^CategoryLaw

Gold coins in the form of bitcoin on a bag with dollars

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
February 10, 2022

Categorized
Cryptocurrency, Law

Tagged
Featured, Heather Morgan, Ilya Lichtenstein}

DOJ Arrests Couple for Huge Bitcoin Heist — Who Are They?

_{Cryptocurrency doesn’t depend only on technology; it depends on trust, and trustworthiness} _{Jonathan Bartlett

February 10, 2022

4

Cryptocurrency, Law}

On the morning of February 8, DOJ announced that they had made an arrest in the $3.6 billion Bitcoin heist from Bitfinex from 2016. They arrested Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan. However, little information was conveyed about the pair. Some digging, however, revealed two individuals by those names who worked together in a variety of technology startups, at least one of which is cryptocurrency-based. While we don’t know for certain if these are the same individuals, the profiles are very similar, and other media seem to be reporting that they are the same. The profile here is on the two individuals we were able to identify, and have not confirmed they are identical to the ones in the Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
February 4, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Brad Hoylman (senator), Bradley Martin, censorship, First Amendment, Free speech, New York, NY Senate Bill S7568, Royal Society, social media, Vivek Murthy}

New York Senate Tries To Shut Down Misinformation on Social Media

_{The introduction of the bill raises concerns about government's intrusion into the freedom of speech online} _{Caitlin Cory

February 4, 2022

6

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

In December, a bill was presented in the New York State Senate that would attempt to hold social media companies responsible for their role in circulating incitements to violence, incitements to self-harm, and misinformation. Introduced by Democratic/Working Families Party Senator Brad Hoylman of Manhattan, the legislation would empower the state’s Attorney General to bring an action against any social media company that allows for the circulation of content that incites violence or that “includes a false statement of fact or fraudulent medical theory…”. No person, by conduct either unlawful in itself or unreasonable under all the circumstances, shall knowingly or recklessly create, maintain or contribute to a condition in New York state that endangers the safety or health of the public through Read More ›

closeup keyboard laptop and Google Ads AdWords app icon on smartphone screen. Google is the biggest Internet search engine in the world. Moscow, Russia - April 27, 2019

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
January 21, 2022

Categorized
Law, Social Media

Tagged
antitrust, Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Google, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Sundar Pichai}

Facebook and Google Face Big Legal Challenges

_{The FTC, dozens of states, and private citizens are coming after the big tech companies for antitrust violations} _{Caitlin Cory

January 21, 2022

7

Law, Social Media}

How has 2022 begun for our favorite Big Tech companies? With a good chunk of lawsuits. As technology companies grow bigger, they face bigger legal challenges. Here’s a brief rundown of a few such challenges Facebook and Google face in the courts in this new year: FTC Antitrust Lawsuit Against Facebook Moves Forward Let’s begin at the federal level. Last June, Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia tossed out a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) challenging Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. According to Boasberg, the FTC failed to adequately show that Facebook holds a monopoly. Not to be dissuaded, the FTC re-filed with an amended complaint in August. Last Read More ›

Information censorship - Typewriter locked with a chain

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
December 29, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Law, Media

Tagged
George Cardinal Pell (and media), Jeremy Bentham (on publicity for trials), Media gag orders (and fair trial), Media gag orders (and internet), Michael Cook (on Pell case)}

Are Media Gag Orders Fair in an Internet World?

_{Editor Michael Cook says no, based on the Pell sex abuse case Down Under. New ways must be found to ensure that a jury is not prejudiced} _{News

December 29, 2021

9

Ethics, Law, Media}

This article by editor Michael Cook tackles the problem of media gag orders in an internet world. Australian media outlets were recently fined A$1.1 million for contempt of court for publishing information that was widely available elsewhere concerning the trial of George, Cardinal Pell on charges of sexual molestation. Significantly, they could not publish information that cast doubt on the fairness of the trial, that they were in a better position to understand than foreign media would be. Cook suggests new approaches going forward. The article first appeared at MercatorNet on June 9, 2021 under the title “They’re still picking up the pieces after the Cardinal Pell fiasco.” A media pygmy, MercatorNet spends much of its time complaining about the mainstream media Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 23, 2021

