Internet Law Commons^™

Free Speech In The Internet Era: Reviewing Policies Seeking To Modify Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act Of 1996, Jacob Cordeiro

Senior Honors Projects

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), has for over two decades provided “interactive computer services” a legal liability shield for defamatory or otherwise actionable user-generated content posted on their platforms and, for lawsuits stemming over unequal enforcement of their content policies provided enforcement efforts are taken in “good faith.” This law, passed in the early days of the Internet, incubated the Internet and social media, giving it the regulatory freedom it needed to grow into a platform where hundreds of millions of Americans can exchange ideas and engage in political and social discourse. Yet, for all the good …

Reviving Negotiated Rulemaking For An Accessible Internet, Julie Moroney

Michigan Law Review

Web accessibility requires designing and developing websites so that people with disabilities can use them without barriers. While the internet has become central to daily life, websites have overwhelmingly remained inaccessible to the millions of users who have disabilities. Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to combat discrimination against people with disabilities. Passed in 1990, it lacks any specific mention of the internet Courts are split as to whether the ADA applies to websites, and if so, what actions businesses must take to comply with the law. Further complicating matters, the Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated the rulemaking …

Bipa: What Does It Stand For?, Paige Smith

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Crypto Quandary: Is Bankruptcy Ready?, Megan Mcdermott

Northwestern University Law Review

As the United States grapples with how best to manage a global pandemic, bankruptcy courts are bracing for the inevitable fallout from COVID-19. As we saw in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, hard- hit businesses will need to reorganize to adjust to new conditions, while out- of-work consumers will need debt relief options. But there will be a new twist for this impending wave of bankruptcies: how should bankruptcy courts deal with crypto assets like Bitcoin? This Essay argues that the rise of cryptocurrency investments over the last decade poses serious complications for the next round of consumer …

When Accessing Justice Requires Absence From The Courthouse: Utah’S Online Dispute Resolution Program And The Impact It Will Have On Pro Se Litigants, Julianne Dardanes

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

According to the 2017 Justice Gap Report conducted by Congress’s non-profit Legal Services Corporation (LSC), eighty-six percent of civil legal issues involving low-income Americans received scant or no legal assistance. The number of unrepresented (“pro se”) litigants continues to rise, with low-income Americans constituting a significant portion of this population. Due to the inefficiency of socioeconomically challenged litigants appearing pro se, this article proposes implementing Utah’s court-mandated Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) program as a solution nation-wide. Utah’s ODR program for small claims is revolutionary because it is the first ODR system able to handle an entire dispute instead of only …

Adalah Legal Center For Arab Minority Rights In Israel V. State Attorney’S Office – Cyber Department, Hanan Melcer, Esther Hayut, Alex Stein

Translated Opinions

The petition addressed the question of the authority to conduct “voluntary enforcement” activity for the removal of harmful content from the internet, the manner and configuration of the activity of the Cyber Department of the State Attorney’s Office, and the lack of express statutory authority for the activity.

Background: In accordance with the Work Procedure established by the State Attorney’s Office, the Cyber Department initiates referrals to online platform operators, content providers, and other internet platforms (like Facebook and Google), reporting publications that the State Attorney’s Office deems as constituting an offense under Israeli criminal law, and that also …

Maryland’S Digital Tax And The Itfa’S Catch-22, David Gamage, Darien Shanske, Christopher Moran

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this installment of Academic Perspectives on SALT, the authors examine whether statelevel taxes on digital advertising — like Maryland’s new tax — are barred by the Internet Tax Freedom Act and discuss how the act’s prohibition against “discriminatory” taxes on electronic commerce should be construed narrowly.

