Protecting Kathy Griffin’s Free Speech . . . and Yours
Plus tort law, civil penalties, SCOTUS rulings, and more.
FTC: Berin led a coalition letter to the FTC on its proposed “negative option rule,” which would govern subscriptions that renew automatically. We explain that the FTC's proposed rule lacks the “specificity” Congress required when it authorized consumer protection rulemakings, enforceable by civil penalties. Only Congress can grant the FTC authority to impose civil penalties for ordinary misrepresentations—and only by amending the FTC Act.
Podcast: On the latest Tech Policy Podcast, Corbin hosted Walter Olson, senior fellow at the Cato Institute—and an icon of the tort reform movement. They discussed school districts’ public-nuisance suits against social media, and how tort law has been distorted over the years. The episode was highlighted in Reason.
In a follow-up Substack piece, Corbin recapped the episode, while adding some bonus content on an opinion by Judge Frank Easterbrook—one of his favorite opinions by any judge, on any subject!
First Amendment: Ari appeared on the Opening Arguments podcast to review his Sixth Circuit brief in Johnson v. Griffin—and why expansive personal jurisdiction is an issue that everyone who speaks online should worry about.
In a second appearance on the same podcast, Ari examined Texas’s HB 1181—a pornography restriction law which would require age verification and “public health warnings.” For more, check out his Substack piece, also re-published by Techdirt.
Yesterday, Ari presented at a seminar (paywall) for the Wisconsin State Bar on significant SCOTUS rulings this term—including Taamneh and Gonzalez.
The Washington Post (paywall) quoted Ari about a prominent recent “cancellation,” and a provost’s response, which he termed “a masterpiece.”
Why don’t cows like online shopping?
They prefer a cattle-ogue.