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Advanced Telecommunications Topics:Case Studies in Information, Communications and EntertainmentCommunications 489w (Spring, 2018)Instructor: Professor Rob Frieden 102 Carnegie Building 863-7996; E-mail: rmf5@psu.edu Class Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 12:05 p.m.–1:20 p.m. 024 Carnegie BuildingOffice Hours: Monday and Wednesday 9:00-11:00 a.m. and by appointment About This CourseYour telecommunications faculty believes that a capstone course should provide an opportunity to crystalize and master many skills introduced in other courses. We have devised several courses with different emphasis, but all of them will have offer you a higher tier of substantive coverage. This course will examine up to the minute case studies in how information, communications and entertainment (“ICE”) markets are changing as a result of entrepreneurial visions, technological innovations and other factors. We will assess recent business models, regulatory initiatives, court cases, consumer protection concerns and challenges to what society needs to achieve digital literacy. Topics include convergence, retirement of legacy technologies, the Internet of Things, the effect of computer algorithms on consumers, network neutrality, new business models for content distribution and the growing surveillance society. Please note that this course contains a w designator meaning that many of your deliverables have a writing intensive component. By enrolling in this course, you agree to prepare many written documents of a caliber commensurate with an upper level undergraduate college course. This upper level, “capstone” course will challenge you.? I assume that if you enroll in this course you have a keen interest in the subject matter and have the willingness to work hard to master complex and interdisciplinary materials.? By enrolling in this course, you agree to participate in it and to comply with all rules and regulations of this University. Additionally, you agree to: take notes, refrain from unnecessary use of electronic devices, ask and answer questions and use the Internet for applied research and study.?You must attend each and every class, take notes, pay attention, refrain from multi-tasking and make this course a priority, because we will flesh out the assigned materials and few if any students already have expertise in law.? You CANNOT rely solely on the class notes and review materials I provide you. ReadingsThe readings for this course are mostly relatively short online articles, and occasionally longer PDF files, all of which you can access via an online version of this syllabus. Additionally, you should stay apprised of current events in information, communications and entertainment marketplace.You have no expensive textbook to purchase. Attendance and Class ParticipationThis course has an enrollment cap designed to promote robust interaction. As a further inducement for you to attend, ask and answer questions and to participate, a class involvement score will apply to your overall grade for the course.Please not the following University Policy: The only valid reasons for missing class are for regularly scheduled extracurricular activities and “legitimate but unavoidable reasons” per Rule 42-27. “Requests for missing class […] due to reasons that are based on false claims may be considered violations of the policy on Academic Integrity.” Procedures for submitting a prior excuse can be found in Policy and Procedure E-11. For more information on these official policies, please see: and in class, you should turn off all electronic devices so you can concentrate and not attempt to multi-task. Students who choose to take notes with laptops and similar devices are welcome to do so, but must refrain from web surfing, texting, gaming, and other distractions. Assigned QuestionsThe course has 11 homework-oriented assignments linked to the required readings as augmented by web-based searches. You should prepare a 1-3 page response to the questions making sure that you summarize and evaluate the issues, controversies and conflicts presented. Your responses are due on a specific date by 12 noon if you do not attend class on a due date.If we will have 2 sessions on a topic, in the first class I will provide background and address the main points contained in the assigned readings. In the second class, we will address the assigned questions and pursue a discussion of the issues raised by them. If you make a good-faith effort to complete