info 1200 final exam
the bell system
- a system of telecommunications companies, led by the bell telephone company and later by at&t, that dominated the telephone services industry in North America for over one hundred years until its antitrust breakup in 1983 - consisted of bell operating companies, AT&T long lines, western electric, and bell labs - significant because the bell system controlled and dominated the telecommunication industry in the U.S for decades until it is broke up due to antitrust actions
1934 communications act
- transfers management of wire and wireless communication to newly formed FCC. - combined and organized federal regulation of telephone, telegraph, and radio communications - this is significant because it allowed telecommunication industries to be regulated and to not be a monopoly
microsoft antitrust case (1998)
- 1998 suit against microsoft brought by DOJ, 20 states, and DC (plus subsequent private suits from competitors and customers plus separate EU case; eventually $2.2 billion in fines) - issues = anti-competitive behavior to maintain operating system dominance - issues = bundling of internet explorer with windows OS and giving away internet explorer at deep discount, for free, or for pay (predatory pricing) - microsoft's defense = we don't have market power (relevant market is platforms, not OS) and if we do it's temporary - microsoft's defense = consumers benefit from continued microsoft innovations and the innovation/quality of an integrated system - outcome = microsoft is required to open APIs to third-party developers - outcome = microsoft must end original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and internet service provider (ISP) contracts - outcome = 5 year oversight of microsoft records, systems, and agreements - significant because this is a key antitrust case
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
- A landmark United States Supreme Court case based on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution - the Court held that government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless that speech is directed to inciting, and is likely to incite, imminent lawless action - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and the first amendment
domestic law enforcement vs. foreign intelligence
- FBI is responsible for domestic security and law enforcement (governed by Electronic Communications Privacy Act), overseen by federal courts and judges - NSA/CIA for foreign intelligence (governed by Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act), is overseen by secret FISA court
gonzalez v. google
- SCOTUS agreed to hear the case filed by the family of an American woman killed in an ISIS attack in Paris, seeking to hold Youtube accountable for promoting radicalizing content that they claim incited the violence - significant since this case is a critique of platform moderation and section 230
school speech
- Speech at schools can be limited by school officials reasonably. - students retain free speech rights in public schools, but schools can censor speech that creates substantial disruption to educational mission - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and free speech/1st amendment
Chaplinksy v. NH (1942)
- a case in which the supreme court ruled that fighting words are not protected under the 1st amendment - a Jehovah's witness told a town official trying to keep him from preaching that he was a damned racketeer which was apparently very upsetting in 1942 - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and free speech/1st amendment
electronic communications privacy act (1986)
- a new set of rules meant to govern and limit electronic information gathering for domestic law enforcement purposes - has three separate sections: the wiretap act (about intercepted information), stored communications act, and pen register act (capture of phone records) - concerns warrants from federal judges - sets specific requirements and procedures for targeting and minimization - to keep foreign intelligence and domestic law enforcement (partly) separate, ECPA and FISA together establish restrictions on information sharing between FBI and CIA/NSA
natural monopoly
- a sector in which the economic effects (such as networked effects, economies of scale and scope, switching costs, and monopoly leveraging) are so strong that they tend inevitably towards monopoly - significant because part of why AT&T got so big was because it was a natural monopoly (CHECK)
church committee report (1976)
- a series of reports on intelligence abuses - "too many people have been spied upon by too many government agencies and too much information has been collected. the government has often undertaken the secrete surveillance of the citizens on the basis of their political beliefs, even when those beliefs posed no threat of violence or illegal acts on behalf of a foreign hostile power; groups and individuals have been harassed and disrupted because of their political views and their lifestyles; investigations have been based upon vague standards whose breadth made excessive collection inevitable" - inspired electronic communications privacy act (domestic law enforcement), foreign intelligence surveillance act (foreign intelligence), and also attorney general FBI guidelines - significant because it inspired many acts concerning the right of privacy
the communications decency act section 230
- It provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an interactive computer service who publish information provided by others - says that online intermediaries that host or republish speech are protected against a range of laws that might otherwise hold them legally responsible for what others say and do - protected intermediaries include internet service providers and a range of interactive computer service providers, including basically any online service that publishes third-party content - significant because it is one of the two significant laws that governs online speech and since it plays a role in debates about 1st amendment - makes platforms (largely) not responsible for what they post - says that no provider or user of an interface computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider - a compromise that intended to incentivize platforms to moderate content deemed inappropriate without punishing them for doing so imperfectly - an incredibly powerful protection for platforms
the herfindahl-hirschman index
- used to measure current market concentration - significant since it is calculated to measure degree of antitrust - formula = sum of the squares of the market shares of the 50 largest firms in a market - HHI of 0-1,000 = unconcentrated - HHI of 1,000-1,800 = moderately concentrated - HHI of 1,800+ = concentrated
