Internet Law Commons^™

Friends, Gangbangers, Custody Disputants, Lend Me Your Passwords, Aviva Orenstein

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Whenever parties seek to introduce out-of-court statements, evidentiary issues of hearsay and authentication will arise. As methods of communication expand, the Rules of Evidence must necessarily keep pace. The rules remain essentially the same, but their application vary with new modes of communication. Evidence law has been very adaptable in some ways, and notoriously conservative, even stodgy, in others. Although statements on Facebook and other social media raise some interesting questions concerning the hearsay rule and its exceptions, there has been little concern about applying the hearsay doctrine to such forms of communication. By contrast, such new media have triggered …

Configuring The Networked Citizen, Julie E. Cohen

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Among legal scholars of technology, it has become commonplace to acknowledge that the design of networked information technologies has regulatory effects. For the most part, that discussion has been structured by the taxonomy developed by Lawrence Lessig, which classifies "code" as one of four principal regulatory modalities, alongside law, markets, and norms. As a result of that framing, questions about the applicability of constitutional protections to technical decisions have taken center stage in legal and policy debates. Some scholars have pondered whether digital architectures unacceptably constrain fundamental liberties, and what "public" design obligations might follow from such a conclusion. Others …

The Future Of Internet-Related Personal Jurisdiction After Goodyear Dunlap Tires V. Brown And J. Mcintyre V. Nicastro, Megan M. La Belle

Scholarly Articles

For the past two decades, courts have struggled with the question of how Internet-related contacts should be treated in the personal jurisdiction analysis. Some courts have utilized the traditional minimum contacts framework of International Shoe v. Washington , while others have devised new tests to accommodate this technological evolution. So when the US Supreme Court granted certiorari in two personal jurisdiction cases last term— Goodyear Dunlap Tires v. Brown and J. McIntyre v. Nicastro — many believed these unsettled questions of Internet related personal jurisdiction would finally be resolved. Disappointingly for litigants, lower courts, and academics, however, Goodyear and McIntyre …

The Risks Of Taking Facebook At Face Value: Why The Psychology Of Social Networking Should Influence The Evidentiary Relevance Of Facebook Photographs, Kathryn R. Brown

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Social networking sites in general, and Facebook in particular, have changed the way individuals communicate and express themselves. Facebook users share a multitude of personal information through the website, especially photographs. Additionally, Facebook enables individuals to tailor their online profiles to project a desired persona. However, as social scientists have demonstrated, the image users portray can mislead outside observers. Given the wealth of information available on Facebook, it is no surprise that attorneys often peruse the website for evidence to dispute opponents' claims.

This Note examines the admission and relevance of Facebook photographs offered to prove a litigant's state of …

Compelled Production Of Encrypted Data, John E.D. Larkin

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

There is a myth that shadowy and powerful government agencies can crack the encryption software that criminals use to protect computers filled with child pornography and stolen credit card numbers. The reality is that cheap or free encryption programs can place protected data beyond law enforcement's reach. If courts seriously mean to protect the victims of Internet crime--all too often children--then Congress must adopt a legal mechanism to remedy the technological deficiency.

To date, police and prosecutors have relied on subpoenas to either compel defendants to produce their password, or to decipher their protected data. This technique has been met …

Promoting Trademark's Ends And Means Through Online Contributory Liability, E. Jordan Teague

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Trademark law accomplishes its ultimate end--helping consumers easily find, distinguish between, and trust products and services from different brands--through the means of giving markholders an incentive to develop and cultivate these brands in the first place. While individual trademark laws should serve these ends and means, this is not the case with contributory infringement in the United States as applied to the Internet. First, since the doctrine is based entirely in common law with little case law specifically addressing the online context, contributory infringement gives online service providers (OSPs) little notice as to what types of behaviors could result in …

Sealand, Havenco, And The Rule Of Law, James Grimmelmann

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In 2000, a group of American entrepreneurs moved to a former World War II anti-aircraft platform in the North Sea, seven miles off the British coast, and launched HavenCo, one of the strangest start-ups in Internet history. A former pirate radio broadcaster, Roy Bates, had occupied the platform in the 1960s, moved his family aboard, and declared it to be the sovereign Principality of Sealand. HavenCo's founders were opposed to governmental censorship and control of the Internet; by putting computer servers on Sealand, they planned to create a "data haven" for unpopular speech, safely beyond the reach of any other …

Internet As A Human Right: A Practical Legal Framework To Address The Unique Nature Of The Medium And To Promote Development, Young Joon Lim, Sarah E. Sexton

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

A Taiwanese court sentenced a blogger to 30 days of detention for her comments that a restaurant’s food was too salty and that the locale was unsanitary. In Indonesia, a woman was sentenced to six months in jail for libel after an e-mail she sent to friends about poor treatment she received in a hospital was posted on Facebook. These are not isolated cases of persecution, but part of a broad pattern of challenges facing individuals around the world. The United Nations recently released a report on legal trends involving restriction of expression on the Internet, declaring that freedom of …

The Evolution Of Consumer Privacy Law: How Privacy By Design Can Benefit From Insights In Commercial Law And Standardization, Muharem Kianieff

