Legal Frontiers In Digital Media Podcast

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation has been in effect for nearly a year, and California’s expansive Consumer Privacy Act is set to go into effect in 2020. This panel of regulators, in-house and outside counsel will review enforcement trends that have the greatest impact on online platforms, and actions that platforms have taken […]

This session will take an in-depth look at legal strategies for protecting anonymous speech online from the perspective of the platforms that provide the channels of communication, as well as from users seeking to maintain their online anonymity. A panel of expert inside and outside counsel will consider: • What are the legal standards for […]

Practioners from Europe will bring us the latest developments on global takedown cases working their way through the European courts (e.g., CNIL v. Google; Glawischnig v. Facebook); and controversial provisions of the EU Copyright Directive that threaten to impose a so-called “link tax” on platforms that aggregate news content and to require platforms to take […]

In its landmark decision in Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment requires that law enforcement obtain a warrant before gathering historic cell site location data about a suspect from cellular service providers, calling into question the validity of the “third-party doctrine” in the online context. The decision has opened […]

Many decisions that affect public discourse on online platforms are made before the first user logs on. Speech on the internet is shaped by platforms’ structural choices including: the length of permitted submissions; whether posts are permanent or disappear over time; how the content that users see is selected; the control granted to users over […]

Does one infringe a copyright by in-line linking? If so, how much will our internet be shrinking? Just how pervasive are in-line linking, embedding and framing in today’s digital media? A content development and distribution pro first explains the present state before envisioning a hypothetical internet without these tools. Then counsel who won the two […]

Kara Swisher, influential technology journalist and co-founder of Recode, speaks with fellow journalist, Sarah Jeong, on the state of the tech world in a climate where Silicon Valley is facing growing scrutiny from public officials and the public at-large.

The Computer Fraud & Abuse Act was enacted by Congress in 1986, primarily as a tool to criminally prosecute hackers, in an era before the web and online publishing, when the internet was mostly used by a small universe of academics, government and military staff. Although the CFAA has been updated by Congress several times, […]

It has been approximately a year since the Uber scandal uncovered a culture of sexual harassment and gender bias in the tech community. Silicon Valley still faces a dearth of female founders and women are still underrepresented at executive levels in tech companies and law firms. But is the outlook showing signs of improvement? What […]

This session will begin with a tutorial on how algorithms and machine learning work in order to provide lawyers with a better understanding of how these technologies apply to solving real world problems. For example: how does machine learning help a review site spot fake reviews, a social media platform identify misinformation campaigns, or sites […]

Whether by foreign governments like Russia, or by fraudsters and other individuals wishing to influence opinion and actions on the internet for their own ends, disinformation campaigns have become an acute problem that social media sites are facing calls to address. Beginning with a tech tutorial on how fake news and other misinformation is created […]

Increasingly, platforms have been under pressure on a number of fronts to take down, moderate and/or stop hosting objectionable groups and content, such as content originating from white supremacists, alleged sex traffickers, terrorist groups and the like. The pressure is coming from political forces seeking legal reforms, such as the recently passed Section 230 exception […]

Copyrights are granted globally and digital content on platforms is distributed globally. Therefore, publishers and digital platforms must consider a global approach to content management and copyright. In the U.S., the notice and takedown provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act give platforms breathing room to avoid liability for the distribution of user generated content […]

Europe’s War on U.S. Platforms Many government entities in the EU appear to be gunning for U.S.-based digital companies. This is reflected in the new copyright law discussed in the earlier panel, but is also seen in a variety of data protection & privacy regulations: GDPR, Privacy Shield, right to be forgotten (including possibility of […]

The new FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai, has announced his intention to repeal the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order that had brought the internet under Title II common carrier regulation and to reclassify ISPs as Title I information services. There is sure to be a contentious battle over these new rules and a fierce debate about […]

During the past year or so, a number of court decisions have chipped away at the protection of Section 230. Recently, courts have appeared receptive to claims that fall outside the usual ambit of publishing torts, where, e.g., a duty to warn was alleged (Doe v. Internet Brands), or where an online marketplace site takes […]

This session will bring together government agents and in-house counsel, who often must call upon one another to investigate and stop cyber threats from hackers, terrorist organizations and violent extremist groups. What issues arise when digital companies seek the aid of government in response to hacking and other online threats, including those from state actors […]

This panel will explore increasingly common (and sometimes controversial) situations where digital companies must balance free speech, liberty, security and other interests of their users (along with the platform’s own right to speak and create an atmosphere that is representative of its corporate values) where the law doesn’t demand a particular action. This session will […]

Remarkable advances in technology now allow every person with a smartphone, tablet or GoPro the ability to produce and distribute their own video content, immediately and globally. The recording of events from all angles presents challenges to content developers, who struggle to balance perspectives both literally and figuratively. What opportunities does this create for new […]

Our lightning round panel will discuss the key takeaways from new developments in topics critical to clients publishing, monetizing, and utilizing digital content, including: (1) the Lanham Act (including commercialization of online content), (2) the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (including delegation and authorization to access on behalf others), (3) copyrightability (including APIs, and also […]