all 11 assignments, I will “kick out” the 2 assignments with the lowest scores. If you do not complete all 11 assignment, I will kick out the lowest score of your completed assignments. Short, In-Class QuizzesReluctantly, I have concluded that a single final paper or exam, representing 40%+ of the final grade, presents a grave risk that some students will fail to achieve even the minimum final grade needed to satisfy the writing course requirement. Accordingly, the course will have 4 short, in-class quizzes, preceded by a “pre-test” representing the kinds of questions you will see in actual quizzes. Each quiz will have fill-in-the-blank, short and long answers.If you take all 4 quizzes, I will kick out the lowest score. Paper Project in Lieu of 4th Test You will have the opportunity of preparing a comprehensive paper with extensive citations, instead of taking the last test. Students opting for this option also will briefly outline their findings on April 19th. Your substantial, fully researched term paper can cover a topic of your choice in consultation with me to ensure the subject has an appropriate fit with course objectives. You should prepare an outline and work on a rough draft throughout the semester. Your paper should contain significant references and provide evidence that you reviewed the available academic and applied literature with an eye toward achieving full mastery of the subject. To ensure timely completion of this major project, several deliverables will track your progress: Topic selection and proposal (2-3 paragraphs): Due no later than Feb. 15thPreliminary outline: Feb. 21stDraft Bibliography/Reference List: March16thDelivery of the final paper: May 1st 5 p.m. Missed Assignments, Quizzes, Final Exams and Paper Delivery DeadlinesThe course deadlines are firm and not negotiable. You have no “make-up” opportunities, except under extraordinary circumstances. If you believe you deserve a time extension for failing to meet any deadline, I will need to hear from you on, or before the deadline date. Bear in mind that built into the course grading system are opportunities for you to drop the lowest scores. Extraordinary circumstances occur in rare instances. Understand that you might think you are entitled to a makeup opportunity or delay, but a reasonable person would conclude that you are angling for an unfair advantage over everyone else in the class that met the deadline. You should not count on an automatic extension or time, particularly if you seek more than one. If you have plans that preclude meeting a deadline, your kick out opportunity can apply, or you can notify me in advance. Grade CalculationI will calculate your final grade based on the following division for students not opting to prepare a paper:Top 10 Responses to the 11Assigned Questions: 25% 4 Quizzes: 65%Class Participation:10%For students opting to prepare a Paper:Top 10 Responses to the 11Assigned Questions: 25% 3 Quizzes: 30%Paper35%Class Participation:10%Occasionally, I may offer other extra credit opportunities throughout the semester typically by asking a simple question to confirm completion of homework assignments. The final letter grade for the course will be based on Penn State’s official grading scale:93 or higher A; 90 – 92 A–; 87 – 89B+; 83 – 86 B; 80 – 82 B–; 77 – 79 C+; 70 – 76 C; 60 – 69 D; less than 59 F. Office Visits and E-MailI have an “open door” policy during office hours and can meet with you at other times by appointment. I will announce or send via email any necessary changes to office hours on a given date. Because of state/federal privacy laws and University policies, I cannot discuss your grades, or test results during class sessions.You can reach me by telephone (814) 863-7996 or email only (rmf5@psu.edu). Please note that I will communicate with you in class, or via the Penn State web mail system. Failure to check your Webmail account is no excuse for a lack of knowledge about course requirements. Academic IntegrityAs students studying communications, you should understand and avoid plagiarism (presenting the work of others as your own.) A discussion of plagiarism, with examples, can be found at . The rules and policies regarding academic integrity should be reviewed by every student, and can be found online at , and in the College of Communications document, “Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures.” Any student with a question about academic integrity or plagiarism is strongly encouraged to discuss it with the instructor.Note to Students with