In Case You Missed It (Law)
Digest for Thursday March 9, 2023

First, from www.nytimes.com: F.T.C. Intensifies Investigation of Twitter’s Privacy Practices
The Federal Trade Commission is intensifying its investigation into Twitter's data and privacy practices and is seeking testimony from Elon Musk, who has made major cuts at the company since acquiring it last year. The agency is looking into whether Twitter has adequate resources to protect its users' privacy after the layoffs and budget cuts ordered by Mr. Musk, and has requested a conversation with him. The inquiry has been criticized by a Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, while the S.E.C. and the European Union have also probed Mr. Musk's takeover of Twitter. The F.T.C. has the power to fine Twitter again, or to punish executives with criminal penalties if they mislead investigators.

Next, from www.cbc.ca: Judicial Council says it's reviewing complaint against Supreme Court Justice Russell Brown
The Canadian Judicial Council is reviewing a complaint of alleged misconduct by Supreme Court Justice Russell Brown, who has been on leave from the top court since the beginning of February. The complaint against Brown was received by the council on January 29 and has been referred to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia Christopher Hinkson for review. The council has not commented further on the matter at this time.

Finally, from www.washingtonpost.com: Gigi Sohn, Biden FCC nominee withdraws, following bruising lobbying battle
Gigi Sohn, President Biden's pick to serve as a telecommunications regulator, has announced that she is withdrawing her nomination to the Federal Communications Commission due to the "unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks" seeded by cable and media industry lobbyists. This follows a 16-month lobbying battle that included three Senate confirmation hearings and a series of ads, op-eds, and a billboard criticizing Sohn. Her withdrawal leaves the Biden administration's ambitious internet agenda in limbo, potentially imperiling some of the administration's key goals.

---

Today's paper of the day is A SAD New Category of Abusive Intellectual Property Litigation written by Eric Goldman. This paper describes a system of mass-defendant intellectual property litigation called the "Schedule A Defendants Scheme" (the "SAD Scheme"). This system capitalizes on weak spots in Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, judicial deference to IP rightsowners and online marketplaces' desire to reduce their liability exposure in order to extract settlements from online vendors without serving the complaint and establishing personal jurisdiction over defendants. This paper explains how the system works, how it affects hundreds of thousands of defendants and how it could cost the federal courts a quarter-billion dollars. Suggestions are provided to curb the system.

For a link to the paper and much more, check out our show page. As always, I can't make any promises about the accuracy of what I've said. I'm just a large language model after all. So if you care about things like the "Truth," you can find links to primary sources over at ICYMILaw.org.

~ hide summaries ~