Communications Law Commons^™

Digital Bodily Autonomy: Consent Issues, Labor Displacement, And Legal Understandings Of Ai Generated Deepfake Pornography, Mariah Barrett

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

In the United States, nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes are becoming an increasingly prevalent problem as AI deepfake creation software improves and becomes widely available. Despite this, patchwork legislation across the country is inconsistent and conflicting regarding this issue. In this paper, I explore the background of pornography and obscenity laws and demonstrate how these frameworks are not properly constructed to apply to the digital sphere. Then, I address major themes within deepfake literature such as consent issues, bodily autonomy, labor displacement, and verifiable identity as a commodity through the case study of OnlyFans. I explore current and proposed legislation within the …

Pwnagotchi: Deauthentication Attacks, Wpa Handshakes, And Wireless Network Security, Emily Musgrove

Computer Science Honors Papers

Wireless networks are the foundation of modern device communication infrastructure. This project examines the security implications of automated WPA/WPA2 handshake collection using the Pwnagotchi, a portable Wi-Fi network auditing and penetration testing device. The paper provides a technical analysis of WPA and WPA2 authentication mechanisms, including the structure of the 4-way handshake, the creation of cryptographic keys, and the role of deauthentication attacks in forcing reconnections for handshake capture. Additionally, the project explores the vulnerabilities associated with using legacy wireless security protocols such as WEP and TKIP to allow for older technologies that continue to require such encryption methods. This …

Empathy On Trial: The Role Of Neuroscience And Communication In Sexual Violence Jurisprudence, Samantha M. Gonzales

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Sexual violence remains a contentious public safety and legal challenge, which has become further complicated by the tension between supporting victim-survivors and safeguarding the falsely accused. False accusations, though still well below the numbers of rightly accused, are experiencing a rise in popularity given recent (past ten years) political climates. This thesis examines how communication theory, neuroscience, and law intersect in molding perceptions of truth, culpability, and justice in sexual violence cases; while also examining the intersectionality of those fields in addressing the candor of allegations, the rate of recidivism, and quality of public health and safety. The most prominent …

Outpatient Fall Prevention In Ambulatory Adults 65 Years Old And Over, Dorothy L. Osborne-White

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Background: In the United States (U.S.), falls are the leading cause of injury among adults 65 and over, resulting in 36 million falls yearly (Moreland et al., 2020). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2023), one in four older adults experiences a fall each year. Falls are the world's second most prominent cause of accidental deaths (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries among older adults (Moreland et al., 2020).

Methods: A quality improvement project that included a fall bundle was implemented in a primary clinic. A …

Identifying Youth Appeals In Alcohol Alternative Social Media Content Through Framing, Melina Oneal

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Proposed regulations for alcohol advertising prevent beverage companies from targeting people under the legal drinking age. However, similar regulations for alcohol alternative beverages are less explored, which could allow alcohol alternative products to create awareness for alcoholic beverages among youth. Alcohol alternatives beverages, including no-alcohol and low-alcohol products, are increasing in popularity and can function as compliments to alcoholic products to decrease the total alcohol volume consumed or as substitutes for alcoholic products. Framing theory can be operationalized through the Content Appealing to Youth Index, an index of content elements found in research literature to be appealing to youth, to …

Is There A Balance Between The U.S. Government Secrecy Regime And Free Speech Rights Of Government Employees?: The Legal Landscape Of The U.S. Government Control Of Information, Qinqin Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the tension between the U.S. government’s control of information and government employees’ claims to free speech rights. The U.S. government prepublication review is a censorship system that requires former and current federal government employees to submit any materials intended for publication to their agencies for prior review before they attempt to make any external communication or proceed with any publications. The prepublication review regime has become an essential means by which the U.S. government controls internal information, and has long been controversial because of its censorship nature. Specifically, this dissertation focuses on legal disputes between the U.S. …

Personal Data Privacy And Protective Federal Legislation: An Exploration Of Constituent Position On The Need For Legislation To Control Data Reliant Organizations Collecting And Monetizing Internet-Obtained Personal Data, Giovanni De Meo

Dissertations

In the past twenty years, the business of online personal data collection has grown at the same rapid pace as the internet itself, fostering a multibillion-dollar personal data collection and commercialization industry. Unlike many other large industries, there has been no major federal legislation enacted to monitor or control the activities of organizations dealing in this flourishing industry. The combination of these factors together with the lack of prior research encouraged this research designed to understand how much voters know about this topic and whether there is interest in seeing legislation enacted to protect individual personal data privacy.

To address …

Duality In Digital Discourse: The History And Future Of The American Public Forum, Nicholas Weaver

Honors Theses

From the onset of the republic, the liberty to speak freely and debate openly has stood guard and helped preserve all other American rights. While this concept has endured, the means by which it exists in society has changed immensely. As the public forum has evolved to fit the modern needs of the citizenry, political discourse has become less a defense against tyranny and more a chaotic space of conflicting opinions.

