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Lawrence Lessig
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Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig on why AI and social media are causing a free speech crisis for the internet
October 24, 2023
Today, I’m talking to Harvard law professor and internet policy legend Lawrence Lessig. Larry is a defining expert when it comes to free speech and…
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A Jewish comedian and businessman filed on Friday an appeal against his conviction in a controversial New York Southern District fraud case that is tangled…
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The nonprofit Equal Citizens began crowdsourcing for a video contest this week that could earn the winner at least $50,000, attorney and political activist Lawrence…
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Artificial intelligence isn’t just the future of law, it’s the now. That was perhaps the message that weaved its way through all the speakers and…
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What critics get wrong — and right — about the Supreme Court’s new ‘major questions doctrine’
April 19, 2023
Oren Tamir, a post-doctoral fellow, says that many of the critiques of the major questions doctrine tend to miss the mark — and that, with some changes, the doctrine could be fixed in ways that would make it a valuable contribution for our law and democracy.
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Justices Told ‘Billions’ At Stake In AI Patent Crusade
April 14, 2023
A Harvard Law School professor is among a handful of legal academics who say that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s refusal to issue patents…
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If you’re fixing to own the libs or roast DJT, Twitter is a great place to be. The sickest burn wins every time. But if…
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Ways to combat dark money in Massachusetts politics
April 13, 2023
The last several election cycles in Massachusetts show just how antiquated and ineffective the state’s campaign finance laws and regulations have become — and how…
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SJC hears challenge of Healey ballot question rejection
February 7, 2023
The Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments Monday on a thorny and novel question of political spending and free speech rights. Proponents of a potential 2024…
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The AI boom is here, and so are the lawsuits
February 1, 2023
That was quick: Artificial intelligence has gone from science fiction to novelty to Thing We Are Sure Is the Future. Very, very fast. One easy…
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Lax campaign finance rules likely to survive Bankman-Fried scandal
January 17, 2023
If anything could jump-start the stalled effort to reform the role of money in politics, one might think it would be an epic scandal involving…
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For John Eastman and Clarence Thomas, an intellectual kinship stretching back decades
January 3, 2023
In July 2021, dozens of former clerks of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas gathered for a reunion at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, a…
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Twitter Mocked for New Ban on Links to Rival Social Media Sites: ‘Holding Us Hostage Ain’t Gonna Work’
December 19, 2022
Media figures mocked Twitter’s new policy prohibiting the “free promotion” of social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon and Post, among others, Sunday, with “Hair…
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Was Antonin Scalia originally an originalist?
October 26, 2022
In remarks made as part of the biennial Vaughan Academic Program, Harvard Law Professor Adrian Vermeule argued that the late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia began his judicial career as a champion of the administrative state.
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Who are these ‘special masters,’ and what makes them so special?
September 8, 2022
The Washington Post – As a federal judge in Florida granted former president Donald Trump’s request for a special master on Monday, Americans could be…
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A Focus on Democracy: HLS Clinics and Classes
July 15, 2022
The Election Law Clinic, led by Ruth Greenwood, visiting assistant clinical professor, focuses on voter suppression, gerrymandering, and the challenges money poses to democratic participation.
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Meta Platforms (FB), formerly known as Facebook, lost an attempt last week to quash a proposal from shareholders who want to know whether its planned virtual world will cause real-world harm. The question comes as critics of the metaverse voice concerns that the burgeoning virtual world sorely needs regulation to protect its users. The absence of rules to police the metaverse could hurt consumers in the same ways they've been hurt in other online platforms, critics warn. The metaverse could also create brand-new injuries without proper oversight, according to critics. If the metaverse becomes ubiquitous, regulation could become even more crucial. “The first question we need to be asking of people, like representatives from the place called Meta, is: What is the business model?” Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig said during a panel discussion last week. “The thing to fear is if [Meta] becomes the dominant default platform that you must participate in to do everything...If it becomes Facebook 2.0, and that is the defining existence, then the fact that there is no law I think means it's a very scary prospect.”
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Is It Time to Change the Rules for Big Tech? Experts Weigh In.
February 28, 2022
This is your Tech News Briefing for Monday, February 28th. I'm Zoe Thomas for The Wall Street Journal. Big tech companies are facing more scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators than ever. An astonishing amount of the tech that plays an integral role in our lives is being run by just a handful of companies. And the question hanging over many congressional hearings and regulatory investigations is, are the current rules enough, or do new ones need to be made? On today's show, we'll bring you a conversation from the WSJ pro team with experts discussing how we should rethink the rules around tech, and the impact any changes could have on the everyday user. ... The WSJ Pro team recently brought together a panel of experts to discuss some of the most pressing issues that regulators and tech businesses are grappling with. Steve Rosenbush, Bureau Chief for WSJ Pro Enterprise tech spoke with Rob Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a think tank that promotes innovation and has several tech companies on its board. Lawrence Lessig, a Professor of Law currently at Harvard law school who studies the interplay of tech and policy, and Barry Lynn, Executive Director of the Open Markets Institute, which focuses on threats from business monopolies and the concentration of power. Here are some highlights from their conversation, starting with Steve.