrot and stick to incentivize companies to take a more active role in addressing some of the most blatant downsides of user-generated content on the Internet. Despite the modest nature of these proposed changes, they would have a significant impact.
Crashed Software: Assessing Product Liability For Software Defects In Automated Vehicles, Sunghyo Kim
Crashed Software: Assessing Product Liability For Software Defects In Automated Vehicles, Sunghyo Kim
Duke Law & Technology Review
Automated vehicles will not only redefine the role of drivers, but also present new challenges in assessing product liability. In light of the increased risks of software defects in automated vehicles, this Note will review the current legal and regulatory framework related to product liability and assess the challenges in addressing on-board software defects and cybersecurity breaches from both the consumer and manufacturer perspective. While manufacturers are expected to assume more responsibility for accidents as vehicles become fully automated, it can be difficult to determine the scope of liability regarding unexpected software defects. On the other hand, consumers face new …
Initial Coin Offerings: Innovation, Democratization And The Sec, Jay Preston
Initial Coin Offerings: Innovation, Democratization And The Sec, Jay Preston
Duke Law & Technology Review
Initial coin offerings are a source of controversy in the world of startup fundraising, and their legality is, at best, an open question. Amid soaring valuations and rumors of looming SEC action, investors and issuers alike are scrambling to forge a path forward for the token-based startups of tomorrow. While issuers may soon be forced to comply with United States securities laws, the existing regime is inadequate because it does not allow startups to capture the unique benefits of coin sales and, more importantly, it does not allow eager American investors to take part in funding the world’s next generation …
These Walls Can Talk! Securing Digital Privacy In The Smart Home Under The Fourth Amendment, Stefan Ducich
These Walls Can Talk! Securing Digital Privacy In The Smart Home Under The Fourth Amendment, Stefan Ducich
Duke Law & Technology Review
Privacy law in the United States has not kept pace with the realities of technological development, nor the growing reliance on the Internet of Things (IoT). As of now, the law has not adequately secured the “smart” home from intrusion by the state, and the Supreme Court further eroded digital privacy by conflating the common law concepts of trespass and exclusion in United States v. Jones. This article argues that the Court must correct this misstep by explicitly recognizing the method by which the Founding Fathers sought to “secure” houses and effects under the Fourth Amendment. Namely, the Court must …
Regulating Data As Property: A New Construct For Moving Forward, Jeffrey Ritter, Anna Mayer
Regulating Data As Property: A New Construct For Moving Forward, Jeffrey Ritter, Anna Mayer
Duke Law & Technology Review
The global community urgently needs precise, clear rules that define ownership of data and express the attendant rights to license, transfer, use, modify, and destroy digital information assets. In response, this article proposes a new approach for regulating data as an entirely new class of property. Recently, European and Asian public officials and industries have called for data ownership principles to be developed, above and beyond current privacy and data protection laws. In addition, official policy guidances and legal proposals have been published that offer to accelerate realization of a property rights structure for digital information. But how can ownership …
Hacking The Internet Of Things: Vulnerabilities, Dangers, And Legal Responses, Sara Sun Beale, Peter Berris
Hacking The Internet Of Things: Vulnerabilities, Dangers, And Legal Responses, Sara Sun Beale, Peter Berris
Duke Law & Technology Review
The Internet of Things (IoT) is here and growing rapidly as consumers eagerly adopt internet-enabled devices for their utility, features, and convenience. But this dramatic expansion also exacerbates two underlying dangers in the IoT. First, hackers in the IoT may attempt to gain control of internet-enabled devices, causing negative consequences in the physical world. Given that objects with internet connectivity range from household appliances and automobiles to major infrastructure components, this danger is potentially severe. Indeed, in the last few years, hackers have gained control of cars, trains, and dams, and some experts think that even commercial airplanes could be …
Live Sports Virtual Reality Broadcasts: Copyright And Other Protections, Marie Hopkins
Live Sports Virtual Reality Broadcasts: Copyright And Other Protections, Marie Hopkins
Duke Law & Technology Review
As virtual reality rapidly progresses, broadcasts are able to increasingly mimic the experience of actually attending a game. As the technology advances and the viewer can freely move about the game and virtual reality can simulate the in-stadium attendance, the virtual reality broadcast nears the point where the broadcast is indistinguishable from the underlying game. Thus, novel copyright protection issues arise regarding the ability to protect the experience through copyright. Although normal broadcasts may be copyrighted, virtual reality broadcasts of live sports could lack protection under the Copyright Act because the elements of originality, authorship, and fixation are harder to …
Peeling Back The Student Privacy Pledge, Alexi Pfeffer-Gillett
Peeling Back The Student Privacy Pledge, Alexi Pfeffer-Gillett
Duke Law & Technology Review
Education software is a multi-billion dollar industry that is rapidly growing. The federal government has encouraged this growth through a series of initiatives that reward schools for tracking and aggregating student data. Amid this increasingly digitized education landscape, parents and educators have begun to raise concerns about the scope and security of student data collection. Industry players, rather than policymakers, have so far led efforts to protect student data. Central to these efforts is the Student Privacy Pledge, a set of standards that providers of digital education services have voluntarily adopted. By many accounts, the Pledge has been a success. …