In the United States, privately-owned social media companies have grown at an unprecedented rate, yet lawmakers have been slow to exercise any authority to regulate these corporations. For public …

Pirate Radio Proves Invaluable To Immigrant Communities During The Pandemic — But The Fcc Isn’T Having It, May Olvera

Capstones

In January 2020, congress passed the PIRATE Act into law, expanding the legal consequences for operating pirate radio tenfold. Although the FCC claims that the reason they are cracking down on pirate stations — that is, stations broadcasting on regulated airwaves without an FCC license — is that they could interfere with emergency messaging, the pandemic has proven otherwise; there is no evidence of pirates interfering with official safety warnings. In fact, most pirate stations are run by immigrants speaking in their native tongue and they have been able to provide vulnerable and underserved communities with the information they need …

Does The Press Have A Right To Be Wrong?: Fake News, Press Freedom, And Defamation Law In 2021, Nathan T. Danielson

Journalism

The following study analyzes defamation lawsuits filed against Fox News and its on-air personalities by companies that manufactured and maintained voting machines used in the 2020 US presidential election. Smartmatic and Dominion accused Fox in court of broadcasting debunked allegations that the companies had rigged the election against incumbent president (and longtime Fox viewer) Donald Trump. The size of the sought-after damages, and the size of Fox itself, make this the largest “fake news suit” in history. This study explores the merits of the suits, defenses to defamation (particularly opinion, political speech, and retraction) and the potential ramifications of a …

Net Neutrality And Consumer Welfare: Divergent Approaches To The Egyptian Telecommunication Regulation, Mennatullah Helmy Hamada

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the implications of the debate on net neutrality on telecommunication policy in Egypt. I argue that consumer welfare should be the main determining factor of the effects of net neutrality obligations on the telecom sector. Consumer welfare must remain the focus of any regulator while applying net neutrality obligations. Consumers in any telecom market care about three elements, namely, prices, quality and speed of the internet, and openness and accessibility of the content available over the internet. Meanwhile, the main controllers of the telecom market are torn between preserving the nature of the internet and their own …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Democracy At Stake In The Digital Age: Engaging In The Net Neutrality Debate For The Preservation Of Free Speech And The Redemption Of Public Interest, Christina (Sung Min) Yoh

CMC Senior Theses

Net neutrality is currently one of the most topical government policies up for debate. In the following paper, I will examine three cases in which net neutrality has been threatened by internet service providers and the Federal Communications Commission and reinforced by public interest groups, major website companies, and the public. The online regime has been a critical instrument in the outcome of all three cases, highlighting the role and influence of internet users in the virtual and physical public spheres.

Some say that the battle is already lost. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and his Republican majority in the agency …

The Freedom Of Speech In Public Forums On College Campuses: A Single-Site Case Study On Pushing The Boundaries Of The Freedom Of Speech, Alexander Davidson

Journalism

The purpose of this single-site study is to test how far speech can be pushed before it is no longer protected at the California Polytechnic State University. The purpose isn’t merely to push limitations for the sake of testing boundaries, but it is to see what types of speech truly add to the marketplace of ideas and what types simply do not. The main points of the study are to understand what speech is protected and what speech is not protected on California Polytechnic State University’s campus and to understand how the provocation that comes along with “negative speech” can …

The Cyber-Industrial Complex, Connor O’Malley

Political Science Theses and Capstones

When Edward Snowden released a massive trove of classified files from the National Security Agency, the world became aware of numerous global surveillance systems. As Snowden hoped, a global dialogue began concerning surveillance, privacy, and government transparency. While there was a lively discourse surrounding the leak and Snowden, another story was missed. Snowden was not an employee of the NSA; rather he was an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, a private contractor maintaining computer systems for the NSA. The deeper story here is the emerging relationship between government agencies and technology companies. This paper discusses the theory of iron triangles …

From Temporary Incentive To Perpetual Entitlement: Historical Perspective On The Evolving Nature Of Copyright In America, Evan Boyd Billingsley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The original purpose of copyright legislation was to grant a temporary economic monopoly to an author of a creative work. This monopoly is meant to incentivize authors to contribute to the public good with works that promote progress in science and art. However, increases in the scope and duration of copyright terms grant overly broad protections and controls for copyright owners, while advances in technology have provided the public with the potential for near-limitless access to information. This creates a conflict between proprietary interest in creative works versus the public's right and ability to access same. Efforts to balance these …

Immigration Reform In America: Past, Present, And Future, Thaddeus Coffman

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper examines immigration legislation throughout the history of the United States. The author has divided the focus of legislative activity into four main eras: the Laissez- Fair Era (1789-1875), the Anti-Asian Era (1876-1920), the National Origin Quotas Era (1921-1953), and the Illegal Immigration Era (1954-present). While these eras are not all inclusive, they are indicative of the main focus of legislation passed during their time. The author then compares the impact of major legislation passed during these eras to three current proposals aimed at addressing the increasing issue of illegal immigration: two versions of a guest-worker program and amnesty/legalization …

Copyright Law And Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Neda Ballard Panula

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Regulasi Sosial Dalam Akta Komunikasi Dan Multimedia Dan Kesannya Kepada Masyarakat Malaysia, Syed Agil Alsagoff

Student Works (2000-2009)

Malaysia telah mengorak langkah dengan memperkenalkan kumpulan undang-undang siber bagi merancang dan melengkapi pembangunan bidang teknologi di negara ini. Salah satu daripada undang-undang siber yang pertama digubal di dunia dan dipelopori oleh Malaysia ialah Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia (Akta 588). Undang-undang ini memperkenalkan suatu bentuk percantuman media yang merangkumi bidang penyiaran, telekomunikasi dan multimedia di negara ini. Kajian khusus mengenai pelaksanaan akta ini adalah bertujuan untuk mendapatkan gambaran mengenai peruntukan Regulasi Sosial di dalam akta tersebut dan kesannya kepada masyarakat di negara ini. Oleh yang demikian, kajian bersifat deskriptif ini memberi penekanan terhadap latar belakang akta, peruntukan peraturan di dalam …

The Law Of The Telegraph Contracts -- Damages, Eugene L. Dominick

Historical Theses and Dissertations Collection

No abstract provided.