Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law and Policy (University of Pittsburgh)
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Smartphones, Nude Snaps, and Legal Loopholes: Why Pennsylvania Needs to Amend its Revenge Porn Statute
Get PDFUGotPosted.com, SnapSext.com, SnapGFs.com, snapchatleaked.com, Huntermoore.tv, etc., are websites where you do not want to find your picture. These websites are nonconsensual pornography websites. If you do unexpectedly find an intimate image of yourself on one of these websites—or any other porn website for that matter— your best legal recourse is through your state’s revenge porn law. However, if your state has yet to enact one, you might have to fight a legal battle in a notoriously grey area of the law. Pennsylvania recently enacted a revenge porn statute in 2014. But, prior to the adoption of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3131, entitled “Unlawful Dissemination of Intimate Image,” Pennsylvania residents had to navigate through the grey area of legal recourse, such as arguing one’s case under Pennsylvania’s Invasion of Privacy statute. This new area of sexual harassment through high-tech means proved to be growing and could no longer be ignored by state legislatures
Forging a Balanced Presumption in Favor of Metadata Disclosure Under the Freedom of Information Act
Get PDFLaw Clerk to Chief Judge Joy Flowers Conti, United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania; J.D. magna cum laude 2015, University of Pittsburgh (Lead Executive Editor, University of Pittsburgh Law Review); B.A. 2009, University of North Florida. Thank you Professor Rhonda Wasserman for your advice and assistance on this paper and for an enlightening class on electronic discovery. Faculty for the University of Pittsburgh School of Law awarded this paper the William H. Eckert Prize
Paying the Pied Piper: An Examination of Internet Service Provider Liability for Third Party Speech
Get PDFNo invention since the telephone has had as great an impact on the way society communicates as the internet. Through the internet more than two billion people explore new worlds, go to places they never could have imagined, attain knowledge otherwise unavailable, and communicate with people otherwise unreachable. However, opening new channels of communication is just the beginning of the potential capabilities of the internet.
Police Body Cameras: Mending Fences and How Pittsburgh is a Leading Example
Get PDFAfter the police brutality deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray, amongst others, many call for increased accountability through police officer body-worn cameras. The following Note discusses the potential benefits of body camera use, the concerns that body cameras raise, relevant current and pending legislation in Pennsylvania, and whether police body cameras can be used to address race relations in connection with police officer brutality
It\u27s not always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Problem with the Pennsylvania Solar Initiatives
Get PDFFor the past several years, the Obama administration has become increasingly vocal with regards to the need to prevent global warming and abandon fossil fuels in favor of clean energy.[1] And solar energy seems like the obvious first choice in furtherance of those goals. However, in the race for solar energy, state lawmakers should not sacrifice efficiency and welfare in favor of speedy results. Pennsylvania authorities made a mistake: by adopting one of the most aggressive solar initiatives in the country, they sacrificed hundreds of people who simply cannot afford solar technologies. Specifically, numerous reports and publications have suggested that Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, including its solar requirement, create cross subsidizing of the owners of solar panels at the expense of all other energy consumers, distorting the energy market and increasing instances of free-riding. The groups most affected are low-income populations. Pennsylvania can still, however, successfully pursue its solar initiatives subject to certain changes in its law and policy that address the negative effects of its current regime
Behavioral Recognition: Computer Algorithms Alerting Law Enforcement to Suspicious Activity
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A Medium of Exchange for an Internet Age: How to Regulate Bitcoin for the Growth of E-Commerce
Get PDFBanks and other financial institutions have evolved along with e-commerce by enabling unfamiliar parties to transact around the globe with little to no risk. This service does not come without a price. Bitcoin was established as a more efficient way to securely transact online, removing the need for third-party financial institutions. The purpose of this Note is to highlight the potential of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange, making Internet transactions more flexible and affordable to all. The author analyzes Bitcoin’s current price volatility, highlighting a trend of Bitcoin-backed investments, and argues against any government action in support of these purely speculative and short-sited investment schemes. This Note expounds upon the major obstacles facing Bitcoin’s acceptance by mainstream commercial marketplaces. Most importantly, the author looks at future government intervention, and argues against any direct legislation on the Bitcoin system in order to allow for its growth and development.
Elonis v. United States: The Doctrine of True Threats: Protecting Our Ever-Shrinking First Amendment Rights in the New Era of Communication
Get PDFThe First Amendment protects one of our most precious rights as citizens of the United States—the freedom of speech. Such protection has withstood the test of time, even safeguarding speech that much of the population would find distasteful. There is one form of speech which cannot be protected: the true threat. However, the definition of what constitutes a "true threat" has expanded since its inception. In the new era of communication—where most users post first and edit later—the First Amendment protection we once possessed has been eroded as more and more speech is considered proscribable as a "true threat." In order to adequately protect both the public at large and our individual right to free speech, courts should analyze a speaker’s subjective intent before labeling speech a "true threat." Though many courts have adopted an objective, reasonable listener test, the U.S. Supreme Court now has the opportunity, in deciding Elonis v. United States, to take a monumental step in protecting the First Amendment right to free speech. By holding that the speaker’s subjective intent to threaten is necessary for a true threat conviction, the Court will restore the broad protection afforded by the First Amendment and repair years of erosion caused by an objective approach