Archive | Internet

Call for Papers: The Evolving Role of the Internet in Politics and Political Campaigns

By on July 13, 2012 in Internet

As the incoming treasurer for the Association of American Law Schools’ Section on Mass Communications, I’m excited to announce that we’ll be hosting a joint program with the Internet and Computer Law section at our annual meeting in New Orleans.  Here is the announcement with a call for papers:

The AALS Section on Internet and Computer Law and the Section on Mass Communications are hosting a joint program entitled “The Evolving Role of the Internet in Politics and Political Campaigns” at the AALS Annual Meeting to be held in New Orleans, LA from January 4-7, 2013.  Both sections invite submissions of papers on the program’s topic; one paper will be selected for presentation at the conference.

As the Supreme Court recognized in ACLU v. Reno, “the Internet is ‘a unique and wholly new medium of worldwide human communication.'” Among its unique features is that the Internet democratizes the opportunity to engage in political speech by offering ready access to any speaker with an Internet connection to large potential audiences at the local, state, national or global levels.  This program assesses the impact the Internet has had to date on the relationship between the media and public officials or political candidates.  Traditional newspapers are struggling to find a sustainable business model and appear to be losing some influence over the policy agenda or public officials’ conduct.  Internet-only publications and other forms of political speech on the Internet have a complicated relationship with traditional media organizations, which, of course, also rely on the Internet to interact with their audiences.  To what extent are these changes fostering or inhibiting democracy?  Is law reform necessary in response to these changes?

Abstracts for papers on any topic within this broad scope are welcome and should be submitted to Michael Carroll, mcarroll@wcl.american.edu, and Anuj Desai, acdesai@wisc.edu, by August 15, 2012.

I should also add that UNC’s very own Daniel Kreiss will be on the panel, talking about his new book from Oxford University Press: “Taking Our Country Back: The Crafting of Networked Politics from Howard Dean to Barack Obama.”

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Call for Papers: Geek Law Workshop

By on July 4, 2012 in Internet

On September 17-18, 2012, our friends at the University of East Anglia are hosting the 7th annual Geek Law workshop in London. From the announcement:

It’s harder than it used to be to write a Call for Papers for GikII, the so-cool-it-hurts blue skies workshop for papers exploring the interstices between law, technology and popular culture. Back in the day,  you could dazzle the noobs just by mentioning past glories like the first paper on Facebook and privacy, Harry Potter and the Surveillance of Doom, regulation of autonomous agents according to the Roman law of slavery, edible technologies and copyright in Dalek knitting patterns. But nowadays we live in a world where we routinely encounter unmanned surveillance drones used to deliver tacos, incommercial asteroid mining with Richard Branson, 3d printers used to create human organs and the fact that Jeremy Hunt still has a job. Still, if any of these or the other many phenomena of the digital age in desperate need of legal attention are digging a tunnel out of your brain, then send us an abstract for the 7th Gikii workshop!  Maybe this year it will be your paper which contributes the seminal GikII meme following in the honoured footsteps of LOLcats, flying penises, and knitted Daleks. . . .

Abstracts of no longer than 500 words should be sent to lilian.edwards@strath.ac.uk and “Karen Mc Cullagh (LAW)” K.Mccullagh@uea.ac.uk  by August 13th 2012. A limited number of places will be available for participants not giving papers, and preference will be given for these to scholars (including postgraduate students) who have not previously attended GikII. Registration for these places will open at gikii.com when acceptance of abstracts is notified.

More info here.

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FCC Commissioner McDowell visits J-School

By on February 21, 2011 in FCC, Internet

FCC Commissioner Robert M. McDowell visited the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication on Feb. 10, 2011, to discuss why he voted against the net neutrality regulations adopted by the FCC in December 2010.  He held a 75-minute question-and-answer session with undergraduate students in Dr. Cathy Packer’s Internet law class.  This is JOMC major Natasha Duarte’s Twitter feed on the event (in reverse order, of course):

•  New tech innovation is taking less and less time to reach an audience. We need to look at general consumer laws, not tech specific — McDowell

•  McDowell: transparency rules for ISPs blocking content would be helpful to consumers, but the FCC doesn’t have the legal authority

•  “(wireless) not substitutable (for cable), but when we think something’s not substitutable, that’s when it starts becoming substitutable.”

•  McDowell: wireless-only broadband is the fastest growing segment of broadband.

•  @hartzog asked if wireless/mobile will provide meaningful competition for cable broadband

•  McDowell says Comcasts’s blocking Bit Torrent was a bandwidth efficiency decision, not an anticompetitive business move

•  In 2008, Comcast was sued for blocking file sharing Bit Torrent; court said FCC didn’t have legal authority over Comcast

•  McDowell says he hasn’t seen anticompetitive content-based discrimination by ISPs.

•  McDowell: Statutes already exist to address collusion and “refusal to deal” by ISPs and other companies

• McDowell says he thinks #netneutrality will go to the courts (lawsuits have been filed)

•  McDowell: Congress could defund FCC enforcement of #netneutrality, but it probably won’t pass the Senate. If it does, Obama will veto.

•  McDowell: #netneutrality was embedded in Obama’s campaign promises in 2008. The promise was written by @FCC Chairman Genachowski.

•  McDowell: 90 percent of @FCC votes are unanimous and bipartisan. It’s not like Congress

•  McDowell: “Internet architecture defies authoritarian management”

•  McDowell: There’s a role for the #FCC to shine a light on allegations of discriminatory practices on the Internet

•  McDowell: The #FCC doesn’t have statutory authority to litigate over the Internet

•  #netneutrality has 3 components: Transparency, no blocking and no unreasonable discrimination

•  Here’s the #netneutrality order passed by the @FCC in December: http://bit.ly/gV6Xn1

•  McDowell’s here. I just shook his hand. OK, I’m going to stop being nerdy and start being a journalist now.

•  I’m tweeting from the @UNCJSchool N.C. Halls of Fame room where @FCC Commissioner McDowell will address students & faculty on #netneutrality

McDowell also was interviewed by The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer.  Here’s that story:    http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/14/987721/decisions-on-digital-data-loom.html#storylink=misearch.

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New rules for the media? A look at government policy in 2010

By on September 15, 2010 in FCC, Internet

The role of federal policy in shaping journalism will be the topic of a free, public lecture on Wednesday, Sept. 15.  Josh Silver, president and CEO of Free Press, will speak at 7 p.m. in 111 Carroll Hall on the UNC-CH campus.

Silver will discuss some of the major regulatory issues facing the U.S. media today.  Those issues include how to expand broadband Internet service to all American homes, whether to continue to allow Internet service providers to censor their customers’ communications and how best to fund professional news reporting.

Free Press is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, the group supports diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, quality journalism and universal access to communications.  The group has offices in Washington, D.C., and Florence, Mass.  To learn more about Silver and Free Press, visit freepress.net.

View the lecture on YouTube:

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Privacy and Libel on the Internet

By on April 2, 2009 in Defamation, Internet, Privacy

Privacy law expert Daniel J. Solove, professor in the George Washington University School of Law, was a featured speaker in the Mary Junck Research Colloquium series in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He also spoke in professor Cathy Packer’s “Law of Cyberspace” class. He discussed his book, “The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet.”

View this event on iTunes U

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