privacy fallacies
- "nobody cares about privacy and you can tell because these kids today put everything on Tiktok" -> but privacy is relational; platforms' policies are often unclear and/or they violate them; people become resigned to data collection because they feel powerless - "why should I care about privacy? I have nothing to hide" -> your privacy is not just about you; it is about collective values and others about whom inferences should be drawn; much can be learned about you even from innocuous information - "if you don't like data collection, you can opt out by not using [service]. nobody is forcing you to use it" -> opt-out is much harder than it seems and sometimes is impossible (technically, socially, institutionally, and professionally); network effects are one of the things that make it difficult - "a loss of privacy is the price we have to pay for more security" -> sometimes more privacy equals more security; there are things we can do to increase security that don't invade privacy, and vice versa
critical infrastructure
- 16 different sectors defined by the U.S government as whose assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, are considered so vital to the U.S that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof - sectors include commercial facilities, emergency services, defense industrial base, financial services, food and agriculture, chemical, communications, dams, critical manufacturing, energy, and nuclear reactors and waste - an issue concerning public and private sectors
key case concerning the 4th amendment: Katz v U.S (1967)
- Plaintiff Katz is convicted in a lower court of illegal betting on the basis of a listening device planted on the outside of a public payphone - supreme court overturns the conviction: the 4th amendment protects people and not places; katz operated with a reasonable expectation of privacy, which was in this case violated - significant since this is a major legal case concerning the right of privacy
kingsbury commitment (1913)
- agreement that AT&T and Dept. of Justice made under threat of separation/public takeover to settle antitrust investigation - AT&T agrees to: 1. divest telegraph (Western Union) 2. allow interconnection of independent companies 3. achieve universal service (through a system of internal cross-subsidies) 4. practice non-discrimination (separation of content and conduit; non-discrimination on basis of source or content) - in exchange, AT&T: 1. is not subject to structural separation 2. enters into a regulated monopoly (under the rate of return regulation and filed rate doctrine) - this is significant because it was one of the first federal actions that highlighted the importance of interconnection in relation to enabling competition and making sure that all Americans would be able to get in contact with whomever they need via telephone - since AT&T constituted a natural monopoly, this required AT&T to operate as a regulated monopoly bound by common carrier (non-discrimination requirements)
The Total Information Awareness Program (2003)
- aimed to gather detailed information about individuals in order to anticipate and prevent crimes before they are committed - built out of defense advanced research projects agency (DARPA), predictive policing, data gathering, modeling, ID at a distance (facial and/or gait recognition), and pattern matching to detect and prevent terrorist actions before they occur - a developing software that could examine the computerized travel, credit card, medical, and other records of Americans and others around the world to search for telltale activities that might reveal preparations for a terrorist attack - would have been the biggest surveillance program in the history of the U.S - suspended by congress in 2003
key cases concerning the 4th amendment: Olmstead v. U.S (1928)
- alcohol production and smuggling ring convicted on the basis of telephone conversations intercepted through (warrantless) wiretaps - supreme court upholds the conviction on the grounds that: a) taps were placed on intermediate wires (no intrusion into the home or private premises of the defendants) and nothing being taken or seized b) communications carried by wire are not entitled to the same protection as mail - dissent opinion by Brandeis: a) this relies on too narrow and literal a reading of 4th amendment b) there is no material difference between communication by mail and telephone c) to the extent there is, wiretaps on phones are more problematic because of growing importance of wired communication, and the fact that privacy of both parties of the conversation was violated - significant since this is a major legal case concerning the right of privacy
1996 telecommunications act
- an act made to promote competition and reduce regulation in order to secure lower prices and higher quality services for American telecommunications consumers and encourage the rapid development of new telecommunications technologies - created based on the fear of incumbent local exchange carriers = fear that baby bells would use monopoly in the last mile to once again dominate the equipment and long-distance markets (the last mile problem) - significant because it caused cable and phone companies to merge operations in many markets
abuse of dominance
- anti-competitive practices by firms with market power, including monopoly leveraging (single-firm conduct) - significant because this is an element of anti-trust
unfair and deceptive trade practices
- any act that misleads consumers - governed by FTC act - significant because this is an element of anti-trust
hate speech
- any communication that belittles a person or group on the basis of characteristics - there is not a specific category of hate speech - hate speech is protected under the 1st amendment unless you can fit it into the fighting words, defamatory speech, or subversive speech categories - this means much offensive speech that encourages hate or asserts inferiority of a group does have 1st amendment protection unless it is an incitement to violence or a direct threat - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and free speech/1st amendment
the reasonable expectation standard of privacy
- asks whether the person expresses their actions as an expectation of privacy - asks whether society as a whole would deem that expectation as acceptable - goes beyond law enforcement (concerns whether we have a reasonable expectation of privacy in email, on social media, in mobile phone conversations, in browsing history, etc.)
