Hey everybody, I’m Joe Miller and here’s what’s going on in the world of tech law & policy this week. Alfred Ng over at Politico reports that the police can obtain Ring camera footage without your permission. All they need is a warrant. But don’t worry – they will be nice. They will call you instead of knocking on your door.  If you don’t give them the footage, Ring will also contact you. If you still don’t give them the footage, well, I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to find...

The internet can be a minefield of financial scams, but you don't have to navigate it alone. Arm yourself with knowledge and stay protected from online fraud. Bio LinkedIn Instagram   Sean Davis is a privacy lawyer based in Washington, D.C. and Senior Analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).  Previously, he was with Engine.org, the small business advocate, where he served as Policy Manager. Prior to that Sean was with Wikimedia Foundation and Public...

Characterizing the popular TikTok app as a modern-day “Trojan Horse” because its parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Michal McCaul, aa Texas Republican, introduced the “Deterring America's Foreign Adversaries Act, which would ban TikTok in the United States. Democrats oppose the bill, saying it would go too far in abridging the Freedom of Speech. The American Civil Liberties Union is also pushing back against the bill. Federal courts have...

In this episode of the Tech Policy Leaders podcast, Meredith Broussard discusses her new book ‘More Than a Glitch,’ which takes a critical look at algorithms and the people who create them.   Bio Website LinkedIn @MerBroussard   Data journalist Meredith Broussard is an associate professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University, research director at the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology, and the author of several books, including “Artificial...

Hey everybody, I’m Joe Miller and here’s what’s going on in the world of tech law & policy this week. Somehow, a U.S. government server running on Microsoft’s Azure government cloud was unsecured, exposing U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) data, including sensitive personnel information. Security researcher Anurag Sen discovered the breach last week, and the Department of Defense patched it up after spilling data for 2 weeks. USSOCOM told TechCrunch that no data breach...

  ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot written in natural language processing (NLP) technology that can interact with its users on a variety of different topics and respond in meaningful ways. AI-driven tools are emerging as powerful new tools in the legal industry, especially when it comes to streamlining mundane tasks, assisting with research and enhancing customer service functions. In this episode, I interviewed ChatGPT and input its responses into a text to speech...

Folks, kids are having a really hard time, and a lot of it has to do with what’s happening on the internet. Some lawmakers appear to be trying to do the right thing, but it seems like all they’re really capable of doing is introducing legislation – legislation that doesn’t get anywhere.   The CDC released a report Monday finding teens, especially girls, are in a bad place right now with some 57% of the 17,000 high school girls surveyed persistently feeling bad or hopeless. Some twenty...

Ahmad Thomas: A Glimpse Into a Shifting World - Examining the Purpose of Corporate Social Responsibility in a Turbulent Environment Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an increasingly important part of business practices. Companies are ostensibly thinking more proactively and creatively about how they can contribute to the world around them and make a positive impact on society. But what does this mean for tech policy in a tumultuous world? In this episode of Tech Policy...

Hey everybody, I’m Joe Miller and here’s what’s going on in the world of tech law & policy this week.    So the White House confirmed earlier this afternoon that it had shot down another object floating 40,000 ft. above Alaska. No word yet on whether it’s part of China’s balloon festival, but this one was much smaller than the one they shot down last week. Feds are investigating.   Americans want privacy legislation but – as Colorado Attorney General Phill Weiser noted to the...

[Encore Episode -- originally recorded 1/17/2017] Bio Tiffany Cross (@tifcrossmyheart) is brings 20 years of relationships, outreach, and storytelling to The Beat, Washington's inclusive political pulse.  Having spent significant time working in newsrooms, covering Capitol Hill, managing in-house corporate public affairs, working on campaigns, and navigating communities of color, she brings a unique set of skills that casts a wide net of influence. Understanding the intersection of...

China was caught floating a spy balloon over Montana. Like no one was going to see it. What else is there to do in Montana except look up at the sky? According to the Washington Post, a defense official said, “It loitered overhead for an extended period of time.” Come on guys, when are we going to get serious?   What other shenanigans do we have here … Oh! The European Union is warning Elon Musk that they’re going to hit him with a can of you-know-what if he doesn’t comply with their...

Viewpoint diversity is essential for having meaningful dialogue and achieving true understanding. It allows people to be exposed to different perspectives and consider all sides of an issue without judgment. Viewpoint diversity can lead to better solutions, deeper insights into current problems, and improved collaboration between individuals with vastly different backgrounds and opinions. Without it, the conversation becomes stagnant and limited, ultimately limiting progress.  Historically,...