DisabilitiesPenn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources Web site provides contact information for every Penn State campus: . For further information, please visit the Student Disability Resources Web site: order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: . If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations. Jan. 9th Introduction and Syllabus Rundown Please register for live stream access to the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 11thBackground on Technological and Marketplace Convergence Fierce Wireless, Predictions: 2018 and Beyond; available at: MaterialMary Meeker, Internet Trends 2017; (see especially slide nos.29,32,46,53,65,66,81,82,114,140, 153, 154, 170, 171, 177, 179, 290, 322, 353).Jan. 16, 18, 23, 25Convergence—Internet Protocol Television and Other Over the Top Applications (no live instruction on Jan 23 and 25)HowRoku Works; Antenna Secret Screen Wifi Speed Optimization HD; ; KPMG, How Over-the-Top distribution is changing the face of media companies (n.d.); available at: Narang, Concept Series: What is the Difference between OTT and IPTV (2013), , IPTV and OTT Basics (October 11, 2015); available at: Technology, World Intellectual Property Organization, Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, Current Market and Technology Trends in the Broadcasting Sector, (May, 2015); available at: (read pages pages 1-39 only)Additional MaterialHans-Bredow-Inst. for Media Research & Institute for Information Law, Study on the Future of European Audiovisual Regulation (2015); available at: (due Jan. 25th)1)Provide a short definition for Over the Top Application and Internet Protocol Television.2)Explain how Congress, courts and the FCC use media specific models to determine the proper level of government oversight.3)What existing media oversight model should apply to IPTV. If you consider no existing model appropriate, briefly outline a new one. Jan. 30Technological Obsolescence—Replacing the Copper Wire PSTN Federal Communications Commission, Technology Transitions, GN Docket No. 13-5, Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking(Aug. 2015); available at: (read pages 1-9)Federal Communications Commission, PSTN Transition Issues (n.d.); available at: Labs, PSTN Industry Analysis and Service Provider Strategies: Synopsis (2013); available at: Assignment (due Jan. 30)1)Identify any operational and technological limitations that could occur when local exchange carriers adopt a wireless replacement to the conventional copper wire, Public Switched Telephone Network.2)What consumer safeguards should the FCC establish to help achieve the transition to new voice telephone technologies without inconveniencing subscribers of services that will be retired? Feb. 1 Pretest Feb. 6First TestFeb. 8Test Review and Start of Next ModuleFeb. 8, 13Internet of Things Including SmallsatsAT&T, What You Need to Know about IoT (n.d.);available at: Telecommunications Union and Cisco, Harnessing the Internet of Things for Global Development (n.d.); available at: Carter, The orbital internet: Could fleets of CubeSats bring global web access? (Jan. 16, 2016); available at: , Are we there yet? Looking Back at a Decade Of Disruption of the Space Market Using Cubesats (2016); available at: MaterialSmall Satellite Conference, Ms. Gwynne Shotwell Keynote Address Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX (2016); available at: Insider Web pages on IoT; available at: Society, Rough Guide to IETF 97: Internet of Things (2016); available at:; see also, Karen Rose, Scott Eldridge, Lyman Chapin, Internet of Things An Overview (Oct. 2015); available at: . Ovidiu Vermisian & Dr. Peter Friess (eds), Digitising the Industry - Internet of Things Connecting the Physical, Digital and Virtual Worlds (2016); available at: U.S. Department of Commerce, Internet Policy Task Force & Digital Economy Leadership Team, Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things (January 2017); available at: , Internet of Things Web site; available at: Commission, Digital Single Market, Digital Economy & Society, Internet of Things web site; available at: Trade Commission, Internet of Things—Privacy and Security in a Connected World (Jan. 2015); available at: Italia S.r.L and TXT e-solutions S.P.A., Definition of a Research and Innovation Policy Leveraging Cloud Computing and IoT Combination (2015); available at: (due Feb. 13th)1)What, if any, privacy rights, do people have against the unconsented photography, imaging and other sensing performed by