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 …

A Potential Status Update For The Visual Artists Rights Act: The Role Of Social Media Response In Judicial Analysis Of Recognized Stature, Olivia Calamia

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

In 2020, visual artists used the power and reach of social media platforms to share works of art inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, which experienced renewed vigor following the police murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Many of these works have taken the form of murals painted on city streets, building faces, and other spaces that promote public viewing. Many artists hope that their works will endure long past this moment of social and political reckoning. Manhattan based artist Amir Diop expressed his wishes simply but eloquently: “My hope is that [my art] is a …

Responding To Deficiencies In The Architecture Of Privacy: Co-Regulation As The Path Forward For Data Protection On Social Networking Sites, Laurent Cre ́Peau

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Social Networking Sites like Facebook, Twitter and the like are a ubiquitous part of contemporary culture. Yet, as exemplified on numerous occasions, most recently in the Cambridge Analytica scandal that shook Facebook in 2018, these sites pose major concerns for personal data protection. Whereas self-regulation has characterized the general regulatory mindset since the early days of the Internet, it is no longer viable given the threat social media poses to user privacy. This article notes the deficiencies of self-regulatory models of privacy and contends jurisdictions like Canada should ensure they have strong data protection regulations to adequately protect the public. …

Pay-To-Playlist: The Commerce Of Music Streaming, Christopher Buccafusco, Kristelia A. García

Publications

Payola—sometimes referred to as “pay-for-play”—is the undisclosed payment, or acceptance of payment, in cash or in kind, for promotion of a song, album, or artist. Some form of pay-for-play has existed in the music industry since the nineteenth century. Most prominently, the term has been used to refer to the practice of musicians and record labels paying radio DJs to play certain songs in order to boost their popularity and sales. Since the middle of the twentieth century, the FCC has regulated this behavior—ostensibly because of its propensity to harm consumers and competition—by requiring that broadcasters disclose such payments.

As …