Internet Law Commons^™

Supreme Court Amicus Brief Of Aarp And The National Legislative Association On Petition Drug Prices In Support Of Petitioners, William H. Sorrell V. Ims Health, Inc., No. 10-779 (Filed March 1, 2011), Sean Flynn, Meredith Jacob, Stacy Canan

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

This Court should refuse to apply the First Amendment to Vermont’s Prescription Confidentiality Law based on two essential facts. First, the regulation at issue is limited to the commercial use or private-channel distribution of confidential data. It is thus governed by cases of this Court upholding the regulation of uses of information in purely private settings that do not inform or contribute to the public sphere. Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514, 526-27 n.10 (2001); Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc., 472 U.S. 749 (1985). Second, it concerns the regulation of secondary uses of information where the government …

Network Accountability For The Domestic Intelligence Apparatus, Danielle K. Citron, Frank Pasquale

Faculty Scholarship

A new domestic intelligence network has made vast amounts of data available to federal and state agencies and law enforcement officials. The network is anchored by “fusion centers,” novel sites of intergovernmental collaboration that generate and share intelligence and information. Several fusion centers have generated controversy for engaging in extraordinary measures that place citizens on watch lists, invade citizens’ privacy, and chill free expression. In addition to eroding civil liberties, fusion center overreach has resulted in wasted resources without concomitant gains in security.

While many scholars have assumed that this network represents a trade-off between security and civil liberties, our …

Make Your Life Easier: Free Online Productivity Tools And Resources, Kincaid C. Brown

Law Librarian Scholarship

CiteGenie works primarily for caselaw and Internet resource research but is experimenting with the ability to add citations for statutes and regulations. CiteGenie provides a number of formatting options and allows you to choose citation rules for a particular state, use parallel citations, remove star-pagination marks from quoted texts, and personalize abbreviations. This tool is easy to use; when researching in Firefox, select CiteGenie from the right-click menu and a pop-up displays the copied text and citation to be pasted.

Social Networking And Land Use Planning And Regulation: Practical Benefits, Pitfalls And Ethical Considerations, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

This article explores how social networking sites have been used or might be used in the land use context. Part I focuses on the use of social networking for land use planning and zoning. It includes a discussion of the pros and cons of the use of social networking sites to present public information and to gather public input and invite general participation in the process, as well as to provide notice to the public of forthcoming government decision-making. This section offers concrete examples of how this technology is currently being used in the land use context. Part II focuses …

Cyber Attacks As "Force" Under Un Charter Article 2(4), Matthew C. Waxman

Faculty Scholarship

In a 2010 article in Foreign Affairs, Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn revealed that in 2008 the Department of Defense suffered "the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever" when a flash drive inserted into a US military laptop surreptitiously introduced malicious software into US Central Command's classified and unclassified computer systems. Lynn explains that the US government is developing defensive systems to protect military and civilian electronic infrastructure from intrusions and, potentially worse, disruptions and destruction, and it is developing its own cyber-strategy "to defend the United States in the digital age."

To what extent is …

The Unresolved Legality Of Online Gambling In Singapore, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article addresses what appears to be a hitherto (legislatively and judicially) unresolved issue in a country where gambling is an established sub-culture – the legality of online gambling. The existing legislation does not provide direct answers, and as a result, the courts have not been given the opportunity to answer the question directly either. The police have previously made a few statements to the press and the media, but what should we make of them? While placing bets with unauthorised bookies (including those who operate their own website or use others’ websites) is clearly outlawed, leaving the offender with …

Hart V Finnis: How Will Positivism And Natural Law Account For The Socio-Legal Paradigm In Wikipedia, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There is little doubt that Wikipedia is one of the world’s most influential websites today – and its sphere of influence is set to grow in days to come. The evidence for this is strong. As of December 2010, Wikipedia is the Internet’s 6th most popular website (by virtue of the Alexa Traffic Rank), and it is also the most popular "general reference" site in cyberspace, with almost 4 million articles in the English language edition. It has been and will continue to be the flagship of Web 2.0, with every single edit being potentially scrutinised by a global audience, …

Some Technological Implications For Ascertaining The Contents Of Contracts In Web-Based Transactions, Eliza Mik

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper points out some unexpected relationships between specific aspects of contract law and specific Internet-related technologies. The discussion is not about the interplay between “Law” and “Technology,” or the “Law” and the “Internet.” The aim is modest: to identify some theoretical chokepoints created by the technologies involved in web-based commerce and to point out the legal uncertainties persisting in this area. The analysis is confined to the process of contract formation, not to matters of substantive law. It is during this process that parties assume their contractual obligations and the contents of a contract crystallize.