nick ut's the terror of war (1972)
- award winning photograph taken during the vietnam war of a naked girl running and screaming during a war scene - significant since it shows the issues that come with content moderation since some people were insistent on having this photo banned and removed from Facebook whereas others believed it should be allowed to circulate - significant because it shows how difficult content moderation can be
rule of reason
- before ruling on the legality of certain business practices, a court examines why they were undertaken and what effect they have on market competition - a type of antitrust analysis used to determine the legality of agreements (written or oral) that may restrict competition - pro-competitive and anti-competitive actions are to be weighed against each other, assessed under the 'rule of reason' - significant since this plays a role in anti-trust laws
1956 AT&T Consent Decree
- brought in 1949 to contest leveraging of monopoly power into the (nascent) computing industry + ongoing interconnection abuses - Settlement: AT&T limited to 85% of national telephone network; spins off its Canadian and Caribbean divisions; opens patents and effectively divests from computing industry - obligated Bell to license all their technologies for reasonable royalties - significant because it caused the path-breaking technologies developed by Bell to become freely available to all U.S companies
third party doctrine
- by disclosing to a third party, the subject gives up all of his fourth amendment rights in the information revealed - a person cannot have a reasonable expectation of privacy in information disclosed to a third party (the fourth amendment does not apply) - significant since this is an exception to certain forms of privacy
abuse of dominance (single firm conduct)
- can be triggered by complaint to FTC/DOJ, cases brought by state, private suits by competitors, or initiated by FTC/DOJ investigation - concerns structure but also conduct considerations - solved by remedies, consent decrees, and structural separation
privacy
- can mean many different things - sometimes it looks like secrecy - sometimes it looks like security (safeguarding of information) - sometimes it looks like seclusion (being left alone) - sometimes it looks like a right of ownership or control over your information and choices - sometimes it looks like the appropriate use of information within a certain context - sometimes it looks like not being segmented or profiled - significant and important because privacy helps prevent the overreach of powerful parties into people's lives, allows people to explore new ideas safely without inhibition, for social functioning (so people can interact with each other unreservedly and participate fully in social and political life), and for self-fulfillment and actualization - since life and contexts are always changing, privacy cannot be reductively conceived as one specific type of thing - privacy is better understood as an important buffer that gives us space to develop an identity that is somewhat separate from the surveillance, judgment, and values of our society and culture - privacy is crucial for helping us manage all of the pressures that shape the type of person we are and for creating spaces for play and the work of self-development - privacy is significant/important because it is a space of autonomy for the (protected) development of people and ideas - privacy is significant/important because it is a space of autonomy for social release - privacy is significant/important because rights of self-discovery, self-presentation, and self-management are crucial to individual rights of self-determination
price discrimination (or differential pricing)
- charging different prices to different customers for the same good or service, irrespective of underlying costs - significant because this is a distinct economic property of information industries - three degrees total - third degree = geographic market differentiation (different price for different consumer groups) - second degree = charging a different price for the amount or quantity consumed - first degree = charging each customer according to their exact willingness to pay
issues with speech online
- concerns disinformation and misinformation, filter bubbles, trolls, hate speech, harassment/threats, deepfakes, radicalization and encouragement of offline violence, foreign interference on politics, and copyright - issues online have been with us for a long time before the internet: propaganda has ancient roots and really took off in WWI, plenty of terrible social behavior long before the internet, and marginalized groups have always borne the brut of hate speech, harassment, and threats - issues online are also new: speed and spread is new, different barriers to entry, and the liar's dividend (if fake can seem authentic, it is easier to claim that something authentic is fake) - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and free speech/1st amendment - issues with speech online all are related to equality issues since harassment often targets specific communities - significant because speech online creates unprecedented speed and spread of problematic speech, low barriers of entry (anybody can post a video), can cause the internet to be a pretty terrible place for marginalized groups, and because questionable authenticity of some information undermines trust in all information
zhang v. baidu (2014)
- concluded that search engines can show results however they desire, including censoring them - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and free speech - significant since the final ruling of this lawsuit is an example of how platforms have speech rights
1st amendment
- congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances - only limits governmental control of speech - does not restrict anyone else (besides the government) from being allowed to ban or constrain your speech - significant because it plays a role in laws and policies concerning content moderation - free speech is usually framed as being about speakers but some theories attach the value of listening (thinking about free speech concerning listening is important for things like harassment and because of stuff like official government accounts blocking followers) - one of the two significant laws that governs online speech
how do platforms implement their policies?