smallsats passing above property?2)At what point above ground does a property right expire? Feb. 15Mission Critical Decision Making by AlgorithmDan Hurley, Can an Algorithm Tell When Kids Are in Danger?, THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (Jan. 7, 2018); available at: Diakopoulos, We need to know the algorithms the government uses to make important decisions about us, The Conversation (May 23, 2016); available at: James, Congressional Research Service, Risk and Needs Assessment in the Criminal Justice System (Oct. 13, 2015); available at: MaterialChristian Sandvig, Kevin Hamilton, Karrie Karahalios, & Cedric Langbort, Auditing Algorithms: Research Methods for Detecting Discrimination on Internet Platforms (May 22, 2014); available at: Research Center, Code-Dependent: Pros and Cons of the Algorithm Age (Feb. 8, 2017); available at: Hickman, How algorithms rule the world, THE GUARDIAN (July 1, 2013); available at: O'Neil, How algorithms rule our working lives, THE GUARDIAN (Sept. 1, 2016); available at: , Civil Rights, Big Data, and Our Algorithmic Future (2014); available at: Schiller, Algorithms Control Our Lives: Are They Benevolent Rulers Or Evil Dictators? FastCompany web site (Feb. 21, 2017); available at: (due Feb. 15th)1)Provide examples of how a computer algorithm can result in unlawful discrimination.2)What legislative or regulatory safeguards could remedy such unlawful discrimination? Feb. 20, 22An Open Internet? (Network Neutrality) Technological and market convergence present the prospect for even more consolidation and concentration in the ICE marketplace, particularly in the business of providing broadband subscribers access to the Internet cloud. While the FCC initially opted not to regulate Internet Service Providers it has changed its mind in light of identified anticompetitive practices and consumer harm. The FCC reclassified broadband Internet access as common carrier, telecommunications service, but the new management vows to reverse this classification. Summary of U.S. Telecom Assn. v. FCC, ____F.3d ____, No. 15-1063, slip op. (D.C. Cir June 14, 2016); available at: Oliver, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Net Neutrality (HBO) (June 1, 2014):, News Release, FCC Takes Action to Restore Internet Freedom (Dec. 14, 2017); , Myth vs. Fact: Chairman Pai's Restoring Internet Freedom Order (Nov. 28, 2017); , Fact Sheet, Understanding Chairman Pai’s Proposal to Dismantle Net NeutralityPrepared by the Office of FCC Commissioner Clyburn (Nov. 22, 2017) , What Happens Next with Net Neutrality?, Prepared by the Office of FCC Commissioner Clyburn (Dec. 21, 2017) MaterialBEREC Guidelines on the Implementation by National Regulators of European Net Neutrality Rules, BoR (16) 127 (Aug. 2016); available at: ; Factsheet; available at: Ard, Beyond Network Neutrality: How Zero Rating Can (Sometimes) Advance User Choice, Innovation, and Democratic Participation, 75 University of Maryland Law Review 984 (2016); available at: J. Carrillo, Having Your Cake and Eating It Too? Zero Rating, Net Neutrality and International Law, 19 Stanford Technology Law Review xx (2016); available at: Frieden, The Mixed Blessing in Subsidized Internet Access (Nov. 2016);available at: (due Feb. 22st)Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) have started to offer new broadband service pricing plans that reduce, or eliminate subscriber out of pocket costs. For example, TMobile and other wireless carriers will refrain from metering and debiting from a monthly data plan the streaming of music and video content from specified sources. In developing countries Facebook offers free access to a “curated” sliver of content available from the Internet.On its face, such arrangements appear to offer consumers, welfare-enhancing, free-rider opportunities in much the same way as advertising underwrites consumption of broadcast television content without upfront payment, or the obligation to buy the products and service advertised. However, opponents have expressed concerns that so-called zero rating and sponsored data plans upset the marketplace for Internet-mediated content. They worry that underwriters, such as Facebook, can subsidize broadband access to a limited, “walled garden” of content thereby extending their market penetration while handicapping the prospects for market entrants that lack funds to pay for prioritization of their content.For your understanding of Network Neutrality, should the Federal Communications Commission consider zero rating and sponsored