Publications

The music industry sings a lonely tune on Internet policy

Author(s): 
Marvin Ammori
Publication Date: 
June 27, 2016
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is at it again. In a joint open letter to Congress, it is leading a push by the music industry to rewrite Internet copyright law in ways similar to its advocacy of the infamous Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) of 2012. SOPA failed miserably in Congress. It was abandoned after more than 15 million Americans objected to the bill’s attempt to restrict Internet freedom as 115,000 websites staged a massive blackout online. Read more about The music industry sings a lonely tune on Internet policy

The U.K. has voted for Brexit. Here’s what happens next.

Author(s): 
Henry Farrell
Publication Date: 
June 24, 2016
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

After a bitter referendum campaign, the United Kingdom has voted for Brexit, making the decision to leave the European Union. This is the first time that the E.U. has lost a member and will have dramatic consequences for European politics. Although the United Kingdom has sometimes been an uncomfortable member of the E.U., it has played a crucial role, for example in helping to create a shared market across Europe and in pushing for the enlargement of the E.U. to include Eastern European countries after the end of the Cold War. Read more about The U.K. has voted for Brexit. Here’s what happens next.

The Obama administration wanted to open up government to citizen input. Why hasn’t it worked?

Author(s): 
Henry Farrell
Publication Date: 
June 20, 2016
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

Beth Simone Noveck is the Jerry Hultin Global Network Professor at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering. Her new book, “Smart Citizens, Smarter State: The Technologies of Expertise and the Future of Governing,” was published by Harvard University Press. I asked her five questions by email about the book’s major arguments. Read more about The Obama administration wanted to open up government to citizen input. Why hasn’t it worked?

America’s founders hated general warrants. So why has the government resurrected them?

Author(s): 
Henry Farrell
Publication Date: 
June 14, 2016
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

Laura Donohue is a professor of law at Georgetown University  and was recently appointed as a public advocate to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. She is also the author of a new book published by Oxford University Press, “The Future of Foreign Intelligence: Privacy and Surveillance in a Digital Age.” I asked her some questions about the argument of her book. Read more about America’s founders hated general warrants. So why has the government resurrected them?

It's Too Complicated: How the Internet Upends Katz, Smith, and Electronic Surveillance Law

Author(s): 
Stephanie Pell
Publication Date: 
June 7, 2016
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

For more than forty years, electronic surveillance law in the United States developed under constitutional and statutory regimes that, given the technology of the day, distinguished content from metadata with ease and certainty. The stability of these legal regimes and the distinctions they facilitated was enabled by the relative stability of these types of data in the traditional telephone network and their obviousness to users. But what happens to these legal frameworks when they confront the Internet? Read more about It's Too Complicated: How the Internet Upends Katz, Smith, and Electronic Surveillance Law

A First Amendment For Social Platforms

Author(s): 
Nabiha Syed
Publication Date: 
June 2, 2016
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

The great 21st-century platforms — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, and the rest — have this year found themselves in the middle of the speech wars. Twitter is struggling to contain vile trolling and harassment, and Facebook has gotten scalded on the little toe it dipped into curating journalism. Read more about A First Amendment For Social Platforms

The U.S. wants to maintain cross-border data flows. That may be tough.

Author(s): 
Henry Farrell
Publication Date: 
June 2, 2016
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

"Karen Kornbluh, the former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), has a new cyber brief making the case for open cross-border data flows at the Council on Foreign Relations website (full disclosure: I authored an earlier brief in this series). Kornbluh argues that foreign jurisdictions pose an increasing threat to open flows of data across networks such as the Internet. Read more about The U.S. wants to maintain cross-border data flows. That may be tough.

It’s important for SF to get body-camera rules for police right

Author(s): 
Catherine Crump
Publication Date: 
June 1, 2016
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

After months of consideration, the San Francisco Police Commission approved rules Wednesday for use of the latest innovation sweeping law enforcement nationwide — police body-worn cameras. Toney Chaplin, San Francisco’s acting police chief, had announced on his first full day in the job last month that deploying body cameras was his top priority. Read more about It’s important for SF to get body-camera rules for police right

Spying on Muslims is bad policy

Author(s): 
Brian Nussbaum
Publication Date: 
May 23, 2016
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

During the presidential primary, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz suggested increased surveillance and policing of Muslim neighborhoods in the United States. This suggestion has rightly provoked the ire of many people across the political spectrum. Even more than being out of step with American values, these strategies are counterproductive to good counterterrorism policy. Read more about Spying on Muslims is bad policy

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