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Pitt Law Faculty 1992-93
No full textPhotograph of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Faculty for the 1992-93 academic year.https://scholarship.law.pitt.edu/pitt-law-faculty-photographs-group/1010/thumbnail.jp
Pitt Law Faculty 1975-76
No full textBlack and white photograph of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Faculty for the 1975-76 academic year.https://scholarship.law.pitt.edu/pitt-law-faculty-photographs-group/1003/thumbnail.jp
Coping with COPPA: Exploring Alternatives to the Children\u27s Online Privacy Protection Act
No full textThe Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) stands as one of the greatest protectors of children’s privacy for nearly twenty-five years. However, COPPA has struggled to keep pace with technological changes during this time, and the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the shortcomings of COPPA regulations as children were forced to spend increased amounts of time in digital spaces. As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is set to make changes to COPPA, it is necessary to consider what changes would be most beneficial to protect children. This paper will explore the current regulatory framework, its strengths and weaknesses, and then delve into proposed reforms to COPPA. To understand which reforms would be most effective, it is necessary to consider the purpose of COPPA as well as the vulnerabilities of children that necessitate these regulations. Finally, having considered the barriers to each reform, this paper will consider which changes the FTC is likely to consider and how these could be implemented
Why is There No Social Citizenship in Puerto Rico? The Demise of Section 20
No full textPart I will define T.H. Marshall’s theory of citizenship rights and explain how that framework pertains to the denial of social welfare rights in Puerto Rico’s constitution. It will also delineate the larger context of social welfare in the United States using the contract versus charity paradigm posited by two historians, New School Professor Nancy Fraser and New York University Professor Linda Gordon. Part II will explore the legislative history of the Puerto Rican Constitution at the Puerto Rican Constitutional Convention and the U.S. Congress debates following the convention. Part III will examine the ramifications of the removal of Section 20 to the present day and offer policy recommendations to at least begin to remedy the worst of Puerto Rico’s economic ills. The trajectory of Puerto Rico’s economy is inextricably tied to its political status and the broader right to self-determination which prompted Public Law 600. Therefore, Part III will also briefly consider Puerto Rico’s political status and which option might best serve the aims of social welfare and the realization of social citizenship
Fossil Fuel Fraud
No full textIn some recent climate litigation cases, plaintiffs have added a claim for common law fraud, in addition to the more traditionally pursued claims for nuisance, negligence, and trespass. Fraud claims against fossil fuel companies center on the decades-long campaign of climate change doubt that was organized, funded, and carried out by oil, gas, and coal industry leaders, as well as public relations firms and industry advocacy groups working on their behalf. But while the doubt campaign certainly fits the fraud mold—a purposeful effort to mislead for profit—because it was aimed at defrauding the public at large, rather than defrauding a particular individual—it is not the kind of deceptive scheme that the fraud laws are good at addressing. The fraud laws, by their very nature, apply most naturally to personal frauds. Impersonal frauds aimed at millions, like that carried out by the fossil fuel industry, are mostly ignored (and thereby allowed) by law. Moreover, plaintiffs suing fossil fuel companies face unique challenges. This Article argues that this gap in the law, where the largest and most destructive frauds are generally ignored, should be closed. Until it is, it will continue to unfairly deprive those harmed by climate change of the opportunity to seek redress for injuries caused by the fossil fuel companies’ purposeful deceit of the public
Defining Health Law for the Future : A Symposium in Honor of Professor of Law Emerita Charity Scott (Day Two)
No full textKids, No Phones at the Dinner Table: Analyzing the People’s Republic of China’s Proposed “Minor Mode” Regulation and an International Right to the Internet
No full textAround the world, governments are contemplating taking steps to reverse or mitigate the negative health and developmental effects that come from the increasing amount of time children are spending online and using screens. In 2023, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) released a draft regulation restricting minors’ screen time and internet use, which imposes a significant burden not only on children, but also on technology and internet companies that wish to continue operating in the country. However, the PRC’s proposed minor mode regulation is neither an extreme departure from the types of restrictions neighboring countries in East Asia have imposed on children’s screen time and internet use, nor its own previous regulations in this area. As such, the proposed regulation is unlikely to have violated a norm of customary international law against restricting children’s internet use. Similarly, although international instruments like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee a universal right of expression, which arguably includes an implied right to the internet, the proposed Chinese regulation is not likely to be deemed violative of either of these instruments because of ambiguities within them as to how states are meant to weigh children’s rights against their protection. This conclusion is bolstered by the competing provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child about protecting children’s fundamental rights while also ensuring their health and wellbeing. As such, the PRC’s Draft Minor Mode Guidelines are likely to pass without facing significant legal challenges domestically or internationally
Anti-Drag Laws and Free Speech: The First Amendment Case for Protecting Drag
No full textIn 2023, there were six federal court cases involving anti-drag laws or government denials of permission to hold drag shows on public property. All but one of these cases concluded that drag shows constituted expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment. Four of the cases involved challenges to recently enacted anti-drag laws, and in each of those cases, the courts found the laws to violate the First Amendment on multiple grounds, including not being narrowly tailored to achieve their purpose, as well as being vague and overbroad. However, one court, ruling on a denial of permission to hold a drag show, concluded that drag shows were not protected by the First Amendment. This Article considers these court decisions on state anti-drag laws and the reasons the laws were found to be unconstitutional. It also considers court arguments for and against providing protection to drag shows as expressive conduct under the First Amendment, concluding that drag shows do qualify for First Amendment protection