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Daily Archives: February 18, 2015

Liability of Online Intermediaries – New Study by the Global Network of Internet and Society Centers

“The Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers (NoC) and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University are pleased to announce the release of a new report, which examines the rapidly changing landscape of online intermediary liability at the intersection of law, technology, norms, and markets, and is aimed at informing and improving Internet policy-making globally. This report is a first output of a larger initiative on the governance of online intermediaries and consists of a case study series exploring online intermediary liability frameworks and issues in Brazil, the European Union, India, South Korea, the United States, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam, and a synthesis paper. In addition to facilitating the research project, the Berkman Center led the drafting of the synthesis document and contributed a case study on intermediary liability in the United States. The synthesis paper seeks to distill key observations and provide a high-level analysis of some of the structural elements that characterize varying governance frameworks, with a focus on intermediary liability regimes and their evolution. While intermediary liability varies significantly across the country case studies, the synthesis highlights the importance of cultural and political context, as reflected in both the legal norms aimed at regulating intermediaries and the perception of intermediaries’ social function within the countries studied. The United States paper describes and assesses the intermediary liability landscape in the United States, providing an overview of major US legal regimes that protect online intermediaries from liability for user content. It then offers a series of short case studies describing ways in which US-based companies and other organizations have structured their operations in compliance with and in response to US law. The research effort is grounded in a diversity of global perspectives and collaborative research techniques, committed to objective and independent academic standards, and aspires to be useful, actionable, and timely for policymakers and stakeholders. More broadly, the Network of Centers seeks to contribute to a more generalized vision and longer-term strategy regarding the role of academic research, facilitation and convening, and education and communication in the Internet age. The full text of the Berkman Center contribution, the other case studies by our international partners, and the synthesis paper are available on the Publixphere website, where the authors welcome comments and feedback.  The series and individual papers are also available for download from SSRN.”

Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, January 27-28, 2015

[snipped from the full text] “Staff Review of the Financial Situation – Over the intermeeting period, amid trading that was volatile at times, longer-term sovereign yields in the United States and other advanced economies declined. These moves were attributed in part to a deterioration in market sentiment associated with downward pressure on inflation, increased concern… Continue Reading

Harvard, MIT Sued Over Lack of Captioning for Online Courses

FindLaw Courtside: “The National Association of the Deaf filed two federal class actions complaints today. The suits — against Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — allege that the universities discriminate against the deaf because their online content is not captioned, or is poorly or illegibly captioned. This lack of captioning, according… Continue Reading

The (Questionable) Legality of High-Speed “Pinging” and “Front Running” in the Futures Markets

The (Questionable) Legality of High-Speed “Pinging” and “Front Running” in the Futures Markets, by Gregory Scopino. Connecticut Law Review Volume 47 – Issue. February 2015. “Institutional investors complain that high-frequency trading (HFT) firms engage in high-speed “pinging” and “front running” of their orders for trades. By sending out lightning fast “ping” orders for trades that… Continue Reading

Federal Register Responds – When is this document going to publish?

“A question we get asked pretty often is “When is this document I read/heard about going to publish?” And the answer seems a bit secretive. According to 1 CFR 17.1: “…Upon receipt, each document shall be held for confidential processing until it is filed for public inspection.” So until the document is made available to… Continue Reading

America’s Skills Challenge – Millennials and the Future

Educational Testing Service – “Recent research reveals an apparent paradox for U.S. millennials (born after 1980, ages 16–34): while they may be on track to be our most educated generation ever, they consistently score below many of their international peers in literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. Equally troubling is that these findings… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Contingency Contracting, GAO Summary of Performance, TRICARE

Contingency Contracting: Contractor Personnel Tracking System Needs Better Plans and Guidance, GAO-15-250: Published: Feb 18, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 18, 2015. GAO: Summary of Performance and Financial Information Fiscal Year 2014, GAO-15-2SP: Published: Feb 17, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 18, 2015. Improper Payments: TRICARE Measurement and Reduction Efforts Could Benefit from Adopting Medical Record Reviews,… Continue Reading

UN – Civilian casualties in Afghanistan rise by 22 per cent in 2014

“Increased ground engagements between parties to the armed conflict in Afghanistan are behind a 22 per cent rise in conflict-related deaths and injuries of Afghan civilians in 2014, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said today on the release of its 2014 Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, prepared in… Continue Reading