On March 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission denied a request to list what would have been the first exchange traded fund (“ETF”) to track bitcoin. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be used to move money around the world, without the need for a central authority. The underlying technology in bitcoin is a …
I tend to identify myself as being a cyber libertarian. A vast majority of the time I will oppose internet regulation and, especially, speech regulation within cyberspace. I think this is important to state up front as it tells you the kind of lens I viewed both the presentation and the European Union Data Protection …
Its only been a few weeks since new F.C.C. Chair Ajit Pai has taken office, but he’s already signaling a drastically different approach to regulation than his predecessor Tom Wheeler. The first thing that Pai has done is to classify the F.C.C’s net neutrality rules, passed two years ago, as a “mistake.” Net neutrality is …
The phenomenon of “fake news” took the country by storm during and in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 Presidential Election, though in retrospect its rise seems like the logical next step in the rapidly changing news-media landscape. As more and more people use the Internet as a primary method of news consumption (at least …
This week the Trump administration could announce a formal revisit to the EPA’s vehicle emissions standards, likely reversing rules enacted during the Obama era. These data-driven standards are promulgated jointly by the EPA and the Department of Transportation under the Clean Air Act to control air toxics and greenhouse gas pollution, while considering the …
Online social media websites are frequently used to cyberbully others remotely, making it easier to taunt and send threats as the author hides behind the shield of a screen. In October 2016, a journalist, Kurt Eichenwald, received an animated gif Tweet from a Twitter account. While this sounds like a normal, common Tweet to send, …
We are all familiar with an otherwise innocuous news posting that quickly devolves into needless posturing, vulgar language, and personal attacks on the original poster or OP. These rants can be found all over the internet, whether on social media or in the comments sections of the news sites themselves. The sections are populated and …
How many times have you arrived at law school only to realize that you’ve forgotten your case book at home? Or made it all the way back from the grocery store after navigating through mid-afternoon traffic and found that the milk you were supposed to buy wasn’t amongst the other groceries? Everyone has moments of …
On Monday February 27, the Supreme Court denied Belmora, LLC’s petition for certiorari regarding territoriality of trademarks. At the heart of the case is the issue of whether a company can use the Lanham Act to enforce trademark rights in a mark used in a foreign country, but not in United States commerce. Currently, three …
This past Sunday, Elaine Chao, the new US Transportation Secretary announced that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the USDOT would be re-evaluating the self-driving vehicle guidance penned under the Obama administration. It is not quite clear what exactly that will entail, but Secretary Chao stated her agency intends to “ensure that [the …