What's The Harm? Federalism, The Separation Of Powers, And Standing In Data Breach Litigation, Grayson Wells

Indiana Law Journal

This Comment will argue that the Supreme Court should analyze standing in data breach litigation under a standard that is deferential to state statutory and common law. Specifically, federal standing analysis should look to state law when determining whether an injury is concrete such that the injury-in-fact requirement is met. Some argue that allowing more data breach cases to proceed to the merits could lead to an explosion of successful litigation and settlements, burdening the federal courts and causing economic losses for the breached businesses. These concerns may be valid. But if state law provides a remedy to the harm …

Taking It With You: Platform Barriers To Entry And The Limits Of Data Portability, Gabriel Nicholas

Michigan Technology Law Review

Policymakers are faced with a vexing problem: how to increase competition in a tech sector dominated by a few giants. One answer proposed and adopted by regulators in the United States and abroad is to require large platforms to allow consumers to move their data from one platform to another, an approach known as data portability. Facebook, Google, Apple, and other major tech companies have enthusiastically supported data portability through their own technical and political initiatives. Today, data portability has taken hold as one of the go-to solutions to address the tech industry’s competition concerns.

This Article argues that despite …

Public Policy And The Insurability Of Cyber Risk, Asaf Lubin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In June 2017, the food and beverage conglomerate Mondelez International became a victim of the NotPetya ransomware attack. Around 1,700 of its servers and 24,000 of the company’s laptops were suddenly and permanently unusable. Commercial supply and distribution disruptions, theft of credentials from many users, and unfulfilled customer orders soon followed, leading to losses that totaled more than $100 million. Unfortunately, Zurich, which had sold the company a property insurance policy that included a variety of coverages, informed Mondelez in 2018 that cyber coverage would be denied under the policy based on the “war exclusion clause.” This case, now pending, …

The Bumble Bill: A Critical Analysis On Texas’S New Law Taking Indecent Exposure Regulations Online, Ashley B. Huron

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

Impostor Scams, David Adam Friedman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Impostor scams have recently become the most common type of consumer scam in America, surpassing identity theft. It has never been easier and more profitable to be an impostor scammer. Though the core of these scams dates back centuries, these fraudsters consistently find novel ways to manipulate human motives and emotions. Nonetheless, the public should not give up hope. Policymakers and private actors can slow down this scourge if they focus on the key chokepoints that impostor scammers rely upon to achieve their ends. This Article provides a roadmap for a solution to impostor scams, offering specific suggestions for mitigating …

Bitcoin Searches And Preserving The Third-Party Doctrine, Christine A. Cortez

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

Amazon Hq2 & The Nimby Movement: An Opportunity To Incorporate Deliberative Democracy Into New York's Land Use System, Jennifer Russnow

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the failure of Amazon's HQ2 deal in Long Island City, attributing it to inadequate community engagement and the top-down approach by government officials. It argues that incorporating deliberative democratic methods into New York's land use system could mitigate such issues by fostering better dialogue between stakeholders, thus leading to more inclusive and equitable development projects.

Platform Immunity Redefined, Agnieszka Mcpeak

William & Mary Law Review

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) immunizes “interactive computer services” from most claims arising out of third-party content posted on the service. Passed in 1996, section 230 is a vital law for allowing free expression online, but it is ill-suited for addressing some of the harms that arise in the modern platform-based economy.

This Article proposes to redefine section 230 immunity for sharing economy platforms and online marketplaces by tying internet platform immunity to the economic relationship between the platform and the third party. It primarily focuses on one key flaw of section 230: its binary classification of …

Barnet As Tr. Of 2012 Saretta Barnet Revocable Tr. V. Ministry Of Culture & Sports Of The Hellenic Republic, 961 F.3d 193 (2d Cir. 2020), Meghan Jackson

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Fighting To Protect Individual Privacy In A Rapidly Advancing Technological World, Farzana Ahmed

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

The Nflpo: The Nfl's Private Patent Office, Paul Fina

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Ex Ante Intellectual Property Considerations For Small Businesses, Jason A. Sanders

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Revitalizing Language Through Education: Ireland's Use Of International Law To Drive Linguistic Preservation, Emma A. O'Connell

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.