Stanford CIS

Modern parenting means apps for sports, school and more. Where is the data going? California laws protecting student data have loopholes that allow tech companies to continue packaging and selling that information.

Stanford CIS Affiliate @kingjen.bsky.social fights to protect her children's data from apps like TeamSnap but finds even experts can't escape the system. Bill AB 1159 seeks change calmatters.org/education/20...

Fourth Amendment Equilibrium Adjustment in an Age of Technological Upheaval - Harvard Law Review The Digital Fourth Amendment is written by Professor Orin Kerr, one of the country’s foremost authorities on the Fourth Amendment, electronic privacy, and criminal procedure. Kerr’s work has been deep...

CIS Affiliate @granick.bsky.social reviews Orin Kerr's "The Digital Fourth Amendment," agreeing with his "equilibrium-adjustment" theory but criticizing his cautious approach to tech surveillance & his 1920s baseline that ignores racism in policing harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...

Opening Statement of Professor Bryant Walker Smith for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee’s Hearing on Automated Driving (February 4, 2026) [Watch on YouTube] Thank you for your invitation. I’ll offer seven points. First: American driving is dangerous. Automated driving could help, if we’re careful about it. But people are dying today ...

Bryant Walker Smith @bwalkersmith.bsky.social urges caution on autonomous vehicles at Senate hearing, emphasizing US road safety crisis, company trustworthiness, local expertise, and avoiding federal preemption cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2026/02...

CIS Affiliate bwalkersmith.bsky.social and Sven Beiker rode Chinese robotaxis in cities like Wuhan, Beijing & Shanghai. China's Baidu, Pony.ai & WeRide lead globally. Quirks include Chinese apps & limited zones, but the experience was worth it www.businessinsider.com/the-ultimate...

Journal article by @daniellecitron.bsky.social and @ariezra.bsky.social argues youth privacy law wrongly relies on parental rights doctrine, harming kids. They propose including tech companies and shifting focus from control to who benefits. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Musk's Grok AI faces more scrutiny after generating sexual deepfake images Elon Musk was forced to put restrictions on X and its AI chatbot, Grok, after its image generator sparked outrage around the world. Grok created non-consensual sexualized images, prompting some countr...

Elon Musk restricted X's AI chatbot Grok after it created non-consensual sexualized images, prompting bans in some countries. @pbsnews.org Liz Landers discussed concerns with @stanfordhai.bsky.social policy fellow @riana.bsky.social www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Elon Musk's X to block AI chatbot Grok from making explicit images of real people Elon Musk's social media company X says it will block its AI chatbot Grok from creating explicit images of real people after governments around the world launched investigations into the feature.

X will block Grok from creating explicit images of real people after global investigations. Stanford's @riana.bsky.social tells NPR users will find ways around safeguards. UK, California, Philippines investigating; paying users can still undress images privately
www.npr.org/2026/01/16/n...

Opinion | There’s One Easy Solution to the A.I. Porn Problem

NY Times op-ed: @riana.bsky.social argues Grok is generating sexualized images of children, while laws meant to protect actually prevent AI companies from testing safeguards. Congress must create legal safe harbors for responsible testing. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/o...

New paper by @jessicasilbey.bsky.social & @hartzog.bsky.social: How AI Destroys Institutions. AI systems erode expertise and short-circuit decisions, undermining the transparency and accountability that civic institutions need to survive. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Will the Kat Von D Tattoo Case Kill “Total Concept and Feel”? The Ninth Circuit affirmed in Sedlik v. Von Drachenberg—but two judges called for scrapping the intrinsic test. En banc review may be next.

Ninth Circuit affirms Kat Von D's win in Miles Davis tattoo case, but Judges Wardlaw & Johnstone question the 50-year-old "total concept and feel" test. CIS Affiliate C. Sprigman notes "feel" may arise from unprotectable elements. En banc review may follow.

copyrightlately.com/kat-von-d-ta...

AI-Faked Cases Become Core Issue Irritating Overworked Judges AI-hallucinated case citations have moved from novelty to a core challenge for the courts, prompting complaints from judges that the issue distracts from the merits of the cases in front of them.

AI-hallucinated case citations exploded from novelty to major court burden—712 decisions globally in 2025 (90% this year) says @stanfordhai.bsky.social @riana.bsky.social Judges say fake cases waste resources. Sanctions rising: 1 lawyer fined $15.5K, firm $59.5K news.bloomberglaw.com/legal-ops-an...

Riana Pfefferkorn: Student Misuse of AI-Powered “Undress” Apps YouTube video by Stanford HAI

Stanford CIS Affiliate @riana.bsky.social discusses her research on AI-generated CSAM—examining how "nudify" apps targeting students have created new harms, and how educators, platforms, law enforcement, and legislators are responding. Recorded Dec 3, 2025.
youtu.be/ewS6RacTWGI?...

Video: Dealing with Technology's Hazards Dealing with Technology's Hazards Wed, Dec 17, at 2 PM ET Daniel Solove and Ryan Calo (U. Washington Law) will discuss Calo’s new book, Law and

Join @daniel-solove.bsky.social and @rcalo.bsky.social to discuss Calo's new book "Law and Technology: A Methodological Approach" - exploring how law can channel technology toward human flourishing Wed Dec 17, 2 PM ET.
teachprivacy.com/video-dealin...

