aei

Design Mandate Proposals Threaten American AI Leadership

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

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

Scholars often cite the 1984 Betamax case as a pivotal moment in the development of modern American tech policy. The entertainment industry sought to prohibit Sony from selling its videocassette recorder, because it could be—and largely was—used by consumers for copyright infringement. But the Court declined, finding that the device was “capable of substantial noninfringing use” and limiting the studios to identifying and suing those who actually used the product illegally.

Continue reading →

Sixth Circuit Strikes Net Neutrality in Victory for Tech, Administrative Law

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

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

My fellow tech policy enthusiasts, our long national nightmare is over. Last week, the Sixth Circuit brought an end to the decade-long fight over net neutrality by prohibiting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from applying Title II common carrier regulation to broadband providers. The decision is a victory for tech policy, freeing Internet access from the shadow of overbearing regulation. It’s also a win for administrative law, as it aligns with the Supreme Court’s guidance that courts, not agencies, should resolve disputes over statutory interpretations. The ruling reaffirms the principle that important policy decisions should be made by Congress, not by agencies under the guise of interpreting ambiguous statutes.

Continue reading →

What’s Next After Court Upholds TikTok Ban

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

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.

Continue reading →

Assessing the Rosenworcel Era: Lessons for Incoming FCC Chairman Carr

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

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.

Continue reading →

Breaking Down a Big Week in the Net Neutrality Case

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

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

While the eyes of much of the country were on Pennsylvania and Georgia last week, the tech community was focused on Cincinnati, where the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the net neutrality case. As I’ve noted before, it’s unwise to predict a decision based on oral argument alone. But the arguments signaled that the court is far more interested in the merits of the case than most anticipated. This post discusses that shift, while acknowledging that events last Tuesday may ultimately overshadow those on Halloween.

Continue reading →

Telegram CEO Arrest and Brazil’s X Ban Raise Free Speech and Privacy Concerns

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

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

Last week, global headlines spotlighted two separate flashpoints in the battle by governments to police social media networks. In Paris, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested for complicity in distribution of child sexual abuse imagery. And in Brazil, a judge banned X (formerly Twitter) nationwide after the company refused to block certain users on the eve of election season.  While both incidents can be couched as failures to comply with national law, the unusually harsh remedies raise important concerns about free speech and privacy online.

Continue reading →

New York Tests FCC’s “No Rate Regulation” Pledge

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

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

Reclassification opponents have long warned that net neutrality could be a Trojan horse for broadband rate regulation. Partly in response to this criticism, the Federal Communications Commission’s recent Title II reclassification order expressly reiterated its commitment to the agency’s long-standing, bipartisan commitment to keeping the Internet free from price controls. But even before the order had been finalized, New York’s Affordable Broadband Act began testing the strength of that commitment—and the agency’s initial response seems to be reinforcing its critics’ concerns.

Continue reading →

The House TikTok Ban is an Empty Threat

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

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

Last month, the House of Representatives proudly voted to ban TikTok unless its corporate parent sells the app within six months. But proponents eager to strike a blow against the Chinese government might not celebrate just yet. There are three main problems with the proposed TikTok ban: it’s probably unconstitutional, it’s practically unenforceable, and, even if it worked, it wouldn’t solve the problem of China gathering sensitive data about American users.

Other than that, it’s fine.

Continue reading →

The AI Revolution Raises Terrifying Questions about Virtual Child Pornography

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

Today’s post by BC Law professor and associate dean for academic affairs Daniel Lyons originally appeared on the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) AEIdeas blog. You can view the post here.

By Daniel Lyons

It was probably inevitable that the artificial intelligence (AI) discourse would eventually turn to virtual pornography. Earlier this week, CBS News noted that increasingly sophisticated AI editing programs can exacerbate the problem of “deepfake” porn: images and videos digitally altered to appear to be someone else. This article came on the heels of a Twitter discussion Matty Yglesias prompted about whether AI-generated pornography could disrupt the adult industry by removing the need for real people to be involved.

But underlying this discussion is an even more frightening concern: the prospect of virtual child sexual abuse material (CSAM). (Hat tip to Kate Klonick.) It may surprise you that Congress was way ahead of the curve on this issue: A quarter-century ago, it banned so-called virtual child pornography, computer-generated imagery designed to look like CSAM. It may further surprise you that the Supreme Court struck down this law as unconstitutional. But the evolution of technology in the decades since suggests that it is time to revisit this problematic decision.

Continue reading →

What to Do About TikTok?

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

Today’s post by BC Law professor and associate dean for academic affairs Daniel Lyons originally appeared on the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) AEIdeas blog. You can view the post here.

By Daniel Lyons

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew recently testified before Congress in a hearing ostensibly asking “How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms.” In reality, the five-hour session more closely resembled Grandpa Simpson shaking his fist at clouds than a nuanced discussion of cybersecurity. There appears to be a growing, bipartisan consensus that Congress should do something about the popular social media platform. But before deciding what should be done, legislators must discern what precisely are the unique policy challenges that TikTok presents.

Continue reading →