Communications Law Commons^™

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 …

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 …

A Comprehensive Empirical Study Of Data Privacy, Trust, And Consumer Autonomy, Jay P. Kesan, Carol M. Hayes, Masooda N. Bashir

Indiana Law Journal

Modern society is driven by data. Data storage is practically unlimited with today’s technology, and analytical tools make it easy to find patterns and make predictions in a way that is very useful for private businesses and governments. These uses of digital data can raise considerable privacy issues that are of great concern to consumers. In this Article, we present and analyze the results of an extensive survey that we conducted to explore what people know, what people do, and what people want when it comes to privacy online.

Our survey is the first comprehensive examination of the intersection of …

Beyond Transparency: The Semantics Of Rulemaking For An Open Internet, Reza Rajabiun

Indiana Law Journal

In trying to promote the development of an open Internet, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has primarily tried to encourage network providers to be transparent about their traffic management practices and quality of service prioritization policies. Dominant network operators have successfully challenged this minimalist approach to addressing end-user concerns about the rise of a two-tiered Internet, motivating the FCC to engage in yet another public consultation process to assess its future approach to the problem. This article maps the debate using Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools that allow us to build a systematic picture of the positions of the …

The Forgotten Core Of The Telecommunications Act Of 1996, Philip J. Weiser

Publications

No abstract provided.

United States Media Law Update, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky, Rachael Jones

UF Law 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 …

Indiana’S Texting-While-Driving Ban: Why Is It Not Working And How Could It Be Better?, Emma Gormley

Indiana Law Journal

This Note will identify and examine obstacles standing in the way of more effective enforcement of Indiana’s texting while driving ban and make recommendations on how to achieve greater success. Part I will take a closer look at what makes texting while driving so dangerous, situating it within the larger context of distracted driving. Part II will then focus on Indiana’s legislative response in particular, breaking down the texting-while-driving laws and discussing impediments to widespread and consistent enforcement. Part III explores alternative strategies for combating those impediments to enforcement, drawing from the approaches of other areas of law and extralegal …

Need For Informed Consent In The Age Of Ubiquitous Human Testing, Caitlyn Kuhs

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

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 …

Classwide Arbitration: A Method Of Resolving The "Natural" Food Label Litigations, Angelina Dalia

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Note discusses how classwide arbitration in food labeling disputes can better serve as a resolution method for both parties. Part I will review the current legal landscape surrounding food labeling litigations and the limitations of the FDA's regulatory and enforcement power. It will analyze how the lack of regulation has led to the recent surge in food labeling class actions. Part II will introduce the general benefits and downfalls of mandatory arbitration in comparison to litigation as a means of legal remedy. Furthermore, it will describe the recent trend of incorporating mandatory arbitration clauses and class action waivers in …

The Uncoordinated Public Domain, Robert Spoo

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

When nations amend their copyright laws in response to calls for international harmonization, they usually expand authors' rights without also seeking to harmonize national public domains. Divergent national copyright laws have resulted in an uncoordinated global public domain that renders authors' works freely available for use in some countries while subjecting them to copyright or moral-rights protection in others. While the fragmented global commons thwarts many valuable uses of cultural resources, it has especially deleterious effects on the ability of researchers to access, copy, and disseminate historical and literary materials, many of which remain unpublished. These effects are mirrored and …

Cache-22: The Fine Line Between Information And Defamation In Google's Autocomplete Function, Kacy Popyer

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Unlock The Music: Replacing Compulsory Music Licenses With Free Market Negotiation, Karen (Kai-Wen) Hsieh

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

To understand the impact that compulsory licenses have on the music industry, Section II of this Note focuses on the three major licenses for music compositions-the mechanical license, the performing rights license, and the sync license. Section III discusses why compulsory licenses no longer benefit the music industry and why free market negotiation is the superior approach. This section will also address the potential problems arising from free market negotiation, such as the power imbalance in negotiations between major record labels and new artists. Finally, Section IV proposes online mediation to remedy the difficulties that may occur due to unrestricted …

Katherine Heigl V. Duane Reade: The Predicted Outcome And Insight Into New York Publicity Rights, Amy Delauter

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Tweeting #Justice: Audio-Visual Coverage Of Court Proceedings In A World Of Shifting Technology, Itay Ravid

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

The debate over whether to allow cameras into courtrooms refuses to fade away. In 2015 alone, U.S. federal courts completed a five-year experiment with cameras in courts, New Zealand published new guidelines for audio-visual coverage, and Scotland completely revised its former broadcast policy. These jurisdictions, and others around the globe, constantly struggle to design model practices that successfully balance freedom of the press, transparency, and public access to information, with rights to a fair trial and privacy. The constant need to rethink coverage policies can be attributed in large part to the advancement of technology, providing the media innovative tools …

The Art Of Nailing Jell-O To The Wall: Reassessing The Political Power Of The Internet, Bryan Druzin, Jessica Li

Journal of Law and Policy

Political observers commonly argue that, given the unique characteristics of the Internet, democratization is an inevitability of its widespread use. The critical role that social media played in the wave of demonstrations, protests, and revolutions that swept across the Arab world in 2011 cemented this perception in the minds of many. Yet China defies this simplistic paradigm—China has been stunningly successful at constraining the political power of its Internet. We argue that the political importance of Internet technology has been overstated, particularly with respect to China. As support for this thesis, we cite recent political events in Hong Kong known …

When The Default Is No Penalty: Negotiating Privacy At The Ntia, Margot E. Kaminski

Publications

Consumer privacy protection is largely within the purview of the Federal Trade Commission. In recent years, however, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce has hosted multistakeholder negotiations on consumer privacy issues. The NTIA process has addressed mobile apps, facial recognition, and most recently, drones. It is meant to serve as a venue for industry self-regulation. Drawing on the literature on co-regulation and on penalty defaults, I suggest that the NTIA process struggles to successfully extract industry expertise and participation against a dearth of federal data privacy law and enforcement. This problem is most exacerbated …

Closing Fireside Chat With The Assistant Attorney General For The U.S. Department Of Justice Antitrust Division, William Baer, Philip J. Weiser

Publications

This Closing Fireside Chat was the final session of the 16th annual Silicon Flatirons Center conference, The Digital Broadband Migration: The Evolving Industry Structure of the Digital Broadband Landscape, held on Feb. 1, 2016 in the Wittemyer Courtroom of the University of Colorado Law School.

"At the time this conference was held, William J. Baer was Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust in the United States Department of Justice. On April 17, 2016, President Obama asked Mr. Baer to become Acting Associate Attorney General of the United States. Video of this interview with Assistant Attorney General Baer is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C351xEX0h4g …