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This episode features Julio Sharp-Wasserman, Former STLR Notes Editor, talking with Evan Mascagni about Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs. A SLAPP is a non-meritorious lawsuit brought to retaliate against a defendant’s constitutionally-protected speech, or to silence a defendant from criticizing the plaintiff, even when such criticism is completely legal. Evan Mascagni is the Policy Director of the Public Participation Project, which is working to get congress to pass a federal Anti-SLAPP statute. Evan is a former attorney turned documentary filmmaker and First Amendment policy advocate. Prior to moving to New York City and starting a film production company, Player Piano, he was an attorney with the California Anti-SLAPP Project, a public interest law firm and policy organization dedicated to fighting SLAPPs in California. We’d love your help in making this podcast better. If you like what we’re doing, please subscribe, rate, and give a review on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d also love to hear from you. Please send us an email at STLRpodcast@gmail.com. Links Discussed in the Show https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190319/10212841825/rep-devin-nunes-sues-internet-cow-saying-mean-things-about-him-online.shtml https://anti-slapp.org/ https://www.protecttheprotest.org/ Nothing in this podcast should be considered legal advice. If you think you need legal assistance, consult a lawyer, not a podcast. Opening and Closing Themes by Jonathan Coulton ("The Future Soon" and "Ikea") [...]Read More...

This episode features Lloyd Lee, STLR Staffer, talking with Vivek Narayanadas and Andy Dale about changing spaces in data privacy in the US and abroad. We’d love your help in making this podcast better. If you like what we’re doing, please subscribe, rate, and give a review on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d also love to hear from you. Please send us an email at STLRpodcast@gmail.com. Nothing in this podcast should be considered legal advice. If you think you need legal assistance, consult a lawyer, not a podcast. Opening and Closing Themes by Jonathan Coulton ("The Future Soon" and "Ikea") [...]Read More...

This episode features Isha Agarwal, STLR Staffer, talking with Dr. Thomas Holland about DNA and the Fourth Amendment As DNA analysis becomes more ubiquitous in our lives and in the criminal justice system, it is important to examine the current legal landscape of abandoned evidence in the context of genetic data. Abandoned evidence has a long and rich judicial history, from Russian spies to prison barbers. But abandoned DNA may not fit so neatly into this mold under the Fourth Amendment, and as DNA analysis begins to come straight to our doorstep, we must also analyze what privacy protections we do and don't have. Dr. Holland’s article can be found in our most recent issue. To find that article, and all our content examining the intersection of science, technology, and the law, visit our website, STLR.org. We’d love your help in making this podcast better. If you like what we’re doing, please subscribe, rate, and give a review on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d also love to hear from you. Please send us an email at STLRpodcast@gmail.com. Nothing in this podcast should be considered legal advice. If you think you need legal assistance, consult a lawyer, not a podcast. Opening and Closing Themes by Jonathan Coulton ("The Future Soon" and "Ikea") [...]Read More...

This episode features Sam Matthews, STLR Executive Submissions Editor, discussing the constitutionality of compulsory vaccine laws Professor Vincent Racaniello of Columbia University and Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of Berkeley Law School. [...]Read More...

This episode features Jennifer Ange, STLR Staffer, talking with Dr. Moran Yemini about the freedom of speech in the new digital age. In his recent article published on STLR, Dr. Yemini argues that the digital age presents a new irony of free speech. The popular concept that the Internet promotes freedom of expression may be too simplistic. In his view, the Internet, while it strengthens our capacity of expression, also limits the liberty aspect of expression. Dr. Yemini received his Ph.D. in Law from the University of Haifa, where he is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for Cyber, Law & Policy. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School, and at the Digital Life Initiative at Cornell Tech. Dr Yemini’s article THE NEW IRONY OF FREE SPEECH can be found in our most recent issue. To find that article, and all our content examining the intersection of science, technology, and the law, please visit our website, STLR.org. We’d love your help in making this podcast better. If you like what we’re doing, please subscribe, rate, and give a review on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d also love to hear from you. Please send us an email at STLRpodcast@gmail.com. Nothing in this podcast should be considered legal advice. If you think you need legal assistance, consult a lawyer, not a podcast. Opening and Closing Themes by Jonathan Coulton ("The Future Soon" and "Ikea") [...]Read More...

Section 230 prevents some online intermediaries, such as operators of websites, from being sued for the actions of third parties. For example, if someone uploads a defamatory video to YouTube, the person being defamed could sue the creator of the video, but couldn’t sue YouTube itself. Julio argues that, in the specific context of speech torts, there are other protections for online intermediaries, and the results of lawsuits against them might be the same, even if Section 230 didn’t exist. [...]Read More...

The Columbia Science and Technology Law Review (STLR) is starting a Podcast! This podcast will feature a mix of in-depth interviews with authors published in our journal and surveys of legal topics from industry experts. Our first episode will be released later this month. It will feature an interview with STLR note author Julio Sharp-Wasserman about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, possibly the most important law you may never have heard of. Listen to our introduction to learn more, and stay tuned to this feed for all of our episodes, coming soon! Opening and Closing Themes by Jonathan Coulton ("The Future Soon" and "Ikea") [...]Read More...