The Antitrust Alphabet: Amazon, Buy Box, and Competition
Nathaniel DeMelis Eighty-three percent of sales made on Amazon.com come from the “Buy Box” system. This website feature has come under increased scrutiny in the State of California and the United Kingdom. Both jurisdictions have sued Amazon, citing that Amazon’s Buy Box is anticompetitive and harms consumers at large. This Article considers the parallel lawsuits Amazon is facing and examines the different antitrust enforcement mechanisms and policy motivations in both California and the United Kingdom. Ultimately, this Article suggests that the California courts will find the Buy Box to be anticompetitive, due largely to their willingness to diverge from the federal consumer-welfare...
Facial Recognition in the Eyes of the Law
Emilia Ball Law enforcement throughout the United States uses facial recognition technology to make arrests, despite proof that reliance on this mechanism for identifying subjects has led to several wrongful arrests. Due to the United States’ lack of comprehensive federal data privacy laws, most Americans are unaware that their photos and data make up the information that facial recognition databases use to make these arrests. This Article examines the current state of facial recognition technology and data privacy laws in the United States and the European Union. Moreover, it advocates for a federal data privacy law that accommodates current and...
Keeping the Good Faith: YouTube, Fair Use, and the DMCA
Alexandra M. Even YouTube is an important platform for user-generated content and serves as a positive space for creativity on the internet. Nevertheless, there are some glaring problems with the way YouTube handles copyright infringement. Congress enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) before the internet had taken shape into the vast and complex body we know today. Copyright holders are given far more leniency than the creators accused of infringement, largely due to a subjective good faith standard imposed by the courts. This article proposes the good faith standard in § 512(c) of the DMCA be amended to incorporate...
iSpy Someone Getting an Abortion: The Use of Personal Data in the Post-Dobbs Era
Rebecca Horton In the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, personal data has become a means of investigating and prosecuting individuals who seek or provide abortion services. With little federal oversight into the collection and disclosure of users’ personal data, third parties have significant latitude to sell or profit from sensitive information. The recent use of location and personal data implicates the privacy of millions of individuals and raises significant questions around health care and technology laws in states where abortion is now illegal. In the absence of sweeping federal regulations around...
BLOG POST: Controller in the Courtroom: The Struggle of Collegiate ESports Under the Athletic Banner*
*This writing is a blog post. It is not a published IPTF Journal Article. Noah DeRossi-Goldberg I. Working Without a Basic Understanding A. The Misstep of Navarro Decisions about Collegiate Esports are made without judges ever taking the time to pick up a controller.[1] A recent opinion by a Florida District Court has created a roadblock for any college seeking to establish a competitive, fully funded Esports program within their athletics department.[2] The Florida Institute of Technology (“FIT”) disbanded its men’s rowing team to comply with Title IX’s mandate that men’s and women’s sports receive equal funding.[3] In determining...
Cyberwarfare and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
John Thurston As technology proliferates, cyberspace is becoming increasingly polluted with crime targeted at private enterprises. The escalation is the result of ineffective cybercrime laws. Although an international solution may be ideal, no treaty seems imminent. The U.S. government should focus on a more attainable solution in the short-term: amending the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). This Essay considers how revising the CFAA to allow qualified private companies to engage in offensive tactics would alter incentive structures. It concludes that such a revision would be an efficient solution to increase deterrence and reduce cybercrime. Read Full Text Here
Applied Natural Language Processing for Law Practice
Brian S. Haney Scholars, lawyers, and commentators are predicting the end of the legal profession, citing specific examples of artificial intelligence (AI) systems out-performing lawyers in certain legal tasks. Yet, technology’s role in the practice of law is nothing new. The Internet, email, and databases like Westlaw and Lexis have been altering legal practice for decades. Despite technology’s evolution across other industries, in many ways the practice of law remains static in its essential functions. The dynamics of legal technology are defined by the organization and quality of data, rather than innovation. This Article explores the state of the art...
Computer Fraud: Private Parties Dictating Criminal Behavior
Zachary Schapiro Computers have become a ubiquitous part of everyday life—used in the office and the home for a wide array of features. Prior to using a computer, people must agree to various software and website terms of use. Additionally, employers typically adopt computer use policies which prohibit use of a company computer for personal matters. Many people, either knowingly or unknowingly, violate these terms and policies. Is violating these policies and agreements criminal? Circuit courts disagree on the answer. In some jurisdictions, simple violations of a website’s terms of use or a company’s computer policies could result in criminal...
Google v. Oracle: Weighing Fair Use Factors in Software Copyright Infringement Cases
Guodong Fu The ongoing battle for clarity on the limitation of United States copyright protection in the software industry has yielded inconsistent results over the past ten years. Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., currently before the Supreme Court, may finally shed some light on the status of copyright protection as applied to software. In deciding the case, the Court must balance the four fair use factors as applied to software copyrights. The Court will likely navigate a fine line to balance maintaining a market of interoperability with fair competition. This Essay argues that the Supreme Court should maintain a...
Hackback to the Drawing Board: Ambiguity and Risk in the Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act
Robert Andrea Cyber criminals, both state-sponsored and unaffiliated, are targeting private corporations and individuals more frequently. For several years, there have been calls for legislation that would allow private entities to defend themselves in cyberspace by “hacking back” against their attackers. The Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act is a recent proposal to amend the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to permit private entities to take active defensive measures without exposing themselves to criminal liability. Although a well-intentioned proposal, the bill uses vague language to identify when, and against whom, private entities can take defensive measures. Enabling private entities to begin...