
Jennifer Granick is the Director of Civil Liberties at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. Jennifer returns to Stanford after stints as General Counsel of entertainment company Worldstar Hip Hop and as counsel with the internet boutique firm of Zwillgen PLLC. Before that, she was the Civil Liberties Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Jennifer practices, speaks and writes about computer crime and security, electronic surveillance, consumer privacy, data protection, copyright, trademark and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. From 2001 to 2007, Jennifer was Executive Director of CIS and taught Cyberlaw, Computer Crime Law, Internet intermediary liability, and Internet law and policy. Before teaching at Stanford, Jennifer spent almost a decade practicing criminal defense law in California. She was selected by Information Security magazine in 2003 as one of 20 "Women of Vision" in the computer security field. She earned her law degree from University of California, Hastings College of the Law and her undergraduate degree from the New College of the University of South Florida.
High Res Photo of Jennifer Granick
The FISA Amendments Act Authorizes Warrantless Spying on Americans
By Jennifer Granick • November 5, 2012 at 2:49 pm
Next week, the lame duck Congress will take up the issue of whether to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act (FAA) of 2008. The House of Representatives passed a five year extention, but during the the floor debate on that bill, lawmakers demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding about how the FAA affects the privacy of Americans on American soil. Read more » about The FISA Amendments Act Authorizes Warrantless Spying on Americans
UPDATED: Sixth Circuit Cell Tracking Case Travels Down the Wrong Road
By Jennifer Granick • August 14, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Today the Sixth Circuit ruled in United States v. Skinner that police do not need a warrant to obtain GPS location data for mobile phones. Investigators obtained an unspecified court order, but not a warrant, to obtain subscriber information, cell site information, GPS real-time location, and “ping” data regarding two different prepaid cell phone numbers.
The Court does not explain the technology used for tracking the defendant. Read more » about UPDATED: Sixth Circuit Cell Tracking Case Travels Down the Wrong Road
How to build effective cyber defenses
By Jennifer Granick • August 13, 2012 at 2:46 pm
From my opinion piece today on CNN: Read more » about How to build effective cyber defenses
Ninth Circuit Gives Government a Pass On Warrantless Wiretapping
By Jennifer Granick • August 8, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit against the U.S. Government by Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a now-defunct charity that federal agents said was a terrorist group. Read more » about Ninth Circuit Gives Government a Pass On Warrantless Wiretapping
TVShack Extradition Case Tumbling as Seventh Circuit Holds Linking/Streaming is Lawful
By Jennifer Granick • August 7, 2012 at 9:54 am
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) criminal prosecution of British citizen Richard O'Dwyer for operating a site called TVShack hit what ought to be a major stumbling block. TVShack allows users to link to other computer servers that host television shows and movies. Clicking on the link will allow the user to watch those videos from those sites in a frame on TVShack. Read more » about TVShack Extradition Case Tumbling as Seventh Circuit Holds Linking/Streaming is Lawful
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Shloss v. Estate of Joyce
After the Estate of James Joyce refused to allow a scholar to quote Joyce in her book, we successfully defended her right under the fair use doctrine to use the quotes she needed to illustrate her scholarship. After we prevailed in the case, the Estate paid $240,000 of our client’s legal fees. Read more » about Shloss v. Estate of Joyce
Kahle v. Gonzales
In this case, two archives challenged statutes that extended copyright terms unconditionally—the Copyright Renewal Act and the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA)—as unconstitutional under Copyright Clause and the First Amendment. Read more » about Kahle v. Gonzales
Kahle v. Gonzales - Appellants' Reply Brief
Appellants' Reply Brief in the Ninth Circuit. Read more » about Kahle v. Gonzales - Appellants' Reply Brief
Kahle v. Gonzales - Appellants' Opening Brief
Appellants' Opening Brief in the Ninth Circuit. Read more » about Kahle v. Gonzales - Appellants' Opening Brief
Kahle v. Gonzales - Plaintiffs' Opposition to Government's Motion to Dismiss
District Court proceeding. Read more » about Kahle v. Gonzales - Plaintiffs' Opposition to Government's Motion to Dismiss
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Taking a Flier on Big Data
"However, the level of precision that satisfies marketers is very different from the exactitude required by government agencies, says Jennifer Granick, director of civil liberties at Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society. " Read more » about Taking a Flier on Big Data
Scripps Employees Called 'Hackers' For Exposing Massive Security Flaw
""There's this idea that you can access information, but if you access it fast then you're a criminal," Granick said. "If anything, these are very subjective calculations that shouldn't be the basis for whether someone goes to prison."" Read more » about Scripps Employees Called 'Hackers' For Exposing Massive Security Flaw
As cyberthreats mount, hacker’s conviction underscores criticism of government overreach
