Stanford Online Deliberation Presentation

My notes from my talk entitled “Media Regulation and Deliberative Democracy.” I’m still trying to figure out exactly what “deliberative democracy” is, but the presentation notes recap some of my thinking about the matching problem of marketing.

Revenge of the MPAA — First Test for the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act?

(Eric Goldman is travelling and lecturing until June 13, and will be able to post only occasionally during this time. In his absence, John Ottaviani will continue to guest-blog from time to time.) The media has been reporting the availability…

Travel Plans and Presentations

I’ll be on the West Coast for the next three weeks. During that time, I’ll be making three presentations: Conference: Second Conference on Online Deliberation: Design, Research, and Practice / DIAC 2005 at Stanford University Topic: Media Regulation and Deliberative…

New Gripe Site Case–Faegre & Benson v. Purdy

Faegre & Benson v. Purdy, Civil File No. 03-6472 (D. Minn. Apr. 27, 2005). Another ruling in the long-running story of William Purdy, an anti-abortionist who uses extreme forms of gripe sites against his targets. This particular ruling was a…

New Lawsuit Over Blogging–Steinbuch v. Cutler

Steinbuch v. Cutler (D.C. D.C. complaint filed May 18, 2005). Interesting and risqué lawsuit for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress (warning: the complaint is not 100% office-safe). Jessica Cutler ran a blog under the name “Washingtonienne.”…

FTC Commissioner: “Somebody has got to pay”

FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle goes off about corporate data security practices. Internet News quotes him as saying “industry has, to a great extent, been irresponsible, and somebody has got to pay.” The article also quotes him as saying the lax…

New Ruling From Judge Patel in Napster Investor Suit

By John Ottaviani There’s been some discussion and misconceptions about Judge Patel’s latest ruling in the long-running Napster saga. Although her May 11 order has been described as holding that the Section 106(3) distribution right does not extend to maintaining…

Keeping Vermont Safe from Dangerous Billboards

This one made me laugh. It’s illegal to drive without a seat belt in Vermont. Billboards are also illegal in Vermont. So when the Vermont Highway Safety Program wanted to remind people to buckle up, they bought billboards in Massachusetts…

BNA on Mandatory Disclosure Laws

BNA (registration required) runs an article recapping state-level activity on mandatory security breach notification laws. Seven states (Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, and Washington) have adopted laws, and Florida is expected to join this list soon. The laws…

Supreme Court on Interstate Shipment of Wine–Granholm v. Heald

Granholm v. Heald, 544 U.S. __ (May 16, 2005). The US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, has declared that states cannot discriminate between out-of-state wineries and in-state wineries in allowing direct-to-consumer sales. Such discrimination violates the dormant commerce clause….