
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
Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
By Jennifer Granick • January 26, 2012 at 11:47 am
The recent Department of Justice decision to indict Megaupload for copyright infringement and related offenses raises some very thorny questions from a criminal law perspective. A few preliminaries: I’m responsible for the musings below, but I thank Robert Weisberg of Stanford Law School for taking the time to talk through the issues and giving me pointers to some relevant cases. Also, an indictment contains unproven allegations, and the facts may well turn out to be different, or to imply different things in full context.
DMCA SAFE HARBOR: BELIEVE IT AND IT WILL BECOME REAL: As a matter of criminal law, the discussion of whether Megaupload did what it needed to do to qualify for the DMCA Safe Harbor misses the point. Did they register an agent? Did they have a repeat infringer policy? These are all interesting CIVIL questions. But from a criminal law perspective, the important question is did Defendants BELIEVE they were covered by the Safe Harbor? This is because criminal infringement requires a showing of willfulness. The view of the majority of Federal Courts is that “willfulness” means a desire to violate a known legal duty, not merely the will to make copies. Read more » about Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
New Year, New Job
By Jennifer Granick • January 9, 2012 at 10:47 pm
Happy new year, Friends. It is starting out to be a great 2012 for me. I've taken a position as General Counsel for Worldstar LLC and its flagship website worldstarhiphop.com (WSHH), voted top hip hop and urban culture website two years running by BET. In addition to the website, Worldstar operates a talent agency, video production company, dating site and is growing rapidly. They were a client of mine at ZwillGen PLLC, so I'm honored and thrilled to come on board full time.
Additionally, my new position allows me to continue work on the internet freedom and privacy issues so important to me: electronic surveillance, government privacy, computer security, coder's rights and free speech . Read more » about New Year, New Job
Stingray Bites Man. Will the Fourth Amendment Bite Back? (Location Tracking)
By Jennifer Granick • October 20, 2011 at 2:53 pm
On October 28, the Department of Justice will argue to a District Court Judge in Arizona that neither the public nor criminal defendants should learn about a special investigative tool it uses to track individuals’ location via their cellphones. According to the Wall Street Journal, law enforcement and the military are regularly using such devices, called “Stingrays”. In the Arizona case, United States v. Rigmaiden, investigators used the technology to assist them in locating the suspect. That defendant is now asking the court to order the government to turn over information about how stingray functions and how it was used in his arrest so that he can litigate whether use of the device violated his Fourth Amendment rights.
For more, click here. Read more » about Stingray Bites Man. Will the Fourth Amendment Bite Back? (Location Tracking)
Great Network in the Sky Giveth, Taketh Away
By Jennifer Granick • September 7, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Isn’t it great that when your car, or phone, or laptop gets lost or stolen, you can use modern technology to find your stuff and get it back? One might think only paranoid Luddites or the thieves themselves would oppose such an innovation. But the joy of a ubiquitous communications/tracking network is tempered by the threat to privacy — and potential liability — for enlisting SkyNet to peer into our cars, purses and bedrooms.
Part One: The Wiretap Act and Find My Computer
Last month, in Clements-Jeffrey v. Springfield , a quirky case involving sex and a stolen laptop, a U.S. District Court judge in Ohio ruled that a laptop-tracking company could be liable for intercepting sexually explicit communications in an effort to identify thieves who stole the computer one plaintiff was using to communicate with the other.
For more, click here Read more » about Great Network in the Sky Giveth, Taketh Away
Can You Track Me Now? Not Without a Warrant!
By Jennifer Granick • August 26, 2011 at 12:17 pm
This week, Eastern District of New York Judge Nicholas Garaufis rejected an FBI effort to use an individual’s cell phone tower records to track his movements over a 113 day period without first obtaining a warrant based on probable cause. Judge Garaufis’ opinion stakes some new ground and draws a line in the sand in the battle over location privacy. The reasoning may have some influence on location tracking and the Fourth Amendment, as the United States Supreme Court considers GPS tracking this term, in United States v. Jones. For more, click here. Read more » about Can You Track Me Now? Not Without a Warrant!
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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