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article considers the effectiveness of the present privacy regimes in North America as it relates to the protection of consumer information that is gathered in the ordinary course of business. It is argued that the present moves towards a Privacy by Design approach shows great potential and can gain valuable insights from established doctrines in commercial and consumer protection law. Moreover, it is proposed that the aims of such an approach can be achieved by deeming personal information and behavioral data to be the property of the individual that it pertains to. It is then suggested that a regulatory …

Regulating The Cloud: A Comparative Analysis Of The Current And Proposed Privacy Frameworks In Canada And The European Union, David Krebs

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Cloud computing is a growing phenomenon and promises greater efficiency and reduced-cost computing. However, some of the basic technological and business-related features of the Cloud are at odds with personal data protection laws. Canada and the European Union share similar core values related to privacy/data protection, and both regions aim to increase their competitiveness regarding cloud computing. Having these two similarities in mind, this paper explores the current legal and stakeholder landscape in Canada and the European Union with respect to cloud computing, data protection and how adoption of the model can be advanced. The analysis shows that neither of …

Book Review: R.L. Campbell, Legal Issues In Electronic Commerce, Robert J. Currie

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The juncture of “law and technology” from a legal education point of view is an interesting one. Successfully engaging with law and technology requires stu- dents (of all ages and stripes) to absorb at least some of the substance of many discrete areas of law, as well as to assess how technology creates nexuses between them and challenges some of their underlying notions. As electronic commerce increasingly becomes the bread and butter of many law practices, this need comes into sharper relief — one has to grasp a large variety of fundamentals and simultaneously generate some insight as to where …

Hostile Educational Environments, Ari Ezra Waldman

Articles & Chapters

This Article is one in a series about bullying and cyberbullying in schools. I argue that the proper analysis for a First Amendment challenge to school discipline for off-campus misuse of the Internet to harm or harass a member of the school community based on the victim’s identity depends on the nature of the offending behavior. For students who are punished for a single incident – what I will call cyberattacking – a Tinker analysis makes sense. But, given that Tinker’s “substantial disruption” standard originated in the context of student protests and that targeted identity-based harassment can create substantial disruptions …

Understanding And Authenticating Evidence From Social Networking Sites, Heather L. Griffith

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Social networking is a popular form of online interaction that combines several types of electronic communication in a single user interface. An attorney working with evidence found on social networking sites should have a general understanding of how users create and access content on social networking platforms. Before such evidence may be presented to the jury, an attorney must make a showing of authenticity. The proponent of the evidence may need to use different authentication methods depending on the type of communication involved. This Article provides background information about social networks and explores how to authenticate common types of evidence …

Cyber Crime Control: Will Websites Ever Be Held Accountable For The Legal Activities They Profit From?, Ashley Ingber

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the evolving legal landscape surrounding the liability of online platforms like Craigslist under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). While Section 230 currently shields Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from civil liability for third-party content, courts are increasingly narrowing its protections, particularly when platforms actively influence or profit from illegal activities. Criminal liability remains a significant exception to Section 230 immunity, and future legal developments may further restrict these protections, balancing free speech with accountability for online platforms.

Switching The Flip: Questioning The Government's Authority To Shut Down Communication Networks In Furtherance Of Public Safety, Eric B. Einisman

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Region Codes And The Territorial Mess, Peter K. Yu

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Internet Advertising After Sorrell V. Ims Health: A Discussion On Data Privacy & The First Amendment, Agatha M. Cole

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Communications Disruption And Censorship Under International Law: History Lessons, Jonathon Penney

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

With Internet censorship on the rise around the world, a variety of tools have proliferated to assist Internet users to circumvent such censorship. However, there are few studies examining the implications of censorship circumvention under international law, and its related politics. This paper aims to help fill some of that void, with an examination of case studies wherein global communications technologies have been disrupted or censored — telegram cable cutting and censorship, high frequency radio jamming, and direct broadcast satellite blocking — and how the world community responded to that disruption or censorship through international law and law making. In …

Open Connectivity, Open Data: Two Dimensions Of The Freedom To Seek, Receive And Impart Information In The New Zealand Bill Of Rights, Jonathon Penney

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Recently, ideas about "rights" to Internet access or connectivity have received growing recognition from governments, legal institutions, and other political actors in several countries, including New Zealand Despite this emerging political and legal recognition, there are few, if any, systematic studies exploring such ideas. This paper aims to change this. First, it offers a theoretical exploration of the idea of a "right" to Internet access, including the diferent versions of such rights talk. Secondly, it examines whether there is any legal basis for such rights claims in New Zealand and ultimately argues that section 14 of the New Zealand Bill …

Communications Disruption And Censorship Under International Law: History Lessons, Jonathon Penney

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

With Internet censorship on the rise around the world, a variety of tools have proliferated to assist Internet users to circumvent such censorship. However, there are few studies examining the implications of censorship circumvention under international law, and its related politics. This paper aims to help fill some of that void, with an examination of case studies wherein global communications technologies have been disrupted or censored — telegram cable cutting and censorship, high frequency radio jamming, and direct broadcast satellite blocking — and how the world community responded to that disruption or censorship through international law and law making. In …