13203 research outputs found
Sort by
Selling Surveillance
Get PDFAlmost everything we do on the Internet is achieved through Internet-connected devices, such as smartphones and laptops. This reality has produced a new sprawling industry of commercial spyware corporations: a vast network of companies specializing in selling security vulnerabilities in the very devices we all use. These companies provide clients with tools and services for unauthorized access and surveillance. Investigative reporting has unearthed the scope and nature of the systematic abuses produced by these technologies. Around the world, government actors rely on spyware to target human rights activists, journalists, and dissidents with almost no accountability.
Spyware companies have long defended their activities by claiming that they are nothing more than technology companies. Embracing this false narrative, regulators have turned to a set of legal tools that have been used in the past to regulate technology companies. These include export controls, ad hoc civil and criminal enforcement against designated businesses, and certain human rights and corporate governance techniques. None of these approaches have worked so far, pushing certain government policymakers, United Nations agencies, and civil society organizations to propose a broader tech ban against the industry as a whole.
In this Article, I explain why all past efforts to regulate this market have failed. I further argue that tech bans only provide an illusion of safety. Such industry moratoriums are not only impractical but pose risks to the future integrity of our information and telecommunication systems. Instead, I develop a set of building blocks for a multilateral framework that could serve regulators in promoting and managing a legitimate and human rights-compliant spyware market
Comparative Study and Contextual Study of Constitutionalization of National Identity
No full textThe relationship between law and national identity is complex, with legal frameworks often reflecting and shaping the cultural and historical narratives of a nation. Constitutional documents serve as foundational texts that codify the values, principles, and aspirations of a nation, providing a framework for governance and shaping its collective identity. The study focuses on the constitutionalization of national identity as an incorporation of identity elements into constitutional documents.
The dissertation is constructed to answer explanatory and exploratory questions. First, the dissertation focuses on exploring general patterns of the practice. Second, the dissertation attempts to explain the drafters\u27 intention(s) behind the incorporation of a national identity into a constitution. There is no sufficient attention given to the issue of constitutionalization of national identity in comparison to the literature on constitutional identity. Methodologically, the study approaches the first question through a legal textual analysis in which the study examines the wording of a text to identify a taxonomy.
For the explanatory question, this study utilizes a discourse theory to approach the issue. By using a discourse theory, attempts to locate the text within its social and political contexts. This should enable the study to associate the text with ideological and nationalist trends that influence the drafting process. The study finds that the practice of constitutionalization has evolved from a symbolic to an instrumental one where symbolic constitutionalization refers to the wording of a text that does not empower an individual, group, or the state. On the other hand, instrumental constitutionalization refers to a constitutional text that empowers an individual, group, or state, and it may influence the institutional design. The evolution of the practice stems from international changes in the world and theoretical influences such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of multiculturalism.
In addition, the study finds that the analyzed constitutionalization process demonstrates an attempt to control or influence discourse on national identity. This function is symbolic, and it conceals different purposes such as transformative, hegemonic, legitimation, and negotiation. The study\u27s main contribution is conceptual where the study defines the concept and illustrates the different uses of it. This should inform studies on constitutional design
Tax Enforcement by the Private Sector: Deputizing Tax Insurers
Get PDFThe IRS is outgunned when trying to ensure compliance by large corporations and other sophisticated taxpayers. The private sector can help. Private sector actors, such as financial institutions, employers, and whistleblowers, have been valuable allies in the IRS’s efforts to improve compliance and enforcement. This Article argues for using another, largely overlooked, private sector party—tax insurers—to expand the IRS’s enforcement abilities. Tax insurers insure sophisticated taxpayers’ uncertain tax positions (e.g., the tax-free treatment of a corporate spinoff or tax credits critical to a renewable energy project). For a premium, a tax insurer agrees to pay any additional taxes owed with interest and penalties (up to the policy limit) if an insured tax position is successfully challenged by a tax authority. The tax insurance industry has grown dramatically since the mid-2010s, but scholars and policymakers pay little attention to its enforcement-enhancing potential. This is a mistake because insurers have informational, expertise, and capacity advantages over the IRS, because of the industry’s recent explosive growth, and because more robust enforcement is needed among precisely those taxpayers served by tax insurers.
This Article proposes a novel regime in which tax insurers that voluntarily commit to insuring only strong tax positions would be effectively deputized as private sector tax enforcers. The IRS would treat any positions insured by them as likely compliant, having been “sustained” in a private “audit.” In theory, with the right combination of sticks and carrots, private sector tax enforcers could be incentivized to live up to their commitment to “sustain” only strong positions, and taxpayers could be incentivized to pursue “audits” by private sector tax enforcers that live up to those commitments. Given these mutually reinforcing incentives, the IRS could rely on those private sector “audit” determinations and reallocate enforcement resources toward taxpayers and tax positions more likely to be noncompliant. If the potential concerns presented by this proposal can be overcome (a task that might prove challenging), the proposal could harness a growing private sector industry for the public good
Stevens Foundation selects four law students as 2024 Fellows
Get PDFThe John Paul Stevens Foundation has chosen four Indiana University Maurer School of Law students to serve as 2024 Stevens Fellows this summer. The Foundation made the announcement today (June 26).
Selection as a Stevens Fellow comes with $12,000—half from the Foundation, half from the Law School—to help offset the cost of unpaid public interest work over the summer. This year’s Stevens Fellows are Kristal Davis ’25, from Lansing, Michigan; Allegra Maldonado ’25, from Indianapolis; James Monroe ’25, from Naperville, Illinois; and Niara Wakaba ’26, from Louisville
Thirty-Five Years of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution: Rights, Promises and Democratic Resilience
Get PDFThis article provides a historical perspective on the moments anticipating the formation of Brazil’s 1988 Constitution, as well as a reflection on the future of Brazilian democracy. It is divided into four parts. Part I recounts the historical circumstances prior to the convening of the Constituent Assembly, which led to the 1988 Constitution. Part II analyzes the changes brought about by the new Constitution, especially regarding the three branches of government, as well as the evolutions in Brazilian constitutional theory over the period. Part III evaluates some of the critical moments experienced during its thirty-five years in force. The article concludes with a final note on the challenges that Brazil faces in the near future: the fight against poverty, the emergence of new technologies, and environmental protection. Despite some moments of fright and frustrations, there are good reasons to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of the 1988 Constitution and the consolidation of constitutional democracy in Brazil. Nevertheless, there remains a long journey ahead