Publications

That time my husband reported me to the Facebook police: a case study

Author(s): 
Daphne Keller
Publication Date: 
September 27, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

[Stanford's Daphne Keller is a preeminent cyberlawyer and one of the world's leading experts on "intermediary liability" -- that is, when an online service should be held responsible for the actions of this user. She brings us a delightful tale of Facebook's inability to moderate content at scale, which is as much of a tale of the impossibility (and foolishness) of trying to support 2.3 billion users (who will generate 2,300 one-in-a-million edge-cases every day) as it is about a specific failure. Read more about That time my husband reported me to the Facebook police: a case study

Facebook Restricts Speech by Popular Demand

Author(s): 
Daphne Keller
Publication Date: 
September 22, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

This past week, with some fanfare, Facebook announced its own version of the Supreme Court: a 40-member board that will make final decisions about user posts that Facebook has taken down. The announcement came after extended deliberations that have been described as Facebook’s “constitutional convention.” Read more about Facebook Restricts Speech by Popular Demand

Too Good to Be True?

Author(s): 
Riana Pfefferkorn
Publication Date: 
September 10, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

The client shows his lawyer a video he says he took on his cell phone. It shows the defendant saying things that, if seen by the jury, will be a slam dunk for the client’s case. The attorney includes the video in her list of evidence for trial, but the defendant’s lawyers move to strike. They claim it’s a fake. What’s the plaintiff’s lawyer—and the judge—to do?

Welcome to trial practice in the new world of "deepfake" videos. Read more about Too Good to Be True?

Campaigns Must Prepare for Deepfakes: This Is What Their Plan Should Look Like

Author(s): 
Danielle Citron
Publication Date: 
September 5, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

It is only a matter of time before maliciously manipulated or fabricated content surfaces of a major presidential candidate in 2020. The video manipulation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in May demonstrates the speed with which even a “cheap fake” can spread. Read more about Campaigns Must Prepare for Deepfakes: This Is What Their Plan Should Look Like

Deconstructing Google’s excuses on tracking protection

Author(s): 
Arvind Narayanan
Jonathan Mayer
Publication Date: 
August 23, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

Blocking cookies is bad for privacy. That’s the new disingenuous argument from Google, trying to justify why Chrome is so far behind Safari and Firefox in offering privacy protections. As researchers who have spent over a decade studying web tracking and online advertising, we want to set the record straight.

Our high-level points are:

1) Cookie blocking does not undermine web privacy. Google’s claim to the contrary is privacy gaslighting. Read more about Deconstructing Google’s excuses on tracking protection

The FTC Can Rise to the Privacy Challenge, but Not Without Help From Congress

Author(s): 
Woodrow Hartzog
Publication Date: 
August 9, 2019
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

Editor's note: This piece originally appeared on TechTank.

Facebook’s recent settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reignited debate over whether the agency is up to the task of protecting privacy. Many people, including some skeptics of the FTC’s ability to rein in Silicon Valley, lauded the settlement, or at least parts of it. Read more about The FTC Can Rise to the Privacy Challenge, but Not Without Help From Congress

Pages

Subscribe to Publications