data arrangements as unlawful paid prioritization, or lawful price discrimination? Feb. 27 Pre-TestMarch 1 2d QuizMarch 13Test Review and Start of Next ModuleMarch 13, 15New Models for Content Distribution and the Power in PlatformsJoshua Benton, A wave of distributed content is coming — will publishers sink or swim? (March 24, 2015); available at: Public Radio, The Source: Big Data, Big Stealing, Big Trouble For Established Entertainment, Interview with Rahul Telang, professor of Information Systems and Management at Carnegie Mellon University, co-author of the new book “Streaming, Sharing Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment” (Sep. 15, 2016); available at: Cinema Report, The Show Must Go On, excerpt from Chapter 11 of Michael Smith & Rahul Telang, Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment (Sep. 15, 2016); available at: investors too optimistic about Amazon?, THE ECONOMIST (March 25, 2017); available at: MaterialGady Epstein, Mass entertainment in the digital age is still about blockbusters, not endless choice, THE ECONOMIST (Feb. 11, 2017); available at: M. Khan, Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox, 126 YALE LAW JOURNAL, No. 3, 564-907 (Jan. 2017); available at: (due March 15th)1)Research the meaning of linear television, sometimes referred to as “appointment television.” Explain how consumers—particularly so-called early adopters—have no patience for old models of content distribution.2)Provide definitions for time shifting, device shifting and format shifting in the context of new content distribution models. 3)Explain the following concepts: cord cutting, cord nevers and skinny bundles.4)You currently subscribe to the local cable television company that offers an enhanced bundle of 150 channels at a monthly total cost of $94.75. You consider this rate outrageously high in light of the fact that only about 15 channels satisfy 95% of your video interests. What alternatives exist that can come close to that 95% satisfaction level at a lower cost? In you answer, please apply a broadband subscription cost of $50 a month.March 20Technologies of the Surveillance Society (no assignments)Additional MaterialAmerican Civil Liberties Union, Community Control over Police Surveillance: Technology 101(n.d.); available at: , A Primer on Surveillance and Intelligence Gathering in the City of Cleveland (2017); available at: Meyer, How the Government Surveils Cellphones: A Primer, THE ATLANTIC (Sep. 2015); available at: Maass, Law Enforcement Tech: A Civilian Oversight Primer, Electronic Freedom Foundation (Oct. 2015); available at: 22Risks and Rewards of the Surveillance SocietyNick Bilton, Bits, The New York Times, The Pros and Cons of a Surveillance Society (July 16, 2013); available at: O'Brien, Ryan Budish, Rob Faris, Urs Gasser and Tiffany Lin, Berkman Kline Center, Privacy and Cybersecurity Research Briefing (Sep. 26, 2016); available at: Research, The Emergence of Cybersecurity Law (Feb. 2015); available at: States Department of Defense, The DOD Cyber Strategy (April, 2015); available at: MaterialPalo Alto Networks, Cybersecurity for Dummies available at: .Cybersecurity/For-Dummies?.P.W. Singer and Allan Friedman, Cybersecurity and Cyberwar—What Everyone Needs to Know,New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).The Leadership Conference, Civil Rights Principles for the Era of Big Data (n.d.); available at: Economics, Social Media Valuation and the Value of a User (2014); available at: A. Haas, Brad J. Sarna and Jordan R. Salins, Valuation of Social Media Data: What's a Like/ Follower/ Retweet Worth? (Fall, 2015); available at: (due March 22th )1)Please research social media subscription agreements and identify the privacy rights one has to give up to subscribe. In you answer, please block and copy the exact language.2)Identify the monthly or annual value attributable to broadband subscribers’ consumption patterns that can be “mined” and processed.3)Many social network and web executives dismiss privacy expectations as “old skool” and impractical given the advertiser support required to offer “free” content. Explain how you agree or disagree. March 27Internet Intermediary LiabilitySection 230 of the Communications Decency Act confers near absolute liability exemption to intermediaries that provide a transmission conduit for harmful content. The Act specifies that “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” (47 U.S.C. § 230). In application this provides a liability “safe harbor” to online intermediaries