October 27, 2020

tl;dr - Online Intermediaries and “Know Your Business Customer” Requirements

Julian Morris & Kristian Stout

It comes as no surprise to anyone that illegal conduct occurs online. Unfortunately, the individuals and businesses engaging in illegal activity may avoid detection by using tools that hide their identity. This makes enforcement difficult or even impossible.

Innovation & The New Economy

September 12, 2019

What’s the Harm of Targeted Ads on Children’s Content Anyway?

Ben Sperry

The shift in oversight responsibility from parents to the FTC will likely lead to less-effective oversight, more difficult user interfaces, less children’s programming, and higher costs for everyone — all without obviously mitigating any harm in the first place.

July 30, 2019

Municipal Revenue Extraction Should Not Stand in the Way of Next Generation Broadband

Kristian Stout

Advanced broadband networks are hot topics, but little attention is paid to the critical investments in infrastructure necessary to make these networks a reality. The FCC’s proposed 621 Order is an important measure to help providers deploy high speed broadband across a fragmented municipal regulatory environment.

July 15, 2019

There’s Nothing “Conservative” About Trump’s Views on Free Speech and the Regulation of Social Media

Ben Sperry

Despite the simplistic narrative tying President Trump’s vision of the world to conservatism, there is nothing conservative about his views on the First Amendment and how it applies to social media companies.

Data Security & Privacy

July 11, 2019

Section 230 Principles for Lawmakers and a Note of Caution as Trump Convenes his “Social Media Summit”

Geoffrey A. Manne

This morning a diverse group of more than 75 academics, scholars, and civil society organizations — including ICLE and several of its academic affiliates — published a set of seven “Principles for Lawmakers” on liability for user-generated content online, aimed at guiding discussions around potential amendments to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

Data Security & Privacy

May 2, 2019

The ICANN Board’s Important Test of Independence: .Amazon

Kristian Stout

One of the main concerns I had during the IANA transition was the extent to which the newly independent organization would be able to behave impartially, implementing its own policies and bylaws…

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

December 31, 2016

Worldwide business means worldwide accountability, even on the Internet

Kristian Stout

There is a lot at stake in the struggle to control the proliferation of illicit material online. On one hand, criminal rings use intermediaries to traffic in illegal pharmaceuticals and…

Innovation & The New Economy

May 16, 2016

Level Heads Continue to Prevail: MPAA to be a “Trusted Notifier” With Radix

Kristian Stout

As we noted in our issue brief on the impending ICANN transition, given the vast scope of the problem, voluntary relationships between registries, registrars and private industry will be a…

Intellectual Property

March 17, 2016

IN ICANN WE TRUST: ASSURING ACCOUNTABLE INTERNET GOVERNANCE

Kristian Stout & Geoffrey A. Manne & Ben Sperry

"It’s no surprise to anyone that illegal activity happens online. What may be surprising, however, is that one of the central figures in administering core Internet functions is deeply ambivalent (at best) about its role in preventing illicit online activity..."

Innovation & The New Economy