The Unimportance Of Being "Electronic" Or Popular Misconceptions About “Internet Contracting”, Eliza Mik

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Existing e-commerce literature abounds with misconceptions regarding both technology and contract law. Long-standing legal concepts are adorned with “e-” or “cyber-” to appear more exciting. The traditional contractual regime issupplanted with new principles instead of being supplemented with technological considerations. It is one thing, to include technology in legal analyses, it is another to create separate, technology-specific categories. Separate categories justify the departure from traditional principles. Most, if not all, alleged “challenges” created by new communication scenarios fit within the existing legal framework, technological complexity and novelty of the Internet notwithstanding. Most “challenges” are also unrelated to the fact that …

The In Rem Forfeiture Of Copyright-Infringing Domain Names, Andrew Sellars

Faculty Scholarship

In the summer of 2010, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of the Department of Homeland Security began "Operation In Our Sites," an enforcement sweep targeted towards websites allegedly dealing in counterfeit goods and copyright-infringing files. The operation targeted the websites by proceeding in rem against their respective domain names. For websites targeted for copyright infringement, ICE Agents used recently-expanded copyright forfeiture remedies passed under the 2008 PRO-IP Act, providing no adversarial hearing prior to the websites being removed, and only a probable cause standard of proof.

This Paper examines three specific harms resulting from Operation In Our Sites, and …

Tweeting To Topple Tyranny, Social Media And Corporate Social Responsibility: A Reply To Anupam Chander, Erika George

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay offers critical reflections on the role of social media in social change and outlines how the obligation of corporations in the information communications technology sector to avoid complicity in rights violations may evolve over time. Part I explores the Internet's potential to further democratic discourse and inclusion or foster discrimination and exclusion. It also queries whether the Internet industry has an obligation to protect against hate propaganda. Part II examines whether other industry sectors can also be said to have special obligations based on the human rights consequences of their conduct. Part III explains the nature of the …

The Challenge Of Developing Effective Public Policy On The Use Of Social Media By Youth, John Palfrey

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: Essays from Time Warner Cable's Research Program on Digital Communications.

Revisiting The Regulatory Status Of Broadband Internet Access: A Policy Framework For Net Neutrality And An Open Competitive Internet, Lee L. Selwyn, Helen E. Golding

Federal Communications Law Journal

A decade of broadband access deregulation has landed the FCC at a legal deadend. After the D.C. Circuit's Comcast decision, the FCC finds itself unable to enforce its "net neutrality" goals. To reassert its jurisdiction over "net neutrality," the FCC proposes to reclassify broadband Internet access as a Title II "telecommunications service" while continuing to forbear from most other facets of common carrier regulation. The FCC's current dilemma results from an unfortunate combination of unverified predictive judgments associating deregulation with investment; overly optimistic assessments of competition in the consumer broadband market; the abandonment of the "bright line" between transmission and …

Twittering Away The Right Of Publicity: Personality Rights And Celebrity Impersonation On Social Networking Websites, Andrew M. Jung

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Within the past couple of years, social networking websites have become an immensely popular destination for people from all walks of life. Websites like Facebook and Twitter now count tens of millions of worldwide users, including world leaders and a number of celebrities. Eventually, users realized that social networking websites lent themselves to the quick and easy impersonation of celebrities through the creation of fake social networking accounts, often as a form of parody. One subject of such impersonation was professional baseball manager Tony La Russa, who took the then-unprecedented step of suing his impersonators and Twitter over the incident. …

Introduction To Essays On The Future Of Digital Communications, Ferando R. Laguarda

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: The Future of Digital Communications: Essays from Time Warner Cable's Research Program on Digital Communications.

The Challenge Of Increasing Civic Engagement In The Digital Age, Nicol Turner-Lee

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: Essays from Time Warner Cable's Research Program on Digital Communications.

The Future Of Digital Communications Research And Policy, Scott Wallsten

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: Essays from Time Warner Cable's Research Program on Digital Communications.

The Changing Patterns Of Internet Usage, Christopher S. Yoo

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: Essays from Time Warner Cable's Research Program on Digital Communications.

The Challenge Of Increasing Broadband Capacity, Dale N. Hatfield

Federal Communications Law Journal

Symposium: Essays from Time Warner Cable's Research Program on Digital Communications.

Pacifica Reconsidered: Implications For The Current Controversy Over Broadcast Indecency, Angela J. Campbell

Federal Communications Law Journal

In 2009, the Supreme Court upheld the FCC's finding in Fox TV Stations v. Federal Communications Commission that the broadcast of "fleeting expletives" violated a federal law prohibiting the broadcast of indecency, but remanded the case for consideration of the broadcast networks' claims that the FCC action violated the First Amendment. On remand, the Second Circuit found that the FCC's prohibition against "fleeting expletives" was unconstitutionally vague. It is widely expected that the Supreme Court will review this decision and that the networks will ask the Court to reconsider its 1978 decision in Pacifica Foundation v. Federal Communications Commission. This …

Technology Convergence And Federalism: Who Should Decide The Future Of Telecommunications Regulation?, Daniel A. Lyons

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article critically examines the division of regulatory jurisdiction over telecommunications issues between the federal government and the states. Currently, the line between federal and state jurisdiction varies depending on the service at issue. This compartmentalization might have made sense fifteen years ago, but the advent of technology convergence has largely rendered this model obsolete. Yesterday's telephone and cable companies now compete head-to-head to offer consumers the vaunted "triple play" of voice, video, and internet services. But these telecommunications companies are finding it increasingly difficult to fit new operations into arcane, rigid regulatory compartments. Moreover, services that consumers view as …

