Posted on July 31st, 2010 by Derek Bambauer
I’ve written an essay called “The Enigma of Internet Freedom” that appears in this month’s eJournal USA, which is published by the U.S. State Department. Here’s the introduction: Rhetorically, everyone supports Internet freedom. “Freedom,” though, means quite different things, and carries diverse weights when measured against other interests in various countries and cultures. This normative [...]
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Filed under: Filtering, First Amendment, Intermediaries, international, Internet & Society, ISP, Privacy
Posted on July 30th, 2010 by Derek Bambauer
My colleague and friend Jayne Ressler has a terrific op-ed in the L.A. Daily News about the need to reform civil contempt confinement. The problem with unlimited imprisonment is obvious. What also concerns me is the lack of review in the case she cites: Richard Fine alleged that L.A. County was bribing judges in exchange [...]
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Filed under: civil procedure, Court Decisions, First Amendment, Law School, Media
Posted on July 26th, 2010 by Tim Armstrong
When I went to law school, one of my more disagreeable professors gave us a memorable definition of the task of courts in statutory interpretation cases: “A judge’s job is to figure out who Congress was trying to screw, and then screw them.” Even if you accept that formulation (and it seems to rest on [...]
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Filed under: Copyright, Court Decisions
Posted on July 21st, 2010 by Derek Bambauer
An impressive fake video is making the rounds of the Internet; it purportedly shows a French government official announcing that the Republic would repay the enormous sum Haiti sent to France in exchange for independence in 1803. The video is hosted at http://www.diplomatiegov.fr/, a domain name very similar to the French Foreign Ministry site, which is [...]
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Filed under: Digital Media, First Amendment, Intermediaries, international, Internet & Society, Media, Video
Posted on July 19th, 2010 by Derek Bambauer
The New York Times has a fascinating article about the effects of screening Web sites and images for objectionable content on the workers who perform the screening. This is a valuable function – it helps sites such as Flickr keep problematic images off their services – and it is an important alternative to legal regulation [...]
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Filed under: Filtering, Intermediaries, Internet & Society, ISP, Media
Posted on July 11th, 2010 by Derek Bambauer
I’ve been thinking about the implications of Judge Gertner’s ruling in Sony v. Tenenbaum, and have had the good fortune to discuss it with copyright expert Thinh Nguyen. One unexpected effect of the decision, I believe, will be to increase the cost of copyright litigation, perhaps significantly. Judge Gertner employs the Supreme Court’s Due Process [...]
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Filed under: Berkman, Copyright, Court Decisions, Digital Media, Education & Copyright, Intermediaries, Internet & Society, ISP, Law School, Music, RIAA
Posted on July 9th, 2010 by Derek Bambauer
Hot off the press, here’s Judge Gertner’s ruling. Hat tip: Eric Goldman. This is a bombshell! Update: Here are my rough first thoughts. This is a huge decision. If it’s upheld on appeal, it will not only change the contours of the Copyright Act, but might hold larger implications for the ability of Congress to [...]
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Filed under: Blogging, Copyright, Court Decisions, Digital Media, Internet & Society, Media, Music, RIAA
Posted on July 7th, 2010 by Derek Bambauer
Nokia has a brilliant post on its corporate blog about how best to hold your Nokia phone. Of course, the iPhone v4 infamously suffers degraded connections if you hold it wrong. This is only the second-worst feature of the phone; the worst is the powerful electric shock it delivers when you e-mail Steve Jobs to [...]
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Filed under: Apple, Digital Media, Intermediaries, Internet & Society, Media, Software