Categorized
Law, Natural Intelligence

Tagged
Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill (UK), Cephalopods, Crabs (intelligence), Cuttlefish (intelligence), Decapods, Invertebrates (intelligence), Invertebrates (sentience), Jonathan Birch, Lobsters (intelligence), Octopuses (intelligence)}

British Government Moves To Protect Octopuses From Cruelty

_{The move to protect cephalopods and crabs/lobsters follows from research showing their intelligence and awareness of pain} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 23, 2021

6

Law, Natural Intelligence}

Following a report from the London School of Economics and Political Science, the British government has decided to extend animal protection laws to include “cephalopods (including octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) and decapods (including crabs, lobsters and crayfish).” No, this is not just another nut moment along the lines of “Salad is plant murder!” There’s a background: Researchers have discovered in recent decades that some invertebrates, especially those with complex central nervous systems, are much more intelligent and capable of experiencing pain (sentient) than we used to think. As George Dvorsky explains at Gizmodo, the British government introduced the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill in May. The bill defined sentient animals as animals with backbones (vertebrates). However, scientists have known for some Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
November 18, 2021

Categorized
Law, Programming

Tagged
Bruce Schroeder, Digital images (pinching), Digital images (zooming), Featured, Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Lena (illustrative image), Mark Richards, Thomas Binger}

Rittenhouse Trial: Are Attorneys and Judge Tech/Math-Challenged?

_{Does simple pinch and zoom change pixels? The devil, though, is in the details} _{Robert J. Marks

November 18, 2021

3

Law, Programming}

In one of the many exchanges between lawyers and Judge Schroeder in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, the degree to which pinching and zooming change cell phone images was addressed. Rittenhouse lawyer Mark Richards claimed it does. The district attorney Thomas Binger claimed there is no change. Richards first claimed that an image prepared by the prosecutor changed pixels using AI and logarithms. If AI is defined as any “gee whiz” technology, he was right. But pinch and zoom was invented in 2007 by Steve Jobs and uses nothing that can be considered modern AI. All nerds should laugh at the claim that “logarithms” were used in the pinch and zoom. Attorney Mark Richards obviously meant “algorithms” To his credit, Richards confessed he knew Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
September 15, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Clarence Thomas, First Amendment, Florida, Free speech, Greg Abbott, House Bill 20, NetChoice, Ron DeSantis, Senate Bill 7072, Texas}

Texas Governor Signs Law Curbing Big Tech Censorship

_{A similar law in Florida was halted by a federal judge. Will Texas's law face the same legal battle?} _{Caitlin Cory

September 15, 2021

4

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Last Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 20 into law, legislation that would prohibit social media companies from banning users for their political beliefs and provide users with a legal remedy for unfair discriminatory behavior. The law is very similar to legislation passed earlier this year in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 into law at the end of May. Within days, technology trade groups had filed a lawsuit, and on June 30, a federal judge stopped the bill in its tracks with a preliminary injunction. For the bill’s proponents, the law’s intention is to protect the free speech rights of state citizens when using social media. “Freedom of speech is under attack in Texas,” said Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
August 30, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Data Privacy, Global Technology, Law

Tagged
Algorithms, Big Data, China, China Consumers Administration (CAC), Chinese Communist Party (CCP), consumer data laws, critical information infrastructure, Critical Information Infrastructure Security Protection Regulations, Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), data privacy laws, Data Security Law, Didi Global Inc., European Union, Facial Recognition, General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), Jack Ma, Personal Information Protection Law, Xi Jinping}

China’s Data Laws Restrict Businesses and Favor the State

_{The Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law are part of the Chinese government’s plan to steer the private sector toward State goals} _{Heather Zeiger

August 30, 2021

8

Business and Finance, Data Privacy, Global Technology, Law}

In previous articles, I looked at how the Chinese government is reigning in China’s tech sector first of Jack Ma and Ant Group’s initial public offering on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges and then Didi Global, Inc. The Chinese government has since passed two data laws and released an update that clarifies the 2017 Cybersecurity Law. The result is better protections of citizens’ data from being used, exploited, or sold by private companies, and encroaching government presumption of the private sector in which the State has virtually unrestricted access to and jurisdiction over private companies’ data. Clarification of the 2017 Cybersecurity Law The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) gained oversight powers over other state agencies in 2014 under Xi Jinping. Jane Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
August 24, 2021

