Communications Law Commons^™

Countering Personalized Speech, Leon G. Ho

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

Social media platforms use personalization algorithms to make content curation decisions for each end user. These personalized recommendation decisions are essentially speech conveying a platform's predictions on content relevance for each end user. Yet, they are causing some of the worst problems on the internet. First, they facilitate the precipitous spread of mis- and disinformation by exploiting the very same biases and insecurities that drive end user engagement with such content. Second, they exacerbate social media addiction and related mental health harms by leveraging users' affective needs to drive engagement to greater and greater heights. Lastly, they erode end user …

The Tipping Point – Reevaluating The Asnef-Equifax Separation Of Competition Of Data Privacy Law In The Wake Of The 2017 Equifax Data Breach, Olivia Altmayer

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Contrary to the Court of Justice for the European Union’s decision in the Asnef-Equifax case, in a world of big data, it is inefficient and ineffective to treat EU competition law and EU data protection law as entirely separate legal considerations. Reevaluating this stance is critical in sectors where customer data is highly sensitive, and therefore highly valuable to those who steal it, particularly for the financial and healthcare sectors. Looking forward, companies that store and use biometric data will have to be similarly scrutinized. To correct this problem, the EU has numerous paths it can take: (a) continue as …

The Fragility Of The Free American Press, Ronnell Andersen Jones, Sonja R. West

Northwestern University Law Review

President Donald Trump has faced criticism for attacking the press and for abandoning longstanding traditions of accommodating and respecting it. This Essay argues that the national discussion spurred by Trump’s treatment of the press has fallen short of capturing the true seriousness of the situation. Trump’s assault on the custom of press accommodation follows a generation-long collapse of other major press protections. In order to fully understand the critical juncture at which American press freedom now stands, we must expand the discussion beyond talk of a rogue president’s aberrant attacks on the press and consider the increasingly fragile edifice on …

International Cryptography Regulation And The Global Information Economy, Nathan Saper

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

With the meteoric rise of the Internet and e-commerce in the 1990s came great attention to the problems and opportunities associated with cryptography. Throughout that decade, the United States and many foreign countries debated and experimented with various forms of cryptography regulation, and attempts were made at international harmonization. Since then, however, policy-making activity around cryptography has slowed, if not halted altogether, leaving individuals and companies to face a bewildering array of regulations—or, in many cases, to face regulations that are extraordinarily unclear and haphazardly applied.

This Note seeks to introduce the reader to the issue of international cryptography regulation …

The Collision Of Social Media And Social Unrest: Why Shutting Down Social Media Is The Wrong Response, Mirae Yang

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

With the growing availability of Internet access across the globe, social media has transformed the traditional relationship between government authority and its citizens by providing the people with an innovative and powerful means to harmonize their efforts in expressing their political and social concerns. The importance of safeguarding Internet availability is more critical than ever before as access to the Internet is now the means by which the world communicates, stays informed, and engages in daily tasks. In the face of potential social unrest fueled by social media, the United States must take a preventative approach, one that matches our …

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NJTIP Annual Symposium

Check-in for the Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property's 7th Annual Symposium

Supervising Managed Services, James B. Speta

Faculty Working Papers

Many Internet-access providers simultaneously offer Internet access and other services, such as traditional video channels, video on demand, voice calling, and other emerging services, through a single, converged platform. These other services—which can be called "managed services" because the carrier offers them only to its subscribers in a manner designed to ensure some quality of service—in many circumstances will compete with services that are offered by unaffiliated parties as applications or services on the Internet. This situation creates an important interaction effect between the domains of Internet access and managed services, an effect that has largely been missing from the …

Fcc Regulation And Increased Ownership Concentration In The Radio Industry, Peter Dicola

Faculty Working Papers

In 1996, Congress increased the limits on how many radio stations one firm can own within a single "radio market." To enforce these limits, the FCC used an idiosyncratic method of defining radio markets, based on the complex geometry of the signal contour patterns of radio stations' broadcasts. Using a unique geographic data set, this paper provides the first calculations of the pre- and post-1996 limits on local radio ownership as actually implemented by the FCC. The limits are surprisingly permissive and vary considerably from city to city. While the limits were seldom binding on radio firms, I find a …