- content-based vs. content-neutral restrictions - providing information about source credibility - making content harder to find - demonetizing/delisting - providing or supporting reporting/blocking tools - encouraging users to behave appropriately
antitrust safety zones/exclusions
- coordination among non-dominant firms, collaborative research and experimental development, some kinds of joint ventures, consortial standards organizations, etc. - significant since this plays a role in anti-trust laws
switching costs
- costs of leaving networks/services/platforms for competitor networks/services/platforms - significant because switching costs are part of why issues of economic control happen (ex. how AT&T gained so much power) and are part of the issue of the economy of networked information industries
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
- court concluded that the 1st amendment protects newspapers even when they print false statements, as long as the newspapers did not act with "actual malice" - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and free speech/1st amendment - case in which the NY times ran an ad with a few minor errors about Alabama police station's actions against MLK (court said that this was not enough to be defamation)
1927 radio act
- created the federal radio commission, which licensed broadcasters and reduced radio interference - significant because one assumption underlying the act was that the first amendment protected radio as a form of expression
competition and transparency in digital advertising act
- divides online ad industry into four components: 1. publishers (website and app creators that sell ad space around content) 2. ad exchanges (run actions for ad space from many different publishers and solicit bids from many different advertisers) 3. sell-side brokerages (work with publishers to monetize their ad space on exchanges) 4. buy-side brokerages (work with advertisers to buy ad space via exchanges) - says that any company making more than $20 billion/year in online advertising may operate in only one of these spaces - significant because it would impact Google, meta, and amazon from participating in certain anti-trust actions - a new approach to anti-trust laws that is currently pending
conditions supporting price discrimination
- effective market segmentation (limited or no resale) - restriction and personalization of pricing information - companies having more precise information about consumer preferences
end-to-end encryption
- encryption occurs on sender's and recipient's devices - private keys to decrypt messages are held by users, not companies - this means even the platform/service cannot access the data - for law enforcement or anyone else to break security, they would have to do so on the sender's or receiver's device; this is hard to do at scale
foreign intelligence surveillance act (1978)
- establishes rules and procedures governing the collection of foreign intelligence within the U.S - establishes the foreign intelligence surveillance court (FISC) which meets in secret and reviews applications for FISA surveillance warrants - has different standards: not "probable cause" of suspicion of criminal wrong-doing but "probable cause" that the party is an agent of a foreign power - establishes targeting and minimization procedures: procedures approved by the FISA court that must be reasonably designed in light of the purpose and technique of the particular surveillance, to minimize the acquisition and retention, and prohibit the dissemination, of nonpublicly available information concerning unconsenting U.S people - significant since it is an important act that deals with privacy
federal trade commission act (1914)
- establishes the FTC (along with the department of justice) as the main antitrust regulator and consumer protection agency - significant since this is one of the major antitrust laws
the right to be left alone
- example of privacy in the law - significant because this is the most influential statement of a right to privacy in U.S legal thinking - officially, the article is proposing a new tort (a wrong for which you can sue a private party) called invasion of privacy - concerns the necessity of retreat from intensity and complexity of modern life - concerns rights of self-disclosure: the right to determine to what extents his/her thoughts, sentiments, and emotions shall be communicated - privacy rights are not absolute: matters of public interest can override, but even public figures have some privacy rights - in the article, the right to privacy, Warren and Brandeis were responding to yellow journalism (the masses were starting to read newspapers; reporting was becoming more sensationalist and gossipy) and amateur photography
defamatory speech
- false statements that harm somebody's reputation - not protected under the 1st amendment - different standards apply based on whether the person being defamed is a public or private figure, and whether the issue is of public or private concern (for public figures, must show statements were made maliciously; for private figures, it is enough if they were made negligently) - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and free speech/1st amendment
clayton act (1914)
- forbids certain actions that are likely to lessen competition, although no actual harm has yet occurred - limits anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions - significant since this is one of the major antitrust laws
Rail and Telegraph Revolution (1840s)
- from the 1840s until the second half of the 20th century, the telegraph network was a vital tool for sending news, personal messages, and ultimately business information - messages would be sent through telegrams - this is significant because it allowed the construction of a continental scale economy (and identity) (had huge implications for how the economy was organized) and because it allowed for the separation of communication from transportation - this is significant because it allowed real(ish) time control at a distance - this is significant because it created the first truly networked industries
anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions
- governed by horizontal merger guidelines, clayton act and successors, and separate guidelines for vertical and other mergers - significant because this is an element of anti-trust
antitrust
- government intervention to alter market structure or prevent abuse of market power - concerns laws that seek to promote competition among businesses - concerns: 1. collaborations/collusions among competitors 2. anti-competitive practices by firms with market power, including monopoly leveraging (abuse of dominance) 3. mergers and acquisitions in concentrated industries 4. unfair and deceptive trade practices - significant since this issue concerns unfair economic practices and shows how law policy has changed overtime due to monopolies - questions of market definition (and the presence of compliments and substitutes) are key in determining antitrust
notice and consent model
- how we and companies deal with privacy - companies can do pretty much whatever so long as they notify you and get your consent - this is problematic for many reasons: contracts of adhesion (no bargaining), impossible to read, changes all the time, not meaningful consent, companies violate them, you are often restricted from suing, and individualistic (doesn't account for collective harms)
regulatory parity
- idea that like services should be regulated in like ways - idea that because telephone, cable, and broadcast companies are competing to provide consumers communication products, they should be treated equally - significant because it is a key concept of the 1996 telecommunications act
key case concerning the 4th amendment: Jones (2012)
- in 2004, defendant Jones was suspected of drug trafficking; police investigators asked for and received a warrant to attach a GPS tracking device to the underside of the defendant's car but then exceeded the warrant's scope in both geography and length of time - the court concluded that since the government's installation of a GPS device onto the defendant's car was a trespass that was purposed to obtain information, then it was a search under the fourth amendment - all nine justices unanimously considered the police's actions in Jone's to be unconstitutional; however, there was disagreement on the fundamental reasons for their conclusion - significant since this is a major legal case concerning the right of privacy
U.S broadband performance today
- in comparison to other countries, U.S broadband performance is slow, scarce, non-competitive, and expensive - significant because it relates to the debate about net-neutrality
big-p policy and little-p policy
- in tech, institutional policy and practice (little-p policy) matters as much, if not more than, big-p policy (formal law) - significant since it shows the importance of network and tech policies and their consequences
arguments in defense of antitrust practice in big tech
- it lets companies build more secure systems and prevent fraud and abuse - it helps companies manage privacy - it helps companies build more seamless and reliable user experiences - it costs a lot to run a platform and this is ensuring a good return on that investment - their monopoly is earned, from the excellence and innovation of their products and services - their not really doing some of the anti-trust actions anyways - when you think about it, they are not really a monopoly because users and companies always go to *insert unheard of platform name* - significant because it concerns how big tech companies defend themselves against actions involving anti-trust
how (domestic) surveillance is regulated
- law enforcement must get a warrant from the federal judge before undertaking surveillance activities - warrants must be based on probable cause (more than bare suspicion) - restrictions against general opportunities or wide-ranging searches and instead, a requirement for tailored/limited searches (the principle of minimalism) - enforced by the exclusionary rule
AT&T divestiture (1982/1984)
- led to structural separation where the old AT&T was separated into 7 Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCS, or Baby Bells) which had local service + AT&T (long distance) + western electric - caused AT&T's assets to go from $149 billion to $34 billion and number of employees went from 1,000,000+ to 373,000 - significant because it gave consumers access to more choices and lower prices for long-distance service and phones
sherman act (1890)
- makes monopolizing a market, cartels, and other collusive arrangements illegal - limits collusiion between competing firms - significant since this is one of the major antitrust laws
merger review guidelines
- mergers resulting in changes in HHI of less than 100 points are unlikely to warrant scrutiny - mergers resulting in unconcentrated markets are unlikely to warrant scrutiny - mergers resulting in moderately concentrated markets with increases in HHI of more than 100 may raise concerns and warrant scrutiny - mergers resulting in highly concentrated markets and HHI increases of more than 200 will be presumed to enhance market power - significant since these antitrust guidelines help regulate court actions against antitrust
content moderation
- monitoring and filtering user-generated content - a service that social media platforms offer - significant because it relates to debates about the 1st amendment and has become more of an issue with technology and social media
regulated monopoly