"Jennifer Granick, director of civil liberties at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society, said prosecutors have been guilty of “overreach” in their handling of computer cases such as those of Auernheimer and Swartz." Read more » about As cyberthreats mount, hacker’s conviction underscores criticism of government overreach
Constitution USA with Peter Sagal
CIS Director of Civil Liberties Jennifer Granick is interviewed in the PBS Show Constitution USA with Peter Sagal. Read more » about Constitution USA with Peter Sagal
Amid Calls for Reform, a Rare Trial of Hacking Law
""Because the language is vague and the way we've used computers has changed so much, there has been a great amount of litigation and dispute about what unauthorized access means," Granick said. "Some litigants have pushed the idea your access is unauthorized if you're violating an employment contract, or violating terms of a service agreement, or acting in a manner that is disloyal."" Read more » about Amid Calls for Reform, a Rare Trial of Hacking Law
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2013 Stanford University-Peking University Internet Law and Public Policy Conference (Past Event)
This Conference is cordially hosted by Stanford Law School and Peking University, and is sponsored by Tencent, China’s largest Internet company and one of the largest worldwide, and Microsoft, the largest software maker in the world. The main organizers include the China Guiding Cases Project, the Stanford Program in Law, Science, & Technology, the China Law and Policy Association, and the Stanford Law School Programs. Read more » about 2013 Stanford University-Peking University Internet Law and Public Policy Conference
3D Printing: Is the Law Ready for the Future? (Past Event)
Third Annual Internet Law Works-in-Progress Event (Past Event)
Jennifer Granick will be presenting her paper Principles for Regulation of Government Surveillance in the Age of Big Data.
For more information visit: http://law.scu.edu/hightech/2013-internet-law-wip.cfm Read more » about Third Annual Internet Law Works-in-Progress Event
Innovation or Exploitation? (Past Event)
Have you ever borrowed a smartphone without asking? Modified a URL? Scraped a website? Called an undocumented API? Congratulations: you might have violated federal law! A 1986 statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), provides both civil and criminal remedies for mere "unauthorized" access to a computer. Read more » about Innovation or Exploitation?
Swimming in the Ocean of Big Data: National Security in an Age of Unlimited Information (Past Event)
The Journal of National Security Law & Policy and The Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law proudly present "Swimming in the Ocean of Big Data: National Security in an Age of Unlimited Information". Read more » about Swimming in the Ocean of Big Data: National Security in an Age of Unlimited Information
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3D Printing: Is the Law Ready for the Future?
May 16, 2013
Three dimensional printing turns bits into atoms. The technology is simply amazing. These machines draw on programming, art and engineering to enable people to design and build intricate, beautiful, functional jewelry, machine parts, toys and even shoes. In the commercial sector, 3D printing can revolutionize supply chains as well. As the public interest group Public Knowledge wrote once, "It will be awesome if they don't screw it up."
Read more » about 3D Printing: Is the Law Ready for the Future?
Constitution USA with Peter Sagal - Episode II - It’s A Free Country
May 14, 2013
Jennifer Granick appears at 46:44.
Ask Americans what the Constitution’s most important feature is, and most will say it’s the guarantees of liberty enshrined in the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments of the Constitution.
Americans are fiercely proud of their freedoms but they continue to argue about what those basic rights are and how they can be sustained in a changing world. Are our rights unchangeable, or should they evolve over time? What is the proper role for the courts in interpreting rights? Read more » about Constitution USA with Peter Sagal - Episode II - It’s A Free Country
Innovation or Exploitation (Video)
February 21, 2013
Have you ever borrowed a smartphone without asking? Modified a URL? Scraped a website? Called an undocumented API? Congratulations: you might have violated federal law! A 1986 statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), provides both civil and criminal remedies for mere "unauthorized" access to a computer. Read more » about Innovation or Exploitation (Video)
Innovation or Exploitation? (Audio)
February 21, 2013
Have you ever borrowed a smartphone without asking? Modified a URL? Scraped a website? Called an undocumented API? Congratulations: you might have violated federal law! A 1986 statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), provides both civil and criminal remedies for mere "unauthorized" access to a computer. Read more » about Innovation or Exploitation? (Audio)
CODE 2600
July 24, 2012
Synopsis: CODE 2600 documents the rise of the Information Technology Age as told through the events and people who helped build and manipulate it. The film explores the impact this new connectivity has on our ability to remain human while maintaining our personal privacy and security. As we struggle to comprehend the wide-spanning socio-technical fallout causd by data collection and social networks, oru modern culture is caught in an undercurrent of cyber-attacks, identity theft and privacy invasion. Read more » about CODE 2600