that host or republish speech that causes harm (a tort), such as defamation, or facilitates criminal conduct.Online classified advertising ventures, such as (and previously Craigslist), provide an effective and very low cost vehicle for promoting prostitution with thinly veiled promotions of “escort” opportunities. Congress enacted Section 230 to support innovation, First Amendment expression and incubation of the Internet free of the duty to filter and monitor every message traversing a network. Now, Section 230 can inadvertently support the exploitation of people, including their trafficking and enslavement.Has Section 230 outlived its usefulness? Might there be a middle ground that eliminates a total liability exemption when intermediaries know, or should know that their site facilitates the commission of crimes?Dune Lawrence, Fighting for the Right to Run Sex Ads, BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK (Oct. 3, 2016); available at: for Democracy and Technology, Shielding the Messengers: Protecting Platformsfor Expression and Innovation (Dec. 2012); available at: firms’ legal immunity is under threat, THE ECONOMIST (Feb. 11, 2017); available at: MaterialKaty Noeth, Extending ISP Immunity to the Sexual Exploitation of Children, 61 FED. COMM> L.J. 765 (2009)available at: Thompson, Beyond Gatekeeping: The Normative Responsibility of Internet Intermediaries 18 VAND. J. ENT. & TECH. L. 783 (Summer, 2016)Steven B. Taylor, Immunity for Child Sex Trafficking Extended to : Doe Ex Rel. Roe v. , LLC, 2016 19 SMU Sci. & Tech. L. Rev. 79 Andrew P. Bolson, Flawed But Fixable: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act at 20, 42 Rutgers Computer & Tech. L.J (2016) Vanessa S. Browne-Barbour, Losing Their License to Libel: Revisiting § 230 Immunity, 30 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 1505 (2015)Julie E. Cohen, The Zombie First Amendment, 56 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1119 (2015) Assignment (due March 27th)1)What is meant by safe harbor in the context of a federal law?2)What law creates the safe harbor discussed above?3)What kind of safe harbor does the law provide?4)Does the law convert ISP intermediaries into public utility, common carriers? 5)How could this law end up protecting companies like even when it provides the link used to promote child prostitution? Be sure to include First Amendment considerations. March 29Pre-TestApril 3th3rd QuizApril 5thTest Review and Start of Next ModuleApril 5, 10An increasingly Uncivil Society--On-Line Defamation, or Lawful Exercise of First Amendment Protected Expression?Trigger Warning: This assignment contains harsh language and vile expression. If this assignment presents too much of an emotional burden on you, please notify me and I will offer you an alternative assignment.Twitter permanently suspended the account of conservative Breitbart editor and provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos for vicious abuse directed at actor Leslie Jones, one of the four stars of the Ghostbusters remake movie featuring a female cast. the terms of service contract for Twitter accounts authorize the unilateral termination, some assert that the “permanent suspension” muzzles Mr. Yiannopoulos’ First Amendment protected speech rights. controversy has triggered much emotion and hurt feelings. For our purposes, we should investigate in terms of the law of defamation and the facts. Additional MaterialFindlaw, Defamation, Libel, and Slander: Background (n.d.); available at: ; Elements of Libel and Slander (n.d.); available at: ; Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (n.d.); available at: ; NIED: Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress (n.d.); available at: (due April 10th)1)Identify the elements of defamation.2)Provide insights on whether using the Internet as a medium affects whether and how a plaintiff can prove defamation. Consider the effect of anonymity.3)Based on your review of the facts, and as much empirical evidence as you can tolerate by examining exactly what Mr. Yiannopoulos posted on Twitter, do you consider him as having defamed Ms. Jones?4)Does Mr. Yiannopoulos have greater freedom, flexibility and “breathing space” to criticize Ms. Jones, based on celebrity status?5)Does the law hold Mr. Yiannopoulos responsible for the possibly defamatory tweets of others?6)Do you think Twitter can treat this matter as a violation of its subscription agreement? (available at: )7)Would a simple “rough justice” remedy be achieved if Ms. Jones “averted her