HTLJ
Algorithmic Price Fixing and Antitrust
On May 22, 2024, the FBI raided Cortland Management’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] Cortland is a property management monolith, renting out over 85,000 units in thirteen states, and is currently under investigation for fixing the rent prices of their units via algorithm provided by RealPage, a software and consulting firm.[2] RealPage’s algorithm gathers market data … Continue Reading
Do You Own Your Cells? Genomics and Privacy Laws
We are all tired of seeing the “accept all cookies” or “do not share or sell my personal data” options when we visit websites. Sometimes we might go through and “deny” every option, and other times out of laziness or indifference, we just select “accept all” to save ourselves the effort. But why does this … Continue Reading
How the FTC Noncompete Ban Impacts Big Tech
The FTC proposed a rule that narrowly passed to ban most employers from using noncompete clauses in hiring.[1] While it does not go into effect immediately (in about 120 days), this approval will have massive implications on the job market, economy, and overall regulation practices moving forward.[2] Noncompete clauses are a provision that prevents employees … Continue Reading
Cryptocurrency and Law: 2024 Outlook
With the rise in trade of cryptocurrencies since 2020, the United States Government has introduced multiple bills to place guardrails on the emerging cryptocurrency sector as a security asset. The Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA) provided regulatory clarity for supervising agencies and a basic tax structure as a bipartisan effort to outline the rise of … Continue Reading
Generative Artificial Intelligence: The Necessity of Establishing a Legal Framework
The emergence of artificial intelligence as a buzzword––catapulted by newly available generative AI algorithms for public usage such as ChatGPT––has brought learning algorithms to the forefront of public attention.[1] Artificial intelligence (AI) is an umbrella term for computers that are trained to perform specific tasks; to be clear, we do not yet have truly sentient … Continue Reading
Artificial Intelligence and Data Privacy
Introduction Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis proffered the concept of an individual’s protection in his “full person” not just that of his property; “a man’s house is his castle,” and there’s also a man’s “right to be let alone.”[1] Warren and Brandeis once said, “[r]ecent inventions and business methods call attention to the next step … Continue Reading
The Positive “Impact” of Fan-Friendly Copyright Policies on Fan-Made Merchandise: A Case Study of Genshin Impact
Introduction The video game industry has grown immensely over the past few decades. From creating a more global presence in society with esports, to video games being picked up by production companies and adapted into movies, tv shows, and animations. All of these successful endeavors were made possible because of the support of fans. The … Continue Reading
Who Owns It? Who Made It? The Confusing Treatment of Works of Authorship Produced by Artificial Intelligence
Introduction There is a notorious thought experiment called the Infinite Monkey Theorem: if you give one billion typewriters to one billion monkeys and instruct them all to tap the keys rapidly and randomly, at least one of them with nearly 100% probability will type up the complete works of William Shakespeare at some point before … Continue Reading
Future of Mobile Applications’ Privacy through the lens of CPRA
Where would we be without the advancements made in the past ten years? Most people use technology as a means to simplify their life; from waking up to the gentle chiming from their Bedtime application (“app”)[1] on their iPhone, listening to the latest NPR news update, using the Waze app to figure out the shortcuts … Continue Reading
Smart City Transportation: Privacy and Equity Among Key Stakeholders
As society’s ability to harness technology continues to grow at an exponential rate, many have already foreseen the great potential for benefit or great harm that may be produced as a result. One major area that this dichotomy can be seen is with the continued development of smart cities. Smart cities are “urban areas that widely employ information and communication technologies (ICT), such as different types of sensors collect data in order to manage resources and improve the quality of life in the city.”[1] Several of these technologies include drones, phone trackers, cell-tower-mimicking technologies, facial recognition, and license plate readers that are available to the police as well as private individuals.[2] However, others have been quick to note that these technologies “are the future.”[3] Climate change, population movements, and the need to better process movement of individuals within the city make these technologies necessary for a city to reach its full potential.[4] This requires a balancing of the benefits these technologies may grant a city, with the significant risks of privacy and security violations taking place.