- monopoly that the government allows to exist legally - monopoly that is restricted with regulations and rules imposed by the government (which limits the power of the monopoly) - this is significant since the kingsbury commitment (1913) made AT&T transition from a natural monopoly to a regulated monopoly bound by common carrier (non-discrimination) requirements - this is significant since AT&T was a regulated monopoly until 1970s - this is significant since as a regulated monopoly, AT&T was required to have rate of return regulation and later, price cap regulation, had rates managed through dual jurisdiction under the filed rate doctrine, had an interconnection policy for intercarrier competition, access charges, and the international settlements system, and had cross-subsidies and universal service (urban to rural, business to consumer, and long distance to local) - main concerns of regulated monopolies = regulated capture and monopoly leveraging - response to regulated monopolies = antitrust (1916 kingsbury commitment, 1956 consent decree, and 1984 breakup of AT&T)
public-key (aka asymmetric) encryption
- one model of encryption - private key is never shared with anyone and public key is shared with everyone
symmetric encryption
- one model of encryption - shared key among parties
escrowed encryption
- one model of encryption - similar to public-key model except private key is deposited with trusted third party
key case concerning the 4th amendment: Kyllo (2001)
- plaintiff Kyllo was convicted of an illegal marijuana growing operation in his home; law enforcement official uses electricity bills and thermal imaging to detect unusual heat signatures emanating from the subject's home; a warrant is then issued and 100 marijuana plants are found - majority of SCOTUS: he had shown no subjective expectation of privacy because he had made no attempt to conceal the heat escaping from his home - significant since this is a major legal case concerning the right of privacy
prager v. google
- prager filed a lawsuit against google for allegedly censoring some of the videos that Prager uploaded on Youtube based on Prager's conservative political identity and viewpoint - court claimed that youtube can moderate however it wants - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and free speech - significant since the final ruling of this lawsuit is an example of how platforms have speech rights
encryption
- putting information into a code so that it can only be accessed by an authorized party - encrypted messages have existed since at least 600 BC (often in military contexts; codes and ciphers) - contemporary encryption usually involves converting plaintext to scrambled text that looks random; the encrypted data can then be decrypted using a key (mathematical transformation) to turn it back to plaintext - significant because many services use it (ex. whatsapp, facebook messenger, imessage) - companies encrypt users' communications because of security and integrity (including from hackers), privacy is attractive to customers, and keeps them from having to get involved in judgment calls about when to turn over data - apple uses encryption features as a selling point - significant because encryption relates to privacy (ex. apple says no to unlocking iphone related to san bernadino shooter case)c
exceptions/proposed changes to section 230
- rare - there may be liability if the platform develops the illegal content - stop enabling sex traffickers act = 2018 amendment to 230 that gets rid of immunity to sex trafficking laws - other exceptions for federal criminal law, intellectual property law, and electronic communications privacy law - proposed changes to 230 = we could make immunity dependent on some more specific requirements - significant because it shows the extent to which platforms have speech rights and shows the power and consequences of CDA 230
regulatory capture
- refers to a situation that occurs when a regulatory agency that is created to act in the public interest instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special interest groups that dominate an industry or sector that the agency is charged with regulating - when regulatory capture occurs, the interests of firms or political groups are given priority or favor over the interests of the public - significant because there was concern that when AT&T became a regulated monopoly, FCC became too shaped/controlled by AT&T over time - significant because regulatory capture is one of the main concerns of regulated monopolies
economies of scale and scope
- refers to situations where there are high fixed costs and low marginal costs - fixed costs = the amount you have to spend that won't change with increases/decreases of volume production - marginal costs = the cost it takes to produce each additional copy of something - has high barriers to entry - this is significant because networked information industries have economies of scale and scope
protect america act (2007) and FISA amendments act (2008)
- replaces FISA warrants with sealed and post-facto agency self-certification - allows monitoring of Americans believed to be communicating with foreigners subject to a foreign terrorist operation - drops the foreign agent determination requirement for a warrant - many forms of information gathering do not constitute electronic surveillance and thus aren't subject to FISA or ECPA requirements - there are some efforts to further specify targeting and minimization procedures
herrick v. grindr
- significant because it shows how platforms have speech rights and shows the power of CDA 230 - Gridnr was not held liable when a person used it to abuse his ex by sending 1,000 men to his house to demand sex and drugs; grindr would not remove the profile
carafano v. metrosplash
- significant because it shows how platforms have speech rights and shows the power of CDA 230 - court ruled that dating platform was not held liable for defamation when a user made a fake, offensive profile about an actress from StarTrek that included her home address that the platform would not remove
chicago lawyers' committee v. craigslist (2008)
- significant because it shows how platforms have speech rights and shows the power of CDA 230 - craigslist was not held liable when users made discriminatory statements in housing ads
gentry v. eBay
- significant because it shows how platforms have speech rights and shows the power of CDA 230 - ebay was not held liable for sales of forged autographs
AT&T and T-mobile merger (2011)
