Internet Law Commons^™

The Regulation Of Foreign Platforms, Ganesh Sitaraman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In August 2020, the Trump Administration issued twin executive orders banning tech platforms TikTok and WeChat from the United States. These were not the first actions taken by the Trump Administration against Chinese tech platforms. But more than any other, the ban on TikTok sparked immediate outrage, confusion, and criticism.

This Article offers a new framework for thinking about national security restrictions on foreign tech platforms. A growing body of scholarship draws on principles from regulated industries, infrastructure industries, and public utilities to show how the regulation of tech platforms is not only viable but also has significant precedent and …

Moderating From Nowhere, Gilad Abiri

BYU Law Review

We are living in the midst of a battle over online hate speech regulation, and the stakes could not be higher. Hate speech not only harms its intended victims, be they individuals or groups, but it also polarizes and divides society in ways that undermine the health of democratic regimes. While there is widespread agreement that the current situation of online discourse is untenable, scholars and policymakers are deeply divided on the best way to improve it.

Until recently, American free speech norms have dominated the content moderation policies of digital media platforms. First Amendment norms are extremely resistant to …

Cybersecurity Spillovers, Mark Verstraete, Tal Zarsky

BYU Law Review

This Article identifies and analyzes a previously unrecognized source of positive externalities within cybersecurity, which we term "cybersecurity spillovers". Most commentators have focused on negative externalities and market failures, leading to a pervasive pessimism about the possibility of adequate cybersecurity protections. In response, this Article demonstrates that unique dynamics from the world of cloud computing – most notably, indivisibility – may force cloud service firms to generate spillovers. These spillovers are additional security protections provided to common cloud users: clients who may not have been willing or able to acquire these security services otherwise. Furthermore, this additional source of security …

Data Privacy Regulations In The United States, China, And The European Union, Charlsey A. Kelly

Honors College Theses

This paper compares and discusses the different data privacy regulations found in the United States, China, and the European Union. It is no secret that big tech companies like Facebook and Google continuously collect data on their users. The big question is what protections and rights one has as a consumer. The answer to this question differs when you are in different parts of the world. Currently the United States does not have a federal data privacy law, China recently adopted a new data privacy law called the Personal Information Protection Law, and the European Union has a data privacy …

An "Opensea" Of Infringement: The Intellectual Property Implications Of Nfts, Madison Yoder

The University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The "Worst Law In Technology": How The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act Allows Big Businesses To Collect And Sell Your Personal Information, Alicia Nakhjavan

Brooklyn Law Review

For years, big businesses have been collecting and selling users’ personal information without permission. In attempts at preventing this practice, users have brought civil actions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), alleging a loss of personal privacy. As currently enacted, “personal privacy” is not included in the statutory definition of loss. Further, courts have been reluctant to interpret the CFAA broadly to cover loss of personal privacy claims. This note proposes that an amendment to the CFAA is necessary to close this gap in the statute’s coverage and better protect users’ right to privacy.

Ayla Llc V. Alya Skin Pty. Ltd., 2021 Wl 38233624 (9th Cir. Aug. 27, 2021), Liya Levin

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Andy Warhol Foundation V. Goldsmith, Alyssa Weitkamp

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Google V. Oracle: The Recent Supreme Court Decision, How It Highlights The Inadequacies Of Shoehorning New Technology Into Intellectual Property Law, And Possible Solutions, Claire Price

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Updating The Section 230 Safe Harbor Provision In A New Age Of Social Media Platforms, Arnold Owusu

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Strategies To Deter Child Pornography In The Absence Of A Mandatory Encryption Back Door: Tipster Programs, A Licensed Researcher System, Compelled Password Production, & Private Surveillance, Anthony Volini, Farzana Ahmed

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Reframing Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence At The Intersections Of Law & Society, Jane S. Bailey, Carys Craig, Suzie Dunn, Sonia Lawrence

Articles & Book Chapters

This special issue of the Canadian Journal of Law and Technology focuses on the growing problem of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV): an expansive, dynamic, and rapidly evolving phenomenon that Jane Bailey and Carissima Mathen have defined as “a spectrum of behaviours carried out at least in some part through digital communications technologies, including actions that cause physical or psychological harm.” The collection of articles in this issue offers multi-disciplinary insights on TFGBV by bringing together the work of emerging scholars in information and media studies, communications, and law. This approach reflects our firm belief that in order to be meaningful …

