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Category Archives: Legislation

Big Tech foes launch ‘campaign-style’ initiative to push for antitrust legislation

Washington Post: “Tech giants in the past decade have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into lobbying, advertising, polling and research to advance their political interests in Washington. Now some of their top adversaries are forming a plan to use that same playbook to press Congress to pass bills that would place new limits on… Continue Reading

Law Journals, Biomedical Journals, and Restraint of Trade

Curfman, Gregory, Law Journals, Biomedical Journals, and Restraint of Trade (November 26, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3972379 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3972379 “Scholarly law journals permit manuscripts to be submitted to multiple law journals simultaneously, while scholarly biomedical journals generally require that manuscripts be submitted to a single journal at a time. This article compares and contrasts the… Continue Reading

The true cost of Amazon’s low prices

Vox/Recode: “On the heels of yet another year of record sales, Amazon is dealing with a couple of unwelcome updates in the new year. The Senate Judiciary Committee has announced it will soon be marking up the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, an antitrust bill targeting Amazon and other Big Tech companies. This follows… Continue Reading

Insurrection Index has 1404 records of those in the public trust who played a role in the insurrection

“Insurrection Index is a searchable database of records on individuals and organizations in positions of public trust who were involved in the deadly attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. As of January 2022, the Insurrection Index has over 1,000 records of those in public trust who played a role in the insurrection…Below is… Continue Reading

After the Riot – It’s been 100 days since the attack on the Capitol, and those who were inside still struggle with their memories

NBC News: “Frank Thorp V, April 16, 2021 – “When a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,  the world watched as the rioters entered the building, breaking windows and pushing through barriers. But it was more than just physical space that was violated. The seat of government was occupied by hundreds of lawmakers… Continue Reading

Global Privacy Control Popularity Grows as Legal Status Up in Air

BloombergLaw: “Global Privacy Control, a way for consumers to signal privacy preferences to a host of websites without manually reaching out to each one, is gaining traction. A handful of internet browsers offer the tool, and California’s attorney general indicated the tool could be used to comply with the state’s privacy law. But its ability… Continue Reading

White House AI Initiative Launches Public Research Support Tools

Route Fifty: “A new section of resources intended for artificial intelligence researchers was launched last Friday by the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office, with a goal of providing easy access to data sets and testbed environments for AI application training. The AI Researchers Portal—a program within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy—is the… Continue Reading

The World’s Most Profitable Traffic Jam

“Welcome to BIG, a newsletter about the politics of monopoly. If you’d like to sign up, you can do so here. Or just read on…Today’s issue is on an unusual type of story – it’s about how politics can work to fix a major social problem. Ten days ago, the House of Representatives passed a bill… Continue Reading

DC Attorney General Introduces Legislation to Stop Algorithmic Discrimination

EPIC: “[On December 9, 2021] District of Columbia Attorney General Karl A. Racine introduced landmark legislation to strengthen civil rights protections for DC residents and prohibit companies and institutions from using algorithms that produce biased or discriminatory results and lock individuals, especially members of vulnerable communities, out of critical opportunities, like jobs and housing. “At… Continue Reading

Law as Code: 
Introducing AustLII’s DataLex AI

Mowbray, Andrew and Greenleaf, Graham and Chung, Philip, Law as Code: 
Introducing AustLII’s DataLex AI (November 16, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3971919 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3971919 “AustLII, as a provider of free access to legal information, has a distinctive approach to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) which is called ‘DataLex’. This article introduces that approach, and… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Bill to Make PACER Free

Bloomberg Law – “The Senate Judiciary Committee approved bipartisan legislation Thursday designed to make U.S. court documents free to the general public. Committee members of both parties asked to be included as cosponsors of the measure (S. 2614) that would require the federal judiciary to create a new PACER system that would be free for… Continue Reading

Success in Criminal Legal Reforms, 2021

“Formerly incarcerated activists, lawmakers, and advocates achieved important changes in criminal justice policy this year to reduce mass incarceration, expand voting rights and advance racial justice. Success in Criminal Legal Reforms, 2021, by Nicole D. Porter, describes these key changes: Sentencing: Several states addressed extreme sentencing. Two states — Colorado and Illinois — addressed felony… Continue Reading