What’s Next After Court Upholds TikTok Ban

This guest post by BC Law Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Daniel Lyons first appeared in the AEIdeas Blog.


Last week, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the TikTok divest-or-ban bill against a constitutional challenge. The result was unsurprising given how poorly TikTok fared at September’s oral argument. The decision itself contains many intriguing legal insights at the nexus of national security and free speech. This post examines the Court’s First Amendment analysis and explains why, despite the loss, the popular but problematic platform is unlikely to be shut down.

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Assessing the Rosenworcel Era: Lessons for Incoming FCC Chairman Carr

This guest post by BC Law Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Daniel Lyons first appeared in the AEIdeas Blog.


Blair Levin is one of telecommunications policy’s respected elder statesmen. He served as chief of staff to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Reed Hundt, executive director of the National Broadband Plan, and played a key role for the Obama transition team. His insightful commentary on tech issues, offered from his current perches at Brookings and New Street Research, is followed closely by power players both in Washington and on Wall Street.

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The COP Chronicles: Combating Climate Change on the Frontlines 

I’ve been following COP for as long as I can remember. As an International Relations major in undergrad, one of my student research positions was listing every sentence made by a world leader at COP into a monstrous Excel spreadsheet. And now, as a law student interested in human rights and environmental law, I read about COP nearly every day. 

But many of you must be thinking, what am I even talking about? 

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During 2L, They Work You to Death . . .?

“They” really do. Maybe it’s the adrenaline rush of 1L that shields you from the 2L crash– but crash you may, come 2L.

Heading into your 2L year, the freedom to choose your schedule is both initially exciting and slightly intimidating. But an abundance of choice in your academic calendar may lead you to oversubscribe to all the offerings of law school after a rigid 1L year hand-picked for optimal doctrinal standardization. Now, there is the expectation that you remember everything you learned during 1L because you are allegedly fluent in legalese, right?

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