While district-controlled Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/“X” accounts can certainly be a great tool for engaging stakeholders – particularly Gen X and Millennial parents – it is important for board members and administrators...more
The United States Supreme Court will soon decide whether public officials may be liable for blocking constituents on social media. On October 31, 2023, the Court heard oral argument in O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier and Lindke...more
If you are considering filing a defamation lawsuit or other speech-based claim, you are likely aware that your claim may be challenged based upon free-speech principles or that the defendant may claim that their conduct is...more
Navigating the intricate balance between freedom of speech and the confines of a regulated profession is not easy these days, especially with the prevalence of social media. This was precisely the challenge the Ontario...more
As social media and K-12 education issues continue to evolve, on April 24, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case concerning an interesting, yet important issue: Under the First Amendment, when can elected...more
ChatGPT’s Impact on Education and Student Data Privacy - Data privacy professionals have characterized the data privacy risks associated with ChatGPT as a “nightmare.” In order to function, open artificial intelligence...more
Rodney Keister was challenging the University of Alabama’s grounds use policy, which requires individuals to obtain a permit before speaking publicly on campus. In his arguments, Keister asserted that the space he was using...more
On April 19, 2023, FERC announced it would hold a forum to discuss the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) capacity market. The Commissioner-led forum is scheduled for Thursday, June 15, 2023. There will be three panels to...more
Last week, I wrote about an unsuccessful challenge to the activities of the Office of Elections Cybersecurity within the California Secretary of State's office: Is The California Secretary of State Monitoring What You Publish...more
In 2018, the California legislature established a "ministry of truth" within the California Secretary of State's office - the Office of Elections Cybersecurity. By statute, the OEC has a duty “to monitor and counteract false...more
On February 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a public forum on its proposed rule that would, with limited exceptions, ban employers from using employee non-compete agreements and require rescission of...more
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey recently issued a decision regarding the limited First Amendment protections afforded to speakers who use offensive and disruptive speech at school board...more
The May 10, 2021 post The Donald Trump Twitter Case: Vacated and Dismissed as Moot by the Supreme Court reported how the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Knight First Amendment Inst. at Columbia University v. Trump, in which the...more
On August 11, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced proposed rulemaking pertaining to “commercial surveillance and lax data security.” However, the overall focus of the potential rulemaking is consumer privacy...more
A series of recent and dramatic developments have squarely raised the question of how much latitude the government has under the First Amendment to regulate social media platforms. It will likely not be long before this issue...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) held the final installment of their "listening tour" on May 12, 2022, focused on the firsthand effects of mergers and...more
As a part of the new initiative to revise the antitrust merger guidelines, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) announced on March 17, 2022 that the agencies will host...more
March 2021 brought two significant amendments to Russia’s Personal Data Law: one related to processing of publicly available personal data, and another increasing fines for violations of various data privacy requirements....more
The June 14, 2018 post “The President May Not Block Twitter Followers Because They Disagree With Him Politically” reported how the District Court in Knight First Amendment Inst. at Columbia University v. Trump, 302 F.Supp.3d...more
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s (Commerce) Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Office of Technology Evaluation will hold a virtual forum on April 8, 2021, to discuss risks and potential risk-mitigating policies for U.S....more
The Polish Ministry of Justice published a bill on the Protection of the Freedom of Speech on Social Media. The bill’s aim is to provide a legal framework to protect social media users from platform owners’ arbitrary...more
For years, a growing number of United States jurisdictions – such as California, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Tennessee – have been enacting (or refining) strong anti-SLAPP laws,...more
New California Law Addresses Prohibition on Serial Meetings on Social Media - California public officials could run afoul of the Brown Act if they communicate with legislative members of the same body on social media...more
An Arkansas school had an unwritten policy of restricting tabling to registered student organizations and school departments. At least generally, there was no problem with this policy. However, as applied to one particular...more
On August 19, 2020, in Marquardt v. Carlton, et al., No. 19-4223, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed summary judgment for the City of Cleveland on a former employee’s claim that the city had terminated...more