eyes” and simply closed her Twitter account as well as avoided reading the tweets of critics? See 12Social Media and Its Role in Journalism--Facebook News Feeds and Claims of Systematic Bias and FakenessFacebook has become a significant source of news, particularly for Millennials and heavy users of its social networking site. Indeed Facebook may constitute the primary—if not only—source of news for many people. Michael Nunez, Former Facebook Workers: We Routinely Suppressed Conservative News, (May 9, 2016); Zeynep Tufekc, The Real Bias Built In at Facebook, THE NEW YORK TIMES (May 19, 2016); Osofsky, Facebook V.P. Global Operations, Information About Trending Topics (May 12, 2016); Oremus, Who Controls Your Facebook Feed?, Slate (Jan. 3, 2016); Zeynep Tufekci, Mark Zuckerberg Is in Denial, THE NEW YORK TIMES (Nov. 15, 2016); available at: Benkler: The Right-Wing Media Ecosystem (April 7, 2017); available at: . Additional Material Wired Magazine, New-In-Crisis, web site; available at: Zuckerberg, Building Global Community, Facebook post (Feb. 16, 2017); available at: LaFrance, The Mark Zuckerberg Manifesto Is a Blueprint for Destroying Journalism, THE ATLANTIC (Feb. 17, 2017); available at: (due April 12th)1)Are web-based sources of content fundamentally biased?2)What can consumers do to acquire a complete and unbiased understanding of current events?3)What societal problems can arise if broadband subscribers willingly subscribe to sites and access content that support a particular point of view, e.g., liberal vs. conservative; Republican vs. Democratic?April 17Social Media and Privacy Rights--Hulk Hogan v. Gawker: Invasion of Privacy, or Revenge Litigation?Terry Bollea, a well-known professional wrestler known as The Hulk, successfully sued the social media web site Gawker for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress in posting a private video of The Hulk engaged in intimate relations with the wife of a close friend. This case would provide another example of the stress between social media’s conditional First Amendment rights and celebrities’ reasonable expectation of privacy. However, there are significant factors that make this case special. The Hulk received about $10 million in financial assistance to bring suit from Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and billionaire who was “outed” as being gay by Gawker.Mr. Thiel claims that his motivation in underwriting the litigation stemmed from punishing Gawker from getting attention by bullying people even when there was no connection with the public interest. Others contend that he operated out of spite and revenge.The jury awarded The Hulk $140 million in damages, subject to reduction by the presiding judge. If there is time, we will also discuss the law and ethics of revenge porn. See Margaret Talbot, The Attorney Fighting Revenge Porn, THE NEW YORKER (Dec. 5, 2016)available at: MaterialFindlaw, What Is Invasion of Privacy? (n.d.); available at: T. Nutini, and Luke S. Smith, Perfect Civil Enforcement? Litigation Financing in the Wake of Gawker Media v. Bollea, 18 TRANSACTIONS: THE TENNESSEE JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LAW 169 (Fall, 2016)Deidré A. Keller, Copyright to the Rescue: Should Copyright Protect Privacy? 20 UCLA JOURNAL OF LAW & TECHNOLOGY 1 (2016) Christopher C. French, Sex, Videos, and Insurance: How Gawker Could Have Avoided Financial Responsibility for the $140 Million Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Verdict, 90 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW POSTSCRIPT 101 (2016) Derek E. Bambauer, Exposed, 98 MINNESOTA LAW REVIEW 2025 (June, 2014)Jeffrey Toobin, Gawker’s Demise and the Trump-Era Threat to the First Amendment, THE NEW YORKER (Dec. 19-26, 2016); (Due April 17th)1)Identify the elements of invasion of privacy involving a minor celebrity/minor public figure. 2)Does the plaintiff in a privacy invasion case lose the right to sue and recover damages when the cost of litigation is underwritten by a third part with possibly ulterior motives, e.g., retaliation for their exercise of First Amendment protected journalistic inquiry.3)More fundamentally how similar or different are privacy invasion cases correctly disclosing the sexual orientation of a minor public figure and releasing a video recording of an explicit nature involving a minor public figure? April 19th 5-10 Minute Presentations by Students Opting for Paper April 24th Pre-TestApril 26th4th Quiz ................
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