Networks, the Internet, and Cloud Computing

Scholarly Publishing and its Discontents: An Economist’s Perspective on Dealing with Market Power and Its Consequences

Scholarly journals charge libraries high prices for access to academic articles. Activists protest such restrictions on access to knowledge. Some hoped that the Internet would improve access to academic publishing, but this effect is limited.

The Aisles Have Eyes: How Retailers Track Your Shopping, Strip Your Privacy, and Define Your Power

Increasingly, retailers use technologies such as smartphone apps to track and profile shoppers are they shop in retail stores. Retailers profile consumers and treat some differently than others. Most consumers are unaware of retailers’ tracking and profiling.

Understanding the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016

The Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 (CRFA) bars businesses from requiring their customers to agree not to post online reviews. These “anti-review” clauses prevented consumers from leaving feedback that would identify poorly run businesses.

Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election

Fake news stories, often produced to earn advertising revenue, are growing in importance. Consumers are more likely to believe articles that confirm their prior beliefs.

Causing Copyright

In deciding whether a creator is entitled to copyright protection, courts often consider whether the creator caused the work to be produced. Copyright law should develop a more coherent theory of causation.

The Sharing Economy and the Edges of Contract Law: Comparing U.S. and U.K. Approaches

Online platforms and apps like Uber allow work and business to be structured in new ways. Courts must consider how to classify new types of work to resolve disputes over wages and benefits.

What We Buy When We Buy Now

Many consumers are unaware that digital books, movies, or musical work cannot be transferred to others. Because consumers’ expectations are shaped in markets for tangible books, records, and CDs, sellers’ use of terms like “buy now” for digital media is deceptive.

The Song Remains the Same: What Cyberlaw Might Teach the Next Internet Economy

Regulation is not truly incompatible with innovation. Over time, businesses that once resisted regulation will welcome the involvement of government, and regulators will learn to adopt creative solutions to new problems, just as in the early days of the Internet.

Extended Collective Licensing to Enable Mass Digitization: A Critique of the U.S. Copyright Office Proposal

The Copyright Office has proposed that an extended collective license (ECL) be created to allow mass digitization of some copyrighted works. For several reasons, the Copyright Office plan is not workable.

Can an Algorithm be Agonistic? Ten Scenes from Life in Calculated Publics

Public spaces like YouTube use algorithms to search, rank, and recommend information. Algorithms produce “winners” in information contests, but with little visibility or accountability.