European Law Commons^™

Keynote Address: The Movement To Protect Kids From Addictive Technologies, Gaia Bernstein

Seattle University Law Review

In this keynote address, I describe my personal journey starting with a school outreach program I created in 2017 to address technology overuse among kids. While I initially advocated for self-help methods, I grew to recognize that the tech industry bore responsibility. This realization led me to write Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies, which focused on collective action to pressure the tech industry to redesign its addictive products.

I then describe the movement to control addictive technologies and protect kids, which has gained momentum since the end of the pandemic. This movement combines grassroots parent activism with legal-political action. …

Moral Panic Or Public Health Crisis? Lessons From Drugs And Gambling For “Addictive” Design, Matthew B. Lawrence, Haomin (Kevin) Yan

Seattle University Law Review

Alcohol, automobiles, guns, lottery, loot boxes, meat, music, opioid painkillers, processed foods, prop bets, slot machines, television, tobacco, violent video games. Over the last century each of these has been subject to concerns—some might even say “moral panics”—from parents and policymakers about avoidable harms to kids and adults. In some cases we look back with the benefit of hindsight and dismiss those concerns as naïve or moralistic. In others we look back at them as justified or as having come too late to check an expanding industry before it did unfathomable harm while growing so powerful that it became all …

Responding To Digital Addiction, Ned Snow

Seattle University Law Review

In Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies, Professor Gaia Bernstein calls our attention to the growing problem of digital addiction. Digital addiction may sound like something out of a science-fiction novel or something that does not raise the same sort of real-life practical concerns as are present in a physical health crisis or an economic decline. But as Bernstein presents the evidence, we learn that the consequences of digital addiction can be just as harmful as a serious disease or a financial depression. Cognitive development disorders, anxiety, emotional depression, social isolation, and other mental health ills can be debilitating—as much …

The Ai Doppelgänger Dilemma: Cloned Voices In The Music Industry, Elizabeth Shields

Seattle University Law Review

With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), there has been an influx of “voice clones”—deep-learning algorithms that create synthetic speech to realistically mimic human voices. Celebrities and, in particular, music artists, have been subjected to the proliferation of AI voice clones on social media platforms like TikTok and streaming platforms such as Spotify. Despite music utilizing AI voice clones having amassed much popularity, this technology can be harmful and highly invasive to musicians whose livelihoods often depend on their distinct voices. While legal scholars have attempted to articulate various rights that could protect a person’s voice, individuals are largely …

Let The Sunshine In: Crafting Constitutional Transparency Regulations For Content Moderation, Caitlin Ring Carlson

Seattle University Law Review

In response to public concern about the impact of social media, legislators in some U.S. states have developed laws to regulate the process of content moderation. Many include mandatory transparency and disclosure requirements, some of which courts have already deemed an unconstitutional infringement on social media platforms’ right to free expression. This article explores the parameters for crafting constitutional social media transparency regulations using existing U.S. media policy and insights from recent legal challenges. The resulting analysis identifies content neutral transparency requirements that mandate the disclosure of purely factual, non-controversial information as those most likely to withstand judicial scrutiny. Specifically, …

This Is Not A Game: The Addictive Allure Of Digital Companions, Nizan Geslevich Packin, Karni Chagal-Feferkorn

Seattle University Law Review

Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents have become an inescapable part of modern childhood, reshaping education, leisure activities, entertainment, and social interaction. From AI-powered tutors that adapt to individual learning styles to emotionally responsive chatbots that simulate human companionship, these systems promise unprecedented personalization, cognitive stimulation, and social support. However, these benefits mask significant risks that remain unregulated and inadequately addressed.

Although adults are also susceptible to forming deep emotional bonds with AI companions—often trusting them as if they possessed genuine understanding and empathy—children are particularly vulnerable. Their misplaced trust can more severely distort social development, weaken critical thinking, and foster unhealthy …

Mapping Third Party Litigation Funding In The European Union: Canada, Camille Cameron

Reports & Public Policy Documents

In reply to the EU Commission’s Request for service number JUST/2023/PR/JCOO/CIVI/0016, the Justice and Consumers Evaluation Consortium (JCEC)led by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and Civic Consulting, and supported by experts from the Asser Institute and from Risk & Policy Analysts (RPA), carried out a study on Mapping Third Party Litigation Funding in the European Union.

