Media Law Student Works at NC COA and the Volvo Group

By on July 29, 2015 in Journalism

MeThis is the third in a series of posts by UNC media law students reporting on their summer internships.

I spent the first half of my summer working at the North Carolina Court of Appeals as a judicial intern for the Honorable Judge Wanda Bryant.  This job was a perfect fit for me as a former high school English teacher.  A typical day included researching points of law and writing memos for the judge.  I was fortunate to receive extensive feedback from Judge Bryant and her clerks. 

When I wasn’t preparing memos, I attended oral arguments.  I was particularly excited to observe a panel of three judges take on a privacy law issue.  The case involved a man who accessed his wife’s iPhone without her permission by placing her thumb on the iPhone’s Touch ID sensor while she was sleeping.  He then used that information to obtain evidence of her affair.  The panel had to decide whether that evidence was legally obtained and admissible.  Afterwards, in chambers, it was fascinating to hear the judges’ perspectives on how the law should deal with emerging technologies, especially because this topic has been at the forefront of many of the media law courses I have taken at UNC.

After the court’s session ended, I began working as an internal communications intern at the Volvo Group of Companies in North America in Greensboro, N.C.  There’s a lot of research and writing in this position as well, but the content is different.  I assist a small but diverse team of extremely talented and creative individuals in their efforts to enhance employees’ business understanding, build employee engagement, and promote the company’s core values. 

There’s never a dull moment here.  Internal communications projects include filming and producing news segments that keep Volvo employees up-to-date about what’s going on in the company, managing events like the Volvo Ocean Race, and maintaining positive community relations.   Media law is often discussed.   The communication team members have to be careful not to violate copyright or privacy laws as they push boundaries in their field by creating interactive content that informs and inspires employees. 

It’s been an amazing summer!  Through these internships, I have gained a deeper understanding of the law and how it shapes corporate communications. 

Chanda Marlowe is a third-year student in UNC’s dual-degree program (a master’s in communication and a J.D.). 

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Center Staffer Celebrates 25th Anniversary of the ADA with Article in Slate

By on July 22, 2015 in Journalism

Slate_in_ccTori Ekstrand, the communications director for the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act by publishing an article about web accessibility in Slate today.  In her article, she argues that, contrary to what FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly recently said, Internet access is a necessity.  It is necessary for access to employment, government services, health care and education.  You can read the article here.

Tori is an assistant professor in the UNC School of Media and Journalism.

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UNC Student Publishes in North Carolina Law Review

By on July 20, 2015 in Journalism

ND NCLRUNC media law student Natasha Duarte has had an article published in the North Carolina Law Review.  The article is “The Home Out of Context:  The Post-Riley Fourth Amendment and Law Enforcement Collection of Smart Meter Data,” 93 N.C. L. Rev. 1140 (2015).

The article says, in part, “Smart meters know when you’re sleeping. They know when you’re awake. They might even know whether you’re in the shower or watching TV. Utility companies are steadily installing these smart meters on consumers’ homes. Unlike traditional energy meters, which show a household’s aggregated electricity use each month, smart meters collect fine-grained, minute-by-minute data about electricity use and transmit it back to the utility at regular intervals. This data, when collected over time and analyzed, can reveal the activities and behavioral patterns of a household. Utility records have long been of interest in law enforcement investigations, and the detailed information contained in smart meter data can provide police with infinitely more insight into people’s homes.”  The article explores how the Fourth Amendment applies to law enforcement searches for such information and how that might change as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Riley v. California.

Natasha, who is on the staff of the North Carolina Law Review, is in her fourth year of UNC’s dual-degree program (a master’s in mass communication and a J.D.). 

Congratulations, Natasha!

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Media Law Student Working for FIRE in Philadelphia

By on July 13, 2015 in Journalism

Lindsie-2This is the second of a series of posts by UNC media law students reporting on their summer internships: 

I’m nearing the end of my summer working as a legal intern at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a non-profit watchdog protecting freedom of expression and other civil liberties on college campuses. As a First Amendment nerd and education policy junkie, I have loved every minute of my job.

There has been no shortage of work to be done at FIRE. Within my first few weeks, I was teaming up with FIRE’s other legal intern and Student Press Law Center staffers to draft an amici brief in support of a college student who had been expelled from school for tweeting insults about his ex-girlfriend. Right now, I’m researching relevant law and developing arguments that can be applied when a college indirectly retaliates against a student publication by disciplining its adviser. Other assignments have had me doing long-term research about due process and writing about First Amendment retaliation cases for the FIRE blog.

This week, I witnessed UNC-Chapel Hill becoming one of fewer than 25 colleges nationwide that FIRE rates as “green light” for its speech codes. This means that Carolina is among the best of the best in demonstrating a commitment to protecting students’ right to free speech (and it also means we’re beating Duke, which is still stuck at a yellow light). After having been a “yellow light” school since 2008, Carolina earned its new rating by revising multiple speech codes, including a vague policy banning speech that “disparages” another. Carolina had been a “red light” school prior to 2008.

I get giddy when law and social criticism meet, so I appreciate that FIRE doesn’t approach censorship solely as a legal concept. Instead, FIRE sees it as a societal issue with broad consequences. When I’m not researching legal questions, I’m engaging in conversations about pluralism, civic engagement, and media literacy – all of which are harmed when student expression is stifled.

FIRE’s office is in the heart of Philadelphia, across the street from Independence Hall and only two blocks from the Liberty Bell. Since I am lucky enough to live just four blocks from the office in a small, historic townhouse, I have had ample opportunity to explore and be entrenched in the history of the city.

This internship has been a fantastic way to learn more about First Amendment and education law while putting my skills and passion to work on real-life cases.

Lindsie Trego

Second-year student in UNC-CH’s dual degree program, earning a master’s in mass communication and a J.D.

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Media Law Student Working for ACLU in New York City

By on July 6, 2015 in Journalism

NatashaThis is the first in a series of posts by UNC media law students reporting on their summer internships:

I work with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology (“SPT”) Project in New York City on all kinds of digital speech and privacy issues. On the privacy side, I’ve helped with SPT’s efforts to protect against warrantless collection of cell phone location data and suspicionless surveillance in public places. I also drafted ACLU’s comments on the increased collection of biometric data (fingerprints, iris scans, facial recognition photos, and photos of tattoos, scars, and marks) at U.S. border crossings. On the speech side, I’m helping the ACLU fight state laws that threaten online anonymity.

One great thing about working at the ACLU is that it houses so many different projects addressing important civil rights and civil liberties issues. This allows us to collaborate when, for example, a privacy issue also presents racial justice and criminal justice problems. This is great for me because I’m interested in how surveillance disparately impacts minority and low-income communities. I’m learning a lot!

Natasha Duarte is a fourth-year student in UNC’s dual-degree program (a master’s in mass communication and a J.D.).

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