Communications Law Commons^™

Creating Effective Broadband Network Regulation, Daniel L. Brenner

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Internet is central to the business and pastimes of Americans. Calls for increased regulation are ongoing, inevitable, and often justified. But calls for "network neutrality" or "nondiscrimination" assume with little hesitation federal agency competence to give predictable and accurate meaning to these terms and create regulations to implement them. This Article's chief contribution to Internet policy debate is to focus attention on the likelihood of successful FCC Internet regulation-a key assumption of some advocates.

The Article analyzes three characteristics that hobble the FCC, which is the likeliest federal agency to provide prescriptive rules. First, the record for the agency …

Network Neutrality Between False Positives And False Negatives: Introducing A European Approach To American Broadband Markets, Jasper P. Sluijs

Federal Communications Law Journal

Network neutrality has become a contentious issue both in Europe and the United States. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic face digital divides in their society, and are confronted with potentially conflicting policy goals-to incentivize private investment in next-generation broadband while maintaining "neutral" and competitive broadband networks.

This Article compares nascent American and European network neutrality policy in terms of regulatory error costs. Emerging markets, such as broadband, are more likely to be affected by regulatory errors, and these errors have graver consequences in emerging markets than in regular markets. U.S. telecommunications policy traditionally has advanced a trial-and-error approach …

Universal Service In The United States: A Focus On Mobile Communications, Steven G. Parsons, James Bixby

Federal Communications Law Journal

The concept of universal service, providing affordable telecommunications to all citizens, has a long and changing history in the United States. Prior to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, efforts to achieve universal service were largely based on a complex web of implicit subsidies to basic landline local exchange residential service. The Act expanded and codified the concept of universal service and made the subsidies largely explicit. This Article evaluates the possible economic rationales for subsidizing voice communications and find them lacking. This Article argues that the weak rationale for subsidizing basic voice communications makes it critical that U.S. universal-service policy …

Whose Burden Is It Anyway? Addressing The Needs Of Content Owners In Dmca Safe Harbors, Greg Janson

Federal Communications Law Journal

Much of today's network neutrality debate addresses concerns that cable providers will limit access to competing Web-based services delivering multimedia content. While proposals to mandate nondiscrimination for all Internet traffic surely will help create a competitive environment where online entertainment providers can prosper, ISP interference is not the only threat. Online entertainment sites that relay user-generated content are threatened by crippling litigation brought by copyright holders for actions taken by third parties using their services. Reliance on the safe harbors provided in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has, in most cases, proved unsuccessful. This Note addresses the concerns of both …

A "Pay Or Play" Experiment To Improve Children's Educational Television, Lili Levi

Articles

No abstract provided.

Virtually Enabled: How Title Iii Of The Americans With Disabilities Act Might Be Applied To Online Virtual Worlds, Joshua Newton

Federal Communications Law Journal

The rise and popularity of online virtual worlds, such as World of Warcraft and Second Life, holds significant promise for people with disabilities. For people who are unable to easily leave home or travel, virtual worlds provide a public venue, wherein people may interact freely without the social stigma that accompanies disability. However, access to these virtual worlds may be inhibited by physical, visual, or aural impairments, and virtual-world developers can be hostile to modifying their products to mitigate these difficulties. Thus, some disability advocates have turned to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, arguing that places of …

Sexting And Teenagers: Omg R U Going 2 Jail???, Catherine Arcabascio

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Sexting is a relatively recent practice engaged in by the young, and sometimes not-so-young, and foolish. “Sexting” is “the practice of sending or posting sexually suggestive text messages and images, including nude or semi-nude photographs, via cellular telephones or over the Internet.”

City Of New York V. Verizon New York, Inc., Michael T. Leigh

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Digital + Library: Mass Book Digitization As Collective Inquiry, Mary Murrell

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Be Kind, Please Rewind - The Second Circuit Gives Cable Providers Something To Watch In Cartoon Network L.P., V. Csc Holdings, Inc., Peter Hamner

Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal (1994 - )

No abstract provided.

The Fcc's Affirmative Speech Obligations Promoting Child Welfare, Lili Levi

Articles

No abstract provided.

Introduction: The Law School's Role In Documenting And Analyzing The Increasingly Rapid Development Of Broadband, Michael Botein

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Fraud, Fools, And Phishing: Mail Fraud And The Person Of Ordinary Prudence In The Internet Age, Lauren D. Lunsford

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Fair Use And Trademark Use, Margreth Barrett

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Almost Famous: Preventing Username-Squatting On Social Networking Websites, Zorik Pesochinsky

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Preempting Justice: Precrime In Fiction And In Fact, Mark Niles

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Essays On The Future Of Digital Communications, Fernando Laguarda

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

INTRODUCTION: The Time Warner Cable Research Program on Digital Communications is pleased to have supported the five essays in this Federal Communications Law Journal symposium. We launched the research program with the goal of encouraging debate and discussion on ideas of importance to the future of our industry and its role in the communities we serve. We hope to do so by providing a new forum for scholars to engage with the community of stakeholders who make and influence policy. We want to encourage increased dialogue and generate new ideas that bring us closer to solving the challenges we face. …

Not Undertaking The Almost-Impossible Task: The 1961 Wire Act’S Development, Initial Applications, And Ultimate Purpose, David G. Schwartz

Library Faculty Research

For a Camelot-era piece of legislation, the Wire Act has a long and unintended shadow. Used haltingly in the 1960s, when the Wire Act failed to deliver the death blow to organized crime, 1970’s Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) became a far better weapon against the mob. Yet starting in the 1990s, the Wire Act enjoyed a second life, when the Justice Department used to it prosecute operators of online betting Web sites that, headquartered in jurisdictions where such businesses were legal, took bets from American citizens. The legislative history of the Wire Act, however, suggests that it was …

Disclosure Of Juror Identities To The Press: Who Will Speak For The Jurors?, Kenneth J. Melilli

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article argues that courts misapply the First Amendment right of access by disclosing juror identities, which can lead to harassment. It advocates for concealing juror information to protect them, similar to how soldiers are protected after service. The solution proposed is to respect jurors' preferences regarding disclosure.