The aim of the study is to collect and analyse information on legal frameworks and practices of thirdparty llitigation funding (TPLF) in the Member States of the European Union and selected third countries (CA, CH, UK, US). The study is …

The Power Of Procedure: Uncovering The Gap In U.S. Privacy Rights, Bernard Chao, Mandi Abbott

Pepperdine Law Review

As Congress faces increasing pressure to adopt comprehensive privacy legislation, this Article seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussions by exploring critical procedural deficiencies in U.S. privacy laws and their implications for domestic privacy rights and international data flows. This Article makes several key contributions to the field. First, it uses a comparative law perspective to highlight the lack of robust procedural rights and remedies in U.S. privacy law. Second, while many have questioned whether the Court of Jus tice for the European Union will strike down the latest U.S.-EU Data Privacy Framework (the primary mechanism for allowing the transatlantic …

The Allure Of Trade And Sustainable Development Chapters, Jeesae Kim

Michigan Journal of International Law

Beginning in 2011, the European Union (“EU”) began to include independent Trade and Sustainable Development (“TSD”) chapters in its trade agreements. These chapters seek to protect international labor standards, environmental laws, and corporate social responsibility practices within the scope of the EU’s trade agreements. Trading states that sign onto TSD chapters are meant to engage in ongoing dialogue regarding the substantive commitments outlined in the chapters. If one of the states fails to uphold its substantive commitments, the other state may invoke a unique enforcement mechanism contained within TSD chapters. But unlike arbitration proceedings for non-TSD trade disputes, the TSD …

Louboutin Lawfare: Exploring Conceptions Of Sanctions' Utility Through Export Controls On Luxury Goods, Vinita R. Singh

Northwestern University Law Review

There is widespread consensus amongst scholars that sanctions—the deliberate withdrawal of customary trade and financial relations—do not work. Despite this perception, states are deploying sanctions at an increasing rate. This Article explains this paradox by arguing the predominant notion of sanctions’ utility employed by scholars is unduly constrained, narrowly focusing on the ability of such measures to modify the behavior of sanctioned parties while disregarding the alternative benefits this instrument can deliver. To support this argument, this Article uses export controls on luxury goods deployed in connection with the Russo–Ukraine War as a case study. Under prevailing perceptions of sanctions’ …

Fragmentation Of International Cybercrime Law, Mailyn Fidler

Law Faculty Scholarship

Cybercrime is global. But legal approaches to combating cybercrime have been fragmented. The first such multilateral legal mechanism, the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, was launched in 2001 and positioned by its primarily Western drafters as a global instrument. But it has struggled to achieve full international uptake. Instead, many states have used regional organizations to create their own legal mechanisms addressing cybercrime and cybersecurity threats. More recently, the UN Convention on Cybercrime has emerged as an alternative to this fragmented landscape. But the emergence and significance of this “convergent” option cannot be understood without the context of the deep fragmentation …

Does Mandatory Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence Offer A Path To Resolving Global Food Insecurity Challenges?, Ying Chen, Benedict Sheehy

American University International Law Review

Despite the 2015 implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 (the Zero Hunger Goal), food insecurity remains a persistent global problem. Well past the halfway point to 2030, the world is woefully off track to reach this goal. Current efforts to address global food insecurity are led by the public sector and focused on government interventions, and these are proving to be insufficient on their own. This Article argues that the private sector, and business enterprises and multinational corporations in particular, as important stakeholders in society, can and must …

Through A Glass Darkly: How Securities Disclosures Give A Distorted View Of The Economy, Gerald F. Davis

Seattle University Law Review

Our understanding of the American economy often relies on stylized facts derived from mandatory disclosures by listed corporations. Data vendors like Standard & Poor’s vacuum up 10Ks and proxy statements into databases, and scholars distill these into tentative maps. This may have been adequate for a postwar economy centered on asset-heavy manufacturers, but it is increasingly out of step with an information-based economy. Companies listed on the stock market are fewer in number and less representative than they were, light in tangible assets and people, and heavy on IP. Basic facts such as what industry they are in are increasingly …