- significant because this is a key antitrust case - proposed a $39 billion merger - arguments in favor: more efficient, better service and quality, and more effective competitor to verizon - arguments against it: issues of concentration in many local markets and loss of T-mobile as disruptive innovator - outcome = merger withdrawn following the release of FCC staff report indicating intention to oppose (with $5 billion contractual payout to T-mobile) - subsequently, sprint and T-mobile merger announced in 2018 goes into effect in 2020
anti-competitive collaborations/collusion among competitors
- significant since this was made illegal under the sherman act - agreements to fix prices, rig outputs, or divide up markets by territory = illegal - potential mergers are now reviewed before they go into effect if they are above a certain threshold - tend to be treated as predictive and holistic (court looks at effects on all markets post-merger)
the myth of neutrality
- some people think that CDA 230 requires platforms to be neutral public forums but this is both impossible and wrong - there is no such thing as neutrality (it is not anywhere in the law) - in fact, CDA 230 requires the opposite: encourages platforms to try out content moderation without being nervous about it - significant because it shows how platforms have speech rights and shows the power and consequences of CDA 230
subversive speech
- speech that creates a clear and present danger - one of the types of speech that the government is actually allowed to ban - courts will look at factors like the size of the audience, the likelihood of harm, and the imminence of harm when deciding if speech is subversive - significant because it plays a role in debates about content moderation and free speech
review of mergers and acquisitions
- step 1: consider the market definition - step 2: measure the current market concentration using the herfindahl-hirschman index - step 3: measure the concentration in relevant markets after the merger (using the same procedure of HHI) - significant since the review of mergers and acquisitions relates to antitrust
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
- tasked with leading national effort to reduce risk to cyber and physical infrastructure - collaborates with government sector and private actors to develop best practices - secures federal government infrastructure - attacks on infrastructure happen due to phishing, malware, hacking, trusted relationships, and valid accounts
regulatory forebearance
- the ability/presumption to relax regulation where market or technological conditions no longer require it - significant because it is a key concept of the 1996 telecommunications act
going dark
- the concern that if so many devices and services are encrypted that law enforcement/intelligence agencies will not be able to access important information to fight crime even with a warrant - most invoked with respect to terrorism and child exploitation
antitrust practice in big tech
- the extent to which big tech companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta participate in anti-trust actions - includes app store practices such as charging excessive rents (30%), restrictions, and favoring own apps over 3rd party apps (Apple, Google) - includes anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions (Facebook and others) - includes self-preferencing in search (Google and Amazon) - includes using platform information to launch and favor competing products (all) - significant since this shows how antitrust becomes more complicated with technology and how the definitions of a monopoly and unfair competition are not precise - significant since antitrust practices in big tech raise prices, limit innovation (including discouraging startups or new entrants), concentrates economic power, creates fewer options for workers (less competitive labor market), changes the economic geography of the country, and changes the economic geography of the world
technological and regulatory convergence
- the merger/confusion of previously separate systems, functions, and regulatory regimes - significant because it is a key concept of the 1996 telecommunications act
fourth amendment
- the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by the oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized - significant because this is an example of how privacy is sort of in the constitution - important 4th amendment trends: envelope (weak protection) vs. content (strong protection) discrepancies, domestic vs. foreign intelligence, communications assistance for law enforcement act 1994, and general weakening of 4th amendment protections under USA patriot act and homeland security act
interconnection policy
- the rules or practices governing interoperability between systems or networks - note: a strong interconnection policy can partially overcome some of the economic effects of network effects, economies of scale and scope, switching costs, and monopoly leveraging - significant because interconnection policy is very relevant to network neutrality debates since it can help prevent networked information industries (such as AT&T) from having too much power
truth theory of free speech (Mill)
- the theory that freedom of speech is important because the goal of freedom of speech is to get us closer to the truth and that the best ideas will win out in the marketplace of ideas - supports the idea that the best cure to bad speech is more speech - objection: however, this does not account for how markets can fail - significant since this is a theory of why freedom of speech is so important and knowing why freedom of speech is important will help us create fair laws and policies concerning content moderation
self-fulfillment theory of free speech (baker and redish)
- the theory that the goal of free speech is to allow people to realize autonomy and creativity - objection: some speech disrespects listeners' autonomy (ex. harassment) - significant since this is a theory of why freedom of speech is so important and knowing why freedom of speech is important will help us create fair laws and policies concerning content moderation