Hey everybody, I’m Joe Miller and here’s what’s going on in the world of tech law & policy this week.   ChatGPT is still at the top of headlines this week with Buzzfeed announcing that it’s going to use generative AI to produce “select” content. Buzzfeed’s CEO Jonah Peretti says he wants BuzzFeed to lead the future of AI-powered content. This comes only days after CNET faced scrutiny for using AI to produce content for years. And a lot of writers and journalists are worried about their...

Hi everybody -   Just a quick, solo episode this week, and then we’re Audi 5,000  to get some rest and relaxation, spending time with friends and family for the holidays, etc.    It has been such a crazy year, hasn’t it? But I feel like we say that every year –    In any case …   I’ve put together some predictions  for you, for whatever they’re worth –   First off, SBF - Sam Bankman Fried, the former billionaire and founder of the now bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX – gets convicted....

Conservatives target online ‘trafficking’ of abortion pills The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs has thrown abortion law into disarray and conservatives say there isn’t enough enforcement. The Washington Post reports that conservatives in states like Texas, where abortions are now banned, want internet providers to treat websites selling abortion pills the same way they treat child pornography.  Bankman-Fried arrested; SEC charges him with fraud Responding to a US federal government...

Bio Zeve Sanderson is the founding Executive Director of NYU's Center for Social Media and Politics. His research interests focus on measuring the diffusion and impacts of harmful online speech, as well as empirically testing the efficacy of interventions. He regularly writes for and speaks to academic, media, and government audiences. He is finishing his dissertation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Website LinkedIn Instagram   Resources Zeve Sanderson, J.N.and J.A.T. (2022) Musk's...

Groups file flurry of Section 230 briefs with the Supreme Court   What’s going on? Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields platforms like Google and Twitter from liability for content posted by internet users. Republicans and Democrats want the rule changed. It’s important to note that Section 230 protects only publishers of information. The central question here is – at which point do platforms lose their status as publishers and actually become creators of content? Once...

  Bio Vilas Dhar is the President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. An entrepreneur, technologist and human rights advocate, Vilas serves on the Advisory Council at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, as a Trustee of the Christensen Fund, Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Global AI Action Alliance, and an Expert Contributor to OECD.AI.   LinkedIn Website   Resources Last Mile Education Fund Education Design Fund AIEDU Dall-E The Age of AI...

Hey everybody, I’m Joe Miller and here’s what’s going on in the world of tech law & policy this week. The Federal Election Commission has adopted rules to regulate political advertising online.   Why is it important? For years, the FEC has required certain disclosures for political advertisements appearing in on broadcast media outlets. The updated rules will apply the same rules to online advertising. What doesn’t it cover? These new rules do not cover social media posts...

Adam Kovacevich: Balancing Tech, Business & Progressive Policymaking Bio Adam Kovacevich (Kuh-VACK-uh-VITCH) is the Founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, a new centre-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future. Before starting the Chamber of Progress, Adam served as Head of North America and Asia Pacific Government Relations for Lime, the shared scooter mobility company. Prior to that, Adam led Google’s U.S. policy strategy and external affairs team....

Ashkhen Kazaryan: Tech Policy, the New Congress, and the Supreme Court Bio Ashkhen Kazaryan is a tech policy expert. She manages and develops policy projects on free speech, content moderation, surveillance reform and the intersection of constitutional rights and technology. Ashkhen joined Facebook in November of 2020 as Content Policy Manager on the Content Regulation team for two years. Before that she was the Director of civil liberties at TechFreedom from July 2016 till November 2020....

Hey everybody, I’m Joe Miller and here’s what’s going on in the world of tech law & policy this week. It’s a lot. Where should we start? Let’s start with Twitter - which continues to meltdown after Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company last month to the tune of $44 billion. Employees are fleeing the company in droves after Elon challenged them with the ultimatum of taking either a three-month severage package or staying with the new “hard core” version of the company, whatever that...

Bio Chuck is one of the country’s foremost experts on all aspects of federal and state universal service programs. Chuck had a leadership role at the FCC in the implementation of the universal service provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Since joining WBK in 2001, he has helped clients craft policy recommendations in every universal service rulemaking at the FCC and in several states. He also fields compliance questions from clients on universal service contribution requirements,...

Hey everybody, I’m Joe Miller and here’s what’s going on in the world of tech law & policy this week. Regulators concerned about Twitter implosion   The Federal Trade Commission has expressed “deep concern” over Twitter’s implosion since Elon Musk took over the company last month. More key executives departed the company this week, leaving it with little to no institutional knowledge on staff that knows how Twitter’s underlying technology works. Among the resignations was Yoel...