Forum Shifting To Regulate Data Privacy: The Creation And Evolution Of Eu Data Protection Law, Raymond Yang Gao

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Currently, the European data protection regime has become one of the most influential legal frameworks regulating data privacy protection and cross-border personal data transfers. Despite a burgeoning body of scholarship on EU data protection law, the questions of why and how the EU adopted this regulatory approach remain understudied. Contrary to conventional wisdom, European data protection regulation is neither preordained by Europe’s historical or cultural legacies, nor simply a result imposed by powerful EU member states out of national economic interests. Instead, this work argues that this legal regime is the result of contentious lawmaking processes aimed at addressing regulatory …

Martinique’S Octroi De Mer: Ancient Dock Dues Threaten The Integrity Of The European Union’S (Eu) Internal Market And Contribute To The Cost Of Living Crisis., Johanna Leffler

American University International Law Review

In 1670, France implemented a tax on all imports known as the octroi de mer in Martinique, a Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies. The octroi de mer outlived France’s colonial rule over Martinique, and today, it is imposed on both imported and locally produced products. This Comment argues that the octroi de mer system undermines the integrity and coherence of the European Union’s (EU) legal order, violating Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU or Treaty) because its very nature is contrary to the fundamental principles of the EU …

Beyond Agency Authority: Regulating Sulfur Hexafluoride Under An Enhanced Title Ii Framework Of The Clean Air Act, Matthew Gawley

Fordham Environmental Law Review

This paper explores the critical need for robust Congressional action to regulate sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential more than 20,000 times greater than carbon dioxide. Recent Supreme Court decisions––in West Virginia v. EPA and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo––to restrict EPA authority and end the Chevron doctrine have curtailed federal environmental agencies’ regulatory authority, shifting the responsibility for addressing major environmental challenges back to Congress. Despite being addressed under Title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA) through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), current SF6 regulations prove grossly inadequate. The utilities industry––the largest …

“There Is No Fashion On A Dead Planet:”1 How A Mandatory Reporting Directive Shared By The Us And The Eu And Centered On Transparency Could Be The First Step To Increased Sustainability In The Fashion Industry, Adrienne Redman

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The fashion industry hangs on self-expression and individualism, yet our methods of consumption and their resulting environmental impacts are far from an individualistic concern. This paper examines the global fashion industry’s substantial contribution to pollution, resource-depletion, and waste as evidence that the self-regulation model is insufficient to curb the environmental footprint of the industry. Self-regulation presumes that consumer awareness and the desire to purchase sustainably will be enough to limit the industry’s environmental impact. However, this presumption is undermined by a lack of standardized and enforceable regulations necessary for consumer-decision making. Instead, greenwashing and deceptive environmental claims have pervaded the …

Article Iii Standing For Cercla Private Cost Recovery Actions: How The Test's Strained Logic Belies Its Authority, Jonathan M. Palacios

Fordham Environmental Law Review

This Note examines how Article III standing doctrine applies to

private plaintiffs’ cost recovery actions under § 107(a)(4)(B) of the

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

Liability Act. A review of judicial decisions reveals inconsistencies

in the analysis of injury in fact and traceability, and suggests that

current Article III standing doctrine is misaligned with its purported

objectives. In response, this Note proposes a structured framework

for assessing injury in fact and a refined approach to analyzing

traceability that distinguishes between different forms of causal

uncertainty. These doctrinal adjustments should better align case

outcomes with Article III standing doctrine’s constitutional and …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Corporate Scenarios: Drawing Lessons From History, Madison Condon

Seattle University Law Review

As corporations are increasingly pressed to reveal information about their exposure to climate-related risks, they are often asked to undertake and disclose the outcome of “scenario analysis.” In this exercise, corporations, including financial institutions, examine how their business would fare under different pathways the future may take. One oft-used scenario, for example, is the International Energy Agency’s “Net-Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Energy Sector.” This Essay presents a history of the use of scenarios as a corporate planning tool, particularly in the oil industry, arguing that it is key for understanding our present moment and the role of …