democracy theory of free speech (meiklejohn)
- the theory that the goal of freedom of speech is to give people the tools for democracy - supports the idea that people have a right to hear speech, especially political speech - objection: however, we should still consider how the line between political and non-political speech is hard to draw - significant since this is a theory of why freedom of speech is so important and knowing why freedom of speech is important will help us create fair laws and policies concerning content moderation
networked effects (network externalities)
- the value of a product or system increases with each additional user - describes how a service becomes more valuable to its users as more people use that same service - significant because networked effects are part of why issues of economic control happen (ex. how AT&T gained so much power)
privacy in the constitution
- the word privacy is not in the constitution or any of the amendments but there are some amendments related to privacy: - 1st amendment = rights of free association and speech (but also, protected space in which to experiment, learn, and grow) - 4th amendment = right to be secure in their persons, houses, paper, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures - 5th amendment = right against self-incrimination (no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself - 14th amendment = right of due process and equal protection under the law to all citizens or naturalized in the U.S - courts have found a privacy right via the penumbras of other rights: griswold v. connecticut (1965); SCOTUS does some creative reasoning and for other rights to be meaningful, there has to be a right to privacy - right to privacy has been used to strike down a law banning sale of birth control to married couples, affirm your right to view pornography in your home, support a woman's right to choose an abortion, and strike down a law banning consensual sex between gay men - significant because it shows how part of why there are so many debates about privacy is because it is not a well-defined concept in legal documents
privacy in statutes
- there is no federal omnibus privacy law - there are sectoral privacy laws for some contexts: fair credit reporting act, family educational rights and privacy act, health insurance portability and accountability act, and children's online privacy protection act - in some ways, having a sectoral approach lets us tailor law to contexts but in others, it makes for weaker protections with more loopholes - for consumer privacy, we have the federal trade commission which can penalize companies for unfair and deceptive trade practices - significant because it shows how part of why there are so many debates about privacy is because it is not a well-defined concept in legal documents
platforms as speakers
- there is the question of are platforms speakers? - significant because this brings in the question of if platforms are speakers, shouldn't their speech interests be protected? - significant because this brings in the question of if a user wants to speak on a platform, but the platform doesn't let that person speak (editorial privilege), whose speech is more important? - significant because courts sometimes have to try to balance speech rights across multiple speakers in conflict - platforms act as speech intermediaries
monopoly leveraging
- using market power in one industry or sector to dominate or control adjacent market sectors - significant because monopoly leveraging is part of why issues of economic control happen and part of why there are issues in the economy of networked information industries - significant because monopoly leveraging was one of the main concerns of AT&T becoming a regulated monopoly since there was fear that AT&T's position in telephony would allow it to dominate other markets, like radio, computing, etc.
fighting words
- words that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace - similar to incitement but also concerns the reaction of the listener rather than convincing the listener to do something - not protected by the 1st amendment - significant because it relates to debates about content moderation and free speech/1st amendment - has to be more than just offensive and has to be specific to the listener
open app market act
- would prevent app store owners from self-preferencing (including in search) their own apps and products - would prevent app store owners from requiring exclusive use of platform's payment system - would prevent app store owners from banning sideloading (downloading of apps and software from other sources) - would prevent app store owners from penalizing app developers from selling their apps elsewhere at a lower price - significant because it would prevent Google and Apple from participating in certain anti-trust actions - a new approach to anti-trust laws that is currently pending
actions and remedies to mergers and acquistions
DOJ and FTC can: - approve the merger - deny the merger - approve the merger with conditions (or remedies)
american innovation and choice online act
would prevent large online companies from: - unfairly preferencing a platform operator's products, services, or lines of business - unfairly limiting another's products to compete against the platform's operator - practicing discrimination in the enforcement of terms of service among similarly situated business users - restricting business owners from working with different platforms' operating systems, hardware, or software features - conditioning access to the platform on the purchase or use of other products offered by the platform - using non-public data obtained in the running of the platform to launch competitor products - restricting users from uninstalling pre-loaded software applications or changing default settings - retaliating against users (including business users) who report concerns
