Communications Law Commons^™

Smart Law For Smart Cities, Annie Decker

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Government-Provided Internet Access: Terms Of Service As Speech Rules, Enrique Armijo

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Quality Collusion: News, If It Ain’T Broke, Why Fix It?, Mark Mcmillan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Newsroom: Margulies On Apple V. Fbi Standoff 02-18-2016, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

A Balancing Act: The Virtue Of A "Light Touch" Regulatory Framework In The 2015 Open Internet Order, Nia Chung Srodoski

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

The Pre-1972 Sound Recordings Landscape: A Need For A Uniform Federal Copyright Scheme, P. Dylan Jensen

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Since the rapid expansion of the Internet in the 1990s and through the 2000s, Internet entrepreneurs and technology companies continue to discover new ways to offer music online for free. A large portion of the music offered by these services was created prior to 1972, the year the Sound Recordings Act of 1971 established as the cut-off for federal copyright protection. These pre-1972 sound recordings are covered by a patchwork of state and common law, which varies greatly from state to state. Though some music services have shielded themselves with the safe harbor provision offered to Online Service Providers ("OSPs") …

Will The Federal Communications Commission’S 2015 Open Internet Order Receive Chevron Deference?, John Meisel

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") decided to reclassify broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service subject to Title II regulations contained in the Communications Act. This decision is currently under review by a three­ person panel of judges for the D.C. Circuit. A key question in the review will be whether the FCC's reclassification decision is eligible for Chevron deference. The answer to this question will likely be based on lessons learned from similar cases dealing with Chevron deference that the Supreme Court has addressed. For instance, the fact that the reclassification decision is likely to be characterized …

There’S No R In Smoking: A Modified Rating System To Curb Adolescent Smoking, Amanda E. Beckwith

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Smoking is the most common preventable causes of death in the United States and costs society billions of dollars each year. Most smokers become addicted at a young age, but often have no legal remedy from smoke-related injuries. Smoking in movies is a significant factor in the initiation of youth smoking, yet the Motion Picture Association of America ("MPAA") does not factor "smoking" into movie ratings. This note argues that in order to reduce the harmful effects of youth smoking, movies with depictions of cigarettes should be rated R. In order to pressure the MPAA into making this change, potential …

Protecting Journalists From Politically Motivated Claims Of Espionage Under International Law, Allison Brinkerhoff

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Currently, there is not a uniform international standard for the protection of journalists against politically motivated claims of espionage, and this void allows governments to cloak politically motivated claims of espionage as a "national security threats." The purpose of this article is to propose amending the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("ICCPR"), to remove the void, by making Article 19 a nonderogated right for journalists who are reporting and participating in political expression.

Web Accessibility For Impaired Users: Applying Physical Solutions To Digital Problems, Deeva V. Shah

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") aims to prevent discrimination against the disabled in places of public accommodation. Unlike many other anti­ discrimination statutes, the ADA requires places of public accommodation to take affirmative steps to ensure access for the impaired. Courts currently differ on whether a place of public accommodation requires a physical location or whether nonphysical places, such as a retailer's website, also fall under the statute. Some courts apply the nexus test to determine the whether the ADA applies to online content. Under the nexus test, there must be a connection between a physical …

Net Neutrality: On Mobile Broadband Carriers And The Open Internet, The Commercially Reasonable Network Management Standard, And The Need For Greater Protection Of The Open Internet, Richard A. Starr

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Guns, Speech, And Breathing Space: Response To Andrew Jay Mcclurg's The Second Amendment Right To Be Negligent, Allen K. Rostron

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

U.S. Media Law Update, Lyrissa Lidsky, Racheal Jones

Faculty Publications

In June 2015 the United States Supreme Court completed what was hailed as its most ‘liberal term of the ages’, issuing major decisions on controversial issues, such as same-sex marriage, affirmative action and the Affordable Care Act. The Court’s free press jurisprudence, however, remained largely unchanged after its last term. The Court did not decide any significant press cases. Instead, the Court sidestepped the opportunity to resolve important questions about the constitutional limits on the prosecution of threats made via social media in one notable case, and set a new, more speech-protective standard for determining when a law is content-based …

