October 23, 2024
The Benefits of Playing Small Ball and Other Observations About Social Media Litigation at the Supreme Court
The US Supreme Court’s 2024 rulings involving social media platforms and First Amendment issues provided fodder for earlier posts drilling into matters such as the right to listenand Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s prominent role as a tech-savvy jurist. This post, concluding my review of Lindke v. Freed, Murthy v. Missouri, and Moody v. NetChoice, offers three observations. The Benefits of Playing Small…
October 21, 2024
Why Western North Carolina Spurned Flood Control Measures Decades Ago
The July 17, 1916, edition of The Asheville Citizen could have easily been reprinted late last month and maintained its relevance: “Asheville today is absolutely isolated from the outside world, is a city of darkness void of ordinary transportation facilities, and finds herself helpless in the grasp of the most terrible flood conditions ever known here.” Both Hurricane…
October 21, 2024
The Future of Small Business Financing
Small businesses are the foundation of the US economy, representing 99 percent of all firms and employing nearly half of the private sector workforce. In 2021, these enterprises generated over $16.2 trillion in revenue. Beyond their economic impact, small businesses play a vital role in shaping neighborhoods and communities across the country. Despite their significance, many small…
October 18, 2024
Cantwell Challenges Tai on Digital Trade Rules
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has directly challenged US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai’s adamant opposition to stronger digital trade rules in US trade agreements. She charged that USTR has “stopped standing up against digital protectionism abroad.” Cantwell is chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has…
October 17, 2024
Flipping Frames on the New York Times’s NetChoice Profile
Readers following First Amendment cases about laws regulating social media platforms surely recognize the name NetChoice. It’s the trade association dedicated to making “the Internet safe for free enterprise and free expression,” believing that consumers—not the government—“know best the products and services they need.” As its name intimates, private choice is preferable to government dictate. To wit, rather…
October 15, 2024
Antitrust’s Blind Spots: When Markets Fix Problems Faster Than Regulators
One of the enduring ironies of antitrust law is that governments often step in to solve perceived problems that market forces are already addressing. A prime example: Standard Oil. Its grip on the oil market a century ago weakened not because of the 1911 antitrust breakup but due to newly discovered oil fields in the…
October 15, 2024
The Judiciary, Generative AI, and Ordinary Meanings: Kevin Newsom Leads the Way
When it comes to jurists experimenting with generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), Judge Kevin Newsom of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is at the leading edge. He’s also making his discoveries and views about Gen AI known in concurring opinions that are distinctly different from traditional ones associated with a judge who “agrees with the majority opinion…
October 14, 2024
The Vital Importance of Encryption for Consumers: Lessons from Recent Events
As we observe Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October, a recent and alarming cyber incident is a stark reminder that digital security is a concern not just for businesses and governments but for every individual. The reported breach of major US telecom companies by Chinese hackers has thrown into sharp focus the vital importance of robust…
October 11, 2024
The Perils of a Google Breakup: A Warning for American Business
As American voters consider a potential Harris administration, it’s worth thinking about what it might mean for American business. In its ongoing antitrust case against Google, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering structural remedies including breaking up the tech giant, a troubling preview. While Europe and China might cheer the move, Americans should be concerned about…
October 10, 2024
Making Australia the Safest Place on Earth to Date?
Australia’s claim to stewarding the safest digital space on planet Earth took another step forward on October 1 when Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced a “voluntary” code of conduct agreed to by online dating platforms Bumble, Grindr and Match Group Inc., a Texas-based company that owns platforms including Hinge, OKCupid, Plenty of Fish, and Tinder. The code is overseen…