Categorized
Law, Social Media

Tagged
antitrust, Facebook, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Josh Hawley, Lina Khan, U.S. Department of Justice}

Federal Trade Commission Takes Facebook to Court… Again

_{The FTC hopes to prove in an 80-page complaint that Facebook holds damaging monopoly power over competitors} _{Caitlin Cory

August 24, 2021

4

Law, Social Media}

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an amended complaint against Facebook, trying again for an antitrust lawsuit after a federal judge dismissed their original complaint earlier this summer. The updated complaint alleges that Facebook has violated antitrust laws and garnered monopoly power, namely by buying up rival companies and imposing unfair policies that “neutralize perceived competitive threats.” Facebook is the world’s dominant online social network, with a purported three billion-plus regular users. Facebook has maintained its monopoly position in significant part by pursuing Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy, expressed in 2008: “it is better to buy than compete.” True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive Read More ›

Justice and law concept. Gavel on sounding block in hand's Male judge at a courtroom, working with document law books, report the case on table in modern office.

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
August 8, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Big Tech censorship, censorship, Chris Cox, Clare Morell, Communications Decency Act, First Amendment, Free speech, Josh Hawley, Philip Hamburger, Ron DeSantis, Ron Wyden, Section 230, The Tyranny of Big Tech (book)}

Section 230: What Is It and Why the Controversy?

_{Does Section 230 provide Big Tech too much power, or is it necessary for the moderation of misinformation and inappropriate content?} _{Caitlin Cory

August 8, 2021

10

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

At the center of the controversy between free speech and the rights of private companies lies Section 230, the controversial U.S. code dating back to 1996. Toward the end of his term in 2020, former President Donald Trump famously tweeted that Section 230 should be “completely terminated.” Sen. Josh Hawley, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voiced their support, but by and large, the sentiment was met with fierce resistance. Advocates for the reform (or complete repeal) of Section 230 argue that it shields Big Tech companies from accountability when they engage in politically-motivated censorship and content moderation. Supporters of Section 230 argue that it is essential to keep the internet free of misinformation and vile or obscene material. Section 230 Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
July 29, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
ACLU, Amazon, Big Tech, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Facebook, First Amendment, Florida, Florida and Big Tech, Google, Jen Psaki, NetChoice, Ron DeSantis, Twitter}

Federal Judge Strikes Down Florida Big Tech Law

_{The judge ruled that the law violates the First Amendment rights of social media companies} _{Caitlin Cory

July 29, 2021

4

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

A federal judge struck down the recent Florida legislation aimed at reigning in the censorship powers of Big Tech, hours before it was set to go into effect. Within days of Governor DeSantis signing the bill into law in May, NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) filed a lawsuit, representing the biggest names in social media (such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Amazon). They argued that the new law is a violation of their First Amendment rights as private companies. On June 30, Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled in favor of NetChoice and CCIA, issuing a preliminary injunction on the law after determining that it violates the First Amendment Read More ›

Dna test in the lab. a laboratory technician with a dispenser in his hands is conducting dna analysis in a sterile laboratory behind glass

^{Type
post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
July 14, 2021

Categorized
Data Privacy, Ethics, Law, Medicine and Health, Surveillance

Tagged
Biometric data collection, Cai Xia, Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), Comparitech, Featured, Made in China 2025, neo-totalitarianism, Y-Chromosome Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD), Yves Moreau}

China Is Building the World’s Largest Global DNA Database

_{The government violates the country’s own privacy laws in the name of security and stability} _{Heather Zeiger

July 14, 2021

7

Data Privacy, Ethics, Law, Medicine and Health, Surveillance}

A January 2021 study by a U.K. cybersecurity and privacy watchdog, Comparitech, found that China was the world’s worst offender for “widespread and invasive biometric data collection” out of ninety-six countries studied. The Chinese government aspires to build the world’s largest police-run DNA database. Its Made in China 2025 plan places a priority on building its biotechnology industry, which involves collecting a large number of DNA samples. The way Chinese authorities obtain DNA is often intrusive and without consent. In a previous article, we looked at how U.S. companies’ DNA sequencing and identification technologies end up in Xinjiang despite U.S. sanctions. In this article, we will look at how China is using DNA collection to further its national goals. China’s Read More ›