Online Gaming: Prohibition Vs. Regulation, Andrew Montgomery

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Since online gaming began in 1995, the industry has been unsettled. Despite online gaming being viewed as illegal by the United States government, revenues generated from players in the U.S. grew consistently and rapidly from 1995 to 2006. U.S. lawmakers believed they clarified the legality issue by passing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006 (UIGEA); however, this legislation did little to discourage people in the U.S. from engaging in online gambling. U.S. lawmakers have long debated prohibition vs. regulation of the industry. Given the apparent ineffectiveness of online gaming prohibition via UIGEA, lawmakers favoring legalization and regulation of …

The Rise Of Computerized High Frequency Trading: Use And Controversy, Michael J. Mcgowan

Duke Law & Technology Review

Over the last decade, there has been a dramatic shift in how securities are traded in the capital markets. Utilizing supercomputers and complex algorithms that pick up on breaking news, company/stock/economic information and price and volume movements, many institutions now make trades in a matter of microseconds, through a practice known as high frequency trading. Today, high frequency traders have virtually phased out the "dinosaur" floor-traders and average investors of the past. With the recent attempted robbery of one of these high frequency trading platforms from Goldman Sachs this past summer, this "rise of the machines" has become front page …

The Admissibility Of Electronic Business Records, Ken Chasse

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The business record provisions of the Evidence Acts determine a record’s admissibility by evidence of its history, which must be the product of “the usual and ordinary course of business” (or comparable “business activity” wording). The electronic record provisions determine a record’s admissibility by the, “integrity of the electronic records system in which it is recorded or stored.” The difference is, records management (RM) based on “paper records concepts” versus “electronic records systems concepts.” The former is subjective — each business determines its own “usual and ordinary course of business”; the latter, objective — in accor- dance with authoritative standards …

Personalization, Analytics, And Sponsored Services: The Challenges Of Applying Pipeda To Online Tracking And Profiling Activities, Eloïse Gratton

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In 2008, the online advertising industry was found to be worth 27 billion dollars, a figure that was projected to double over the subsequent four years.1 The reason for this extraordinary market growth can be explained by two factors. To begin with, current technology now makes it possible to gather a great variety of information associated with a particular device or individual, including browsing history, which can be used to create a profile specific to that device or individual. This practice facilitates more personalized advertising, tailored to the interests and tastes of the consumer. Secondly, many online services, in the …

Interpreting Copyright Law And Internet Facts, Cameron Hutchison

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper probes interpretation issues elicited by the impact of digital technologies and the Internet on copyright law. The purpose of the paper is to instill a coherent framework for analyzing copyright law when it encounters Internet or digital facts. In part one, I propose a methodology of statutory interpretation that helps suitably adapt statutory language to technological developments. In essence it is this: courts should examine the language of the operative provision in its statutory context and in light of its purpose. A contextual interpretation of a broadly conceived rule can reveal a legislative intention that certain kinds of …

Space Age Love Song: The Mix Tape In A Digital Universe, Megan M. Carpenter

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Death Of The Spam Wrangler: Can-Spam Private Plaintiffs Required To Show Actual Harm, Susuk Lim

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

In Gordon v. Virtumundo, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit published its first opinion on private plaintiff standing requirements for actions under the federal CAN-SPAM Act. The court strictly interpreted CAN-SPAM’s enforcement language, rejecting attempts by professional litigants to insert themselves into CAN-SPAM’s limited private right of action. This Article analyzes Gordon’s treatment of CAN-SPAM’s private right of action and federal preemption provisions. It concludes by assessing the decision’s expected effect on future spam-related litigation.

Making Virtual Copyright Work, Matthew R. Farley

Law Student Publications

This Article proposes measures that attempt to strike the balance between creation and access. The virtual-world community is not likely to persevere with the little copyright protection it currently enjoys. Creativity will dwindle and the rich, energetic settings that make virtual worlds so attractive to businesses and entertainers will follow suit. At the same time, because much of the creativity in virtual worlds is derivative in nature, virtual creators are also unlikely to benefit from strong copyright protections. Therefore, current interpretation of copyright law must be revisited and revised before applying it to virtual worlds. Part I details virtual worlds …

Approval Of New Pharmacogenomic Tests: Is The Canadian Regulatory Process Adequate?, Yann Joly, Emma Ramos-Paque

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In the first part of our analysis, we will examine the impact which pharmacogenomics is expected to have on drug research and development, on the drug approval process and on post-marketing surveillance and clinical practice. This will allow us to show how pharmacogenomic testing could be beneficial to drug companies, regulatory bodies, and patients. The second part of our analysis will focus on the regulatory framework applicable to the approval of pharmacoge- nomic tests in Canada, although we are aware of the fact that most manufacturers decide to approve their tests outside of Canada. As mentioned, the applicable regu- lations …