Anticipating Regulation Of New Telecommunications Technologies: An Argument For The European Model, Jessica Finley

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper argues that the United States should look to the European Community in order to rework its telecommunications regulatory structure. More specifically, the United States should reconsider its current system of regulating various telecommunications sectors separately and follow the European Commission by developing a "single regulatory framework." By regulating the telecommunications transmission separately from telecommunications content, the United States can better anticipate emerging technologies rather than struggling to catch up with new technologies as they exceed the reach of the current regulatory framework. Part II will discuss the U.S. and European telecommunications regulatory frameworks. Part III will discuss the …

Investing In China's Telecommunications Market: Reflections On The Rule Of Law And Foreign Investment In China, Leontine D. Chuang

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The lack of clarity in China's investment laws has translated into an investment environment that is often uncertain, risky, and mired in red tape. In fact, there have been cases where foreign corporations have invested in joint ventures following what they thought to be all the requisite guidelines, only to find out after the money had exchanged hands that something was terribly wrong with the entire agreement. A perfect example of this is the birth, development, and eventual demise of the ill-fated China-China-Foreign (hereinafter "CCF") investment vehicles used for investment in China's telecommunications industry in the past few years. This …

Argentina And The Telecommunications Industry: The Difficult But Necessary Path Toward Liberalization, Vanessa P. Rubinstein

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article provides a synopsis of Argentina's telecommunications industry and examines the compelling reasons why Argentina must effectively liberalize the industry while eliminating its hidden protectionist policies. Part II presents a historical overview of the Argentina's telecommunications industry and analyzes Argentina's domestic laws requiring liberalization. Part III explores the main economic policy reasons for why liberalization of the Argentine telecommunications industry is essential. Part IV offers recommendations to better achieve effective development, liberalization and competition in the telecommunications industry. This article concludes that Argentina must completely liberalize its telecommunications industry for basic services, thereby abiding by its domestic legal commitments …

Nestle, Infant Formula, And Excuses: The Regulation Of Commercial Advertising In Developing Nations, Caryn L. Finkle

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Advertising has been recognized as one of the most persuasive forms of communication.' Can it also endanger the cultural autonomy of a nation? This comment addresses the potential role of advertising in developing countries and its regulation by the international community. The central question of this analysis is whether or not the advertising of the most developed nations, particularly the advertising produced by the so called "western media,"2 is a threat to the cultural survival of developing countries.' The answer to this question as reflected in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes4 is yes. The …

A Comparative Study Of The Regulatory Treatment Of Enhanced Services In The United States And The European Community, Steven M. Spaeth

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The telecommunications industry and the data processing industry have become integral parts of the world economy. Furthermore, over the years, these services have come to complement each other. The result has been the development of services which are made up of both communications and data processing components. For the past twenty years, the FCC has struggled to develop rules that will allow common carriers in the United States to take advantage of their economies of scope while preventing or minimizing the pernicious effects of cross-subsidization and bottlenecks. As a result, complicated rules, and definitions attempting to draw a line between …

The Lawyer's Intercultural Communication Problems With Clients From Diverse Cultures, Joan B. Kessler

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The role of the lawyer is currently in a state of flux. Former Chief Justice Warren Burger has repeatedly called upon the legal community to increase the study of communication skills in law schools. Other legal and communication scholars have recently discussed the importance of communication skills for the lawyer. More and more lawyers are becoming aware of the importance of understanding the research tools and theories used in communication research. The goal of this Perspective is to unify some of the empirical studies in the social sciences and law and to develop a theoretical model of intercultural interviewing and …

United States International Communications And Information Policy: A Crisis In The Making?, Dante B. Fascell, Virginia M. Schlundt

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The arrival of the highly-touted "information age" may precipitate a crisis for the United States if attention is not directed toward the impact of rapidly-changing communications technology on the American economy and society. Most discussions about the implications of the information age have centered on specific problem areas - such as regulation of transborder data flows, allocation of radio frequencies and deregulation of telecommunication services. This Perspective, however, will attempt to provide a cohesive discussion by examining the components of United Stats international communications and information policy, demonstrating their interrelationships, and pinpointing some of the implications of a failure to …