DNA sequence with colored letters on black background containing mutation

^{Type
post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
July 13, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Ethics, Global Technology, Law, Surveillance

Tagged
China (surveillance in China), DNA sequencing technologies, Magnitsky Act, Promega, Sanctions on sales to China, Sui-Lee Wee, THermo Fisher Scientific, U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List, Uyghurs, Xinjiang}

U.S.-Made DNA ID Equipment Is Being Sold to Xinjiang’s Police

_{Engineering professor Yves Moreau’s research shows that a more serious approach to existing sanctions against such uses is needed} _{Heather Zeiger

July 13, 2021

6

Business and Finance, Ethics, Global Technology, Law, Surveillance}

The U.S. leads the world in DNA sequencing technologies. Unfortunately, two U.S. companies’ products are being used in China in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region despite the fact that the U. S. has placed sanctions on such uses. The sanctions were put in place because Chinese authorities surveil and detain Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities without legal precedent and engage in acts that are in violation of the Genocide Convention of 1948. The New York Times, for example, obtained ten contracts, along with government procurement documents, showing that Thermo Fisher Scientific’s and Promega’s equipment is being sold to Xinjiang police: The government procurement documents and contracts show that several Chinese companies sold Thermo Fisher equipment worth at least $521,165 to Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
July 1, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, IEEE, Intellectual Property, patent law, Robots, Ryan Abbott, The Reasonable Robot (book)}

Can a Robot Hold a Patent?

_{The boring answer is no, but the question raises intriguing thoughts about AI and intellectual property law} _{Richard W. Stevens

July 1, 2021

10

Artificial Intelligence, Law}

Since the late 1800s, people have been intrigued by robots. There’s something strange, wonderful, but sometimes scary about walking, talking, thinking machines, especially when in human form. Talking about “whether a robot can hold a patent” is bound to intrigue humanoids. Mute the Robot Sound Bite In June 2021, we started considering the provocatively titled podcast transcript, “Can a Robot Be Arrested? Hold a Patent? Pay Income Taxes?”, posted on the IEEE Spectrum site. Steven Cherry interviewed Ryan Abbott, physician, lawyer, and professor, about these topics and referencing his 2019 book, The Reasonable Robot: Artificial Intelligence and the Law. Our previous discussion, “Can a Robot be Arrested and Prosecuted?”, addressed criminal liability for crimes committed by artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Now we consider: “Can a Read More ›

Real Python code developing screen. Programing workflow abstract algorithm concept. Lines of Python code visible under magnifying lens.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 23, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Law, Machine Learning, Medicine and Health

Tagged
Bias (in algorithms), Citizen's Guide to Artificial Intelligence (book2021), Inscrutability (of AI), John Zerilli, Reliabilism}

How Do We Know the Machine Is Right If No One Knows How It Works?

_{We don’t, and that’s a problem, says Oxford philosopher John Zerilli} _{News

June 23, 2021

5

Ethics, Law, Machine Learning, Medicine and Health}

Oxford philosopher John Zerilli, author of A Citizen’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence (2021), asks us to consider how machine learning, the most widely used type of AI, might be deciding our lives without our knowing it: There are many reasons not to take job rejections personally, but there’s one in particular you might not consider: you might have been screened out by an algorithm that taught itself to filter candidates by gender, surname or ethnicity – in other words, by factors that have nothing to do with your ability to do the job. Even if you’re unfazed by the spectre of runaway robots enslaving humanity, this little tale shows how the ascendancy of machine learning (ML) comes with risks that Read More ›

Business risk control concept, Businessman protect wooden block fall to planning and strategy in risk to business Alternative and prevent. Investment Insurance Business.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 16, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Anthony Fauci, Big Tech censorship, censorship, Josh Hawley, Mark Zuckerberg, Ron DeSantis, Section 230, The Tyranny of Big Tech (book)}