Tucker Lecture, Law And Media Symposium, Erwin Chemerinsky

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Eurocom Dbs V. Bezeq, Esther Hayut, Eliezer Rivlin, Elyakim Rubinstein

Translated Opinions

Facts: Bezeq, the Israel Telecommunications Corporation Ltd., held 49.78% of the shares of “Yes” D.B.S. Satellite Services (1998) Ltd. Another 32.6% of the Yes shares are held by Eurocom D.B.S Ltd. Yes is one of only two providers in the multi-channel television broadcast infrastructure market and in the multi-channel television broadcasting market. The other multi-channel television provider in the market is “Hot”. Bezeq is a public company licensed to provide internal fixed line services, including fixed line telephony and Internet infrastructure. Bezeq also provides the public with a wide variety of communications services through its subsidiary and affiliated companies, …

Judging Journalism: The Turn Toward Privacy And Judicial Regulation Of The Press, Amy Gajda

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

What Can Be Done Against Cyber Hate? Freedom Of Speech Versus Hate Speech In The Council Of Europe, Isabelle Rorive

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article examines the tension between freedom of speech and the regulation of hate speech on the internet, focusing on the challenges posed by conflicting international laws and jurisdictional issues. It highlights the Council of Europe's efforts to address cyber hate through legal frameworks like the Cybercrime Convention and the Additional Protocol, while discussing the limitations of these measures. The co-regulatory model, combining government oversight with private sector accountability, is presented as a potential solution, though concerns about censorship and free speech remain.

Protecting Freedom Of Expression: The Challenge Of Hate Speech In The European Court Of Human Rights Case Law, Mario Oetheimer

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article examines the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) approach to balancing freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) with the need to combat hate speech. The Court systematically excludes certain forms of hate speech from protection, particularly racist and Holocaust denial speech, under Article 17, while affording strong protection to expression that contributes to public debate. The analysis highlights the Court's case-by-case approach, reliance on context, and the distinction between hate speech and incitement to violence.

Europe Bans Terrorist Media: What Sort Of Antidote To Poisonous Voices?, David Goldberg

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

Europe is struggling with its commitment to robustly promoting the presumption of a right to freedom of expression. One situation (less-noted than the much-publicised "Danish cartoons controversy") is the banning of satellite television channels. Such broadcasts, it is claimed, incite hatred which leads to violence, including acts of terror. The European Union has been co-operating with the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities to ban certain third-country broadcasters transmitting programmes using satellites that are under EU jurisdiction. The US-based NGO, the Campaign against Terrorist Media, has been rather influential in promoting this policy.

This Paper deals with four issues of concern: …

Trustworthiness As A Limitation On Network Neutrality, Aaron J. Burstein, Fred B. Schneider

Federal Communications Law Journal

The policy debate over how to govern access to broadband networks has largely ignored the objective of network trustworthiness-a set of properties (including security, survivability, and safety) that guarantee expected behavior. Instead, the terms of the network access debate have focused on whether imposing a nondiscrimination or "network neutrality" obligation on network providers is justified by the condition of competition among last-mile providers. Rules proposed by scholars and policymakers would allow network providers to deviate from network neutrality to protect network trustworthiness, but none of these proposals has explored the implications of such exceptions for either neutrality or trustworthiness.

This …

Adaptive Policymaking: Evolving And Applying Emergent Solutions For U.S. Communications Policy, Richard S. Whitt

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Article presents some specific ways that U.S. policymakers should use teachings from the latest thinking in economics to create a conceptual framework in order to grapple with current controversies in communications law and regulation. First, it provides a brief overview of Emergence Economics, with an emphasis on the "rough formula" of emergence and the unique role of technological change in creating and furthering innovation and economic growth. Second, this paper explicates the general concept of "Adaptive Policymaking" by governments and includes some proposed guiding principles, an outline of the public policy design space, and an adaptive toolkit to be …

Viewpoint Diversity And Media Ownership, C. Edwin Baker

Federal Communications Law Journal

A recent technically sophisticated study of the impact of media mergers on viewpoint diversity that found the impact is contextually variable should be entirely irrelevant to proper policy debates about regulation of media ownership. This Article examines the real reasons to oppose concentrated ownership and considers how the recent study went wrong.

Editor's Note, Christopher J. Harayda

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Restraining False Light: Constitutional And Common Law Limits On A "Troublesome Tort", James B. Lake

Federal Communications Law Journal

The defamation tort is the common law's established remedy for false speech that causes reputational and emotional injury. That tort is subject to intricate constitutional, legislative, and common law rules that have evolved over decades. The false light invasion of privacy tort also provides a potential cause of action in response to injurious falsehood. False light, however, has been subject to much less judicial and legislative scrutiny than defamation. As a result, courts often are uncertain about the proper limits on false light and, in some cases, have countenanced false light claims that would have failed if filed as defamation …