Valuing Spectrum Allocations, Thomas W. Hazlett, Michael Honig

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Observing trends in which Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have become widely popular, some argue that unlicensed allocations hosting such wireless technologies are increasingly valuable and that administrative spectrum allocations should shift accordingly. We challenge that policy conclusion. A core issue is that the social value of a given spectrum allocation is widely assumed to equal the gains of the applications it is likely to host. This thinking is faulty, as vividly seen in what we deem the Broadcast TV Spectrum Valuation Fallacy – the idea that because wireless video, or broadcast network programs are popular, TV channels are efficiently defined. This …

Blacklining Editorial Privilege, Justin Hurwitz

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Over the past year, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly has drawn valuable attention to various Commission procedures in need of reform. Of these procedures perhaps the most perplexing is that of “editorial privileges” – a process whereby Commission staff is granted permission to continue editing Commission Orders subsequent to their adoption, such that the text of the Order voted on by the Commission is not necessarily the same as that ultimately published in the Federal Register or otherwise released to the public. This procedure is longstanding – predating institutional memory; yet it is also entirely unprecedented in the canon of administrative …

Protecting The Watchdog: Using The Freedom Of Information Act To Preference The Press, Erin C. Carroll

Utah Law Review

Until the modern-day press can determine how to profit from investigative journalism and begin to provide the kind of accountability reporting traditionally practiced by newspaper reporters, it needs a legal boost. Providing legal preferences for the press is nothing new, but it has not been done meaningfully for too long. Preferences that account for an unrelenting news cycle and the possibilities for instantaneous distribution of the news are needed.

FOIA is a logical place to start. Its goal is the promotion of transparency and democracy. But it too has long faltered in achieving this goal and, by many measures, is …

The Notion And Practice Of Reputation And Professional Identity In Social Networking: From K-12 Through Law School, Roberta Bobbie Studwell

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Astroturf Campaigns: Transparency In Telecom Merger Review, Victoria Peng

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Large telecommunications companies looking to merge spend millions of dollars in their lobbying efforts to clear regulatory hurdles and obtain approval for their proposed mergers. Corporations such as AT&T, Comcast, and Time Warner use public participation processes as vehicles to influence regulatory decision-making. In the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) merger review context, the notice- and-comment process and public hearings have become fertile breeding grounds for hidden corporate influence. Corporations spend millions on corporate social responsibility programs and call upon nonprofit organizations that receive their largesse to represent their corporate interests as grassroots interests when the FCC seeks public comment. This …

What Common Law And Common Sense Teach Us About Corporate Cybersecurity, Stephanie Balitzer

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note examines the challenges of corporate cyberdefense and suggests an approach to mitigate them. Part I outlines the background of the corporate cyberdefense quandary and various cyberdefense strategies. Part II explores the current landscape of cybersecurity law in the United States and the regulatory infrastructure that governs cybercrimes. Part II also surveys case law that illustrates the legal loopholes and ambiguities corporations face when implementing cybersecurity measures. Finally, Part III argues that the proposed active defense model fails to comport with practical concerns and established legal principles. This Note’s comparative analysis of common law ‘defense of property’ principles and …

Can Dna Be Speech?, Jorge R. Roig

Scholarly Works

DNA is generally regarded as the basic building block of life itself. In the most fundamental sense, DNA is nothing more than a chemical compound, albeit a very complex and peculiar one. DNA is an information-carrying molecule. The specific sequence of base pairs contained in a DNA molecule carries with it genetic information, and encodes for the creation of particular proteins. When taken as a whole, the DNA contained in a single human cell is a complete blueprint and instruction manual for the creation of that human being. In this article we discuss myriad current and developing ways in which …