The Push to Break Up Big Tech Monopolies

_{Facebook is "acting as an arm of the state," says Florida's governor} _{News

June 16, 2021

5

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures, hosted by Maria Bartiromo, over the weekend. The two discussed Big Tech’s alarming censorship power and Florida’s efforts to combat that power. Recent government emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act lawsuits suggest that Dr. Anthony Fauci and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg coordinated what should and should not be dispersed through social media platforms regarding COVID-19 and its origins. “Do you believe Fauci colluded with Mark Zuckerberg? Does this expose Facebook to legal action?” Bartiromo asked DeSantis. DeSantis answered by calling Facebook “an arm of the state”: Here’s an example of working with Fauci where Facebook, you can argue, is essentially acting as an arm of the state, because they’re Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 12, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Ethics, Law

Tagged
Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), Matthew Wilson, Memory, Neil Ellice, Science fiction, The Final Moments of Karl Brant (film)}

Could You Be Reconstructed From Your Memories? – Sci-fi Saturday

_{If you were, would destroying the digitized “you” be murder?} _{News

June 12, 2021

14

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Ethics, Law}

“The Final Moments of Karl Brant” at DUST by Neil Ellice and Matthew Wilson (June 10, 2021 at DUST, 15:46 min) “Set in the near future where experimental technology allows two detectives to bring a murder victim back to life in a digital state in order to question him about his final moments.” Review: This is an “oldie” from 2013, recently uploaded to DUST. Entrepreneur Karl Brant and academic neuroscientist Bennett Ferryman were partners in a promising new high tech venture in which Brant suddenly perishes, leaving Ferryman now the sole owner — and under interrogation down at the local cop shop: “Am I a suspect?” “Not if you give us a good reason why you shouldn’t be.” Not too Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 10, 2021

Categorized
Law

Tagged
America Invents Act (AIA), Intellectual Property, National Science Foundation (NSF), patent law, Paul Werbos}

How Patent Law Has Changed for the Worse

_{Scientific achievement is almost impossible for the little guy anymore} _{News

June 10, 2021

5

Law}

During their conversation about the National Science Foundation, Drs. Robert J. Marks and Paul Werbos took a moment to discuss patent law. Their short rabbit trail ends with a grim analysis of patent law today: it’s now “almost impossible for the little guy” to secure a patent – and expensive. Patent law was considered so important to the nation’s founders that they enshrined it in the Constitution, granting Congress the authority to protect the rights of inventors to their inventions (see: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8). “Granting exclusive rights to the inventor is intended to encourage the investment of time and resources into the development of new and useful discoveries,” explains Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. In 2011, then-President Barack Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 9, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Amazon, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Facebook, Florida, Florida and Big Tech, Free speech, Google, Mark Zuckerberg, NetChoice, Parler, Ron DeSantis, Section 230, Senate Bill 7072, Twitter}

Censoring the Censors? Florida’s Anti-Censorship Law

_{What exactly does the law do, and why is Big Tech sponsoring a lawsuit to halt it?} _{News

June 9, 2021

6

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Originally published by Dr. Karl Stephan at Engineering Ethics On May 24, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill designed to stop social media firms from censoring free speech. At least that’s what the governor’s website claims it does. Two big-tech industry groups, Netchoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), sued the state of Florida in early June over the legislation, which is scheduled to take effect on July 1. What exactly does the law do, and why are organizations such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Google sponsoring a lawsuit to halt it? People of certain political persuasions need not look far for motivations to pass such a law. Following the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 of this year, Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
June 8, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Big Tech censorship, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Facebook, First Amendment, Florida, Florida and Big Tech, Fourteenth Amendment, Free speech, Google, John Snyder, NetChoice, Ron DeSantis, Section 230, Senate Bill 7072, Twitter}

Big Tech Sues Florida Over New Censorship Law

_{Facebook, Twitter, and Google are fighting back against a Florida law that seeks to reign them in} _{Caitlin Cory

June 8, 2021

4

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Technology trade companies representing Facebook, Twitter, and Google are suing Florida over its new law regulating the editorial and censorship powers of large social media platforms. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 into law on May 24, the first of its kind in the nation to curb the powers of online companies to remove and censor content and users. NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) – technology trade groups that have been vocal about their opposition to the law – filed the lawsuit against Florida the following Thursday in Tallahassee federal court. DeSantis and other supporters of the new law argue that its purpose is to safeguard the First Amendment rights of ordinary Florida citizens Read More ›