Rules Of Engagement: Copyright And Automated Gatekeepers' Influence On Creative Expression, Michael W. Carroll

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Essay turns questions about artificial intelligence and copyright law around. Rather than focus on algorithms as potential authors, this Essay argues for more attention to the role of algorithms as gatekeepers on social media and how creators adapt their creative choices to meet the demands of these automated tastemakers. Using TikTok’s “For You” algorithm and its role in breaking Lil Nas X’s hit song “Old Town Road” as a case study, this Essay poses the question whether algorithmic gatekeeping is simply a difference in degree or a difference in kind from an artist’s perspective. While tentative, this Essay concludes …

The Local Community Standard: Modernizing The Supreme Court's Obscenity Jurisprudence, Jacob S. Gordon

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Paper presentation on the Supreme Court's outdated case law on obscenity and how it needs to be modernized to in order to combat the dissemination of inappropriate materials in the age of decentralized digital media.

Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari, Gonzalez V. Google, 143 S.Ct. 1191 (2023) (No. 21-1333), Eric Schnapper, Robert J. Tolchin, Keith L. Altman, Daniel Weininger

Court Briefs

QUESTION PRESENTED: Section 203(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act immunizes an “interactive computer service” (such as YouTube, Google, Facebook and Twitter) for “publish[ ing] ... information provided by another” “information content provider” (such as someone who posts a video on YouTube or a statement on Facebook). This is the most recent of three court of appeals’ decisions regarding whether section 230(c)(1) immunizes an interactive computer service when it makes targeted recommendations of information provided by such another party. Five courts of appeals judges have concluded that section 230(c)(1) creates such immunity. Three court of appeals judges have rejected such immunity. …

Application Of U.S. Sanction Laws And Ransomware Payments, Trinity Woodbury

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Ransomware is a major threat that widely affects individuals and organizations, including businesses. Ransomware victims face the situation of potentially paying ransom payments to threat actors, some of whom might be foreign-based criminals. Ransomware affects victims from all sectors and industries.

Republication Liability On The Web, Jeffrey Standen

Marquette Law Review

The tort of defamation evolved in an era where defamatory speech was published in books, magazines, newspapers, or other printed documents. The doctrines that are antecedent to the tort, such as publication, fault, defamation per se, presumed damages, and republication liability, similarly presumed that most defamation would appear in written form in a published work. Similarly, the significant limitations on defamation liability that were produced by a succession of Supreme Court constitutional precedent, including restrictions on prior restraint, heightened fault standards, expanded “public” classes, the “fact/opinion” dichotomy, and the “truth/substantial truth” burden shifting, also were based on a publishing world …

The Best Data Plan Is To Have A Game Plan: Obstacles And Solutions To Reaching International Data Privacy Agreements, James Y. Wang

Michigan Technology Law Review

The modern digital world relies on the instantaneous transfer of data. This digital highway is essential for the growth of the modern digital economy and contributes to the rise of globalization. In order to facilitate these data transfers, ground rules must first be put into place. To date, there are few, if any, binding international data privacy agreements. This is in part due to practical considerations, such as high administrability costs, inadequate enforcement agencies, and complex jurisdictional procedures. More fundamentally, however, this is due to competing incentive structures, as countries are incentivized to protect their own digital sovereignty by limiting …

Global Partnership Should Be The Way Forward To Combat Money Laundering, Maame Nyakoa Boateng

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

This Comment compares the major anti-money laundering (“AML”) laws in the United States and Iran. This Comment argues that even though the United States is advanced in its compliance approach, without a partnership with countries that are more vulnerable to money laundering attacks, its AML efforts could prove counter-productive because of the inter-connectedness of our world today. Accordingly, this Comment proposes a global partnership between countries with effective AML legislation and countries with less effective AML legislation to combat this complex crime.

Understanding Chilling Effects, Jonathon W. Penney

Articles & Book Chapters

With digital surveillance and censorship on the rise, the amount of data available unprecedented, and corporate and governmental actors increasingly employing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology for surveillance and data analytics, concerns about “chilling effects,” that is, the capacity for these activities to “chill” or deter people from exercising their rights and freedoms, have taken on greater urgency and importance. Yet, there remains a clear dearth in systematic theoretical and empirical work points. This has left significant gaps in understanding. This Article has attempted to fill that void, synthesizing theoretical and empirical insights from law, privacy, …