Well, At Least the Anti-States’ Rights AI EO Spares AI-CSAM Laws On December 11, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) that purports to deprive states of the ability to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) – to the modest extent possible given the l...

Trump's AI executive order aims to preempt state regulation, but exempts child safety laws. States retain authority over AI-CSAM and chatbot protections despite federal pressure.
Analysis by @riana.bsky.social : cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2025/12...

Copyright in Formaldehyde: How GEMA v OpenAI Freezes Doctrine and Chills AI – Part 1

CIS Affiliate Giancarlo Frosio argues Munich court's GEMA v OpenAI ruling misunderstands AI training by treating memorization as reproduction. The decision conflates training stages and ignores that model weights are lossy compression, not copies. legalblogs.wolterskluwer.com/copyright-bl...

Christopher Jon Sprigman explains what copyright can learn from its antitrust cousin When the Supreme Court ruled in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith (2023) that the legendary artist’s transformation of a photographer’s shot of the musician Prince didn’t c...

CIS Affiliate Christopher Sprigman argues the Supreme Court's Warhol decision opens the door for antitrust competition analysis in copyright fair use cases, bridging two related legal fields. www.law.nyu.edu/news/ideas/c...

Privacy People (full documentary) YouTube video by B Team Films

As people worldwide worry about data collection, this film explores 25 years of privacy evolution and the profession that emerged to protect it. Includes CIS Affiliate @hartzog.bsky.social
youtu.be/EqZOzwVaZp8?...

Latest paper from @hartzog.bsky.social, Neil M. Richards & @jordfran.bsky.social "Privacy's Autonomy Thicket: Disentangling Choice, Consent, and Control" argues "choice," "consent," and "control" are conflated in privacy law, weakening individual autonomy papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

CIS Affiliate @kingjen.bsky.social testified to Congress on AI chatbot privacy risks, highlighting how users share sensitive health data with unregulated platforms. She urges action on: data privacy design, transparency in AI training, and safety metrics. hai.stanford.edu/policy/jen-k...

Ty Cobb | Hearsay Culture Radio | October 15, 2025 | KZSU-FM (Stanford) YouTube video by Hearsay Culture Network

Former White House attorney Ty Cobb warns of rule of law erosion in this @hearsayculture.bsky.social interview with Dave Levine. He discusses threats to judiciary independence and federal agencies, urging lawyers to serve as ethical guardians. youtu.be/Y-k7BiP1D0Y?...

Datapalooza 2025: Truth and Accountability in the Age of AI — School of Data Science The UVA School of Data Science presents Datapalooza 2025: Truth and Accountability in the Age of AI, signature fall event open to all.

As AI shapes what we see and believe, truth is under strain. @daniellecitron.bsky.social explores accountability in the AI age—how data systems amplify inequality and distort trust. See her at Datapalooza 11/14 hosted by @uvadatascience.bsky.social datascience.virginia.edu/events/datap...

Silicon Flatirons hosts Professor Harry Surden and CIS Affiliate Scholar David Levine today on AI's impact on legal work: enhancing efficiency while raising questions about hiring and training junior lawyers. Panel discussion follows with local experts siliconflatirons.org/events/the-f...

Deutsche Telekom case shines light on 'two-speed' internet A group of NGOs have filed a complaint against Deutsche Telekom over practices they see violating the EU’s net neutrality laws.

Austrian/German NGOs filed a complaint against Deutsche Telekom for creating paid fast lanes, violating EU net neutrality. @vanschewick.bsky.social says ISPs can't treat traffic differently for commercial reasons. euobserver.com/digital/ar5d...

Micromobility isn't new—bikes, scooters & skates have fought for street space for 100+ years. US laws remain a patchwork mess, classifying devices inconsistently. CIS Affiliate @bwalkersmith.bsky.social writes in his latest post cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2025/11...

Our Racist, Terrifying Deepfake Future Is Here A faked viral video of a white CEO shoplifting is one thing. What happens when an AI-generated video incriminates a Black suspect? That’s coming, and we’re completely unprepared.

"It connects back to my fear that the people with the fewest resources will be most affected by the downsides of AI" says @riana.bsky.social in latest @thenation.com article: Our Racist, Terrifying Deepfake Future Is Here www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Determining Which Researchers Can Collect Public Data Under the DSA | TechPolicy.Press The DSA opens important opportunities for researchers collecting publicly available data, but leaves key questions unresolved, writes Daphne Keller.

CIS Affiliate @daphnek.bsky.social examines three researcher categories under the DSA: vetted academics, public data collectors, and everyone else. Many valuable projects fall outside DSA protections, facing legal ambiguity and risks from the AI data wars.
www.techpolicy.press/determining-...

Ryan Calo Wants to Change the Relationship Between Law and Technology | TechPolicy.Press Calo is the author of Law and Technology: A Methodical Approach, published by Oxford University Press.

CIS Affiliate @rcalo.bsky.social argues law should proactively shape tech rather than just react to it. His book proposes a methodical approach: define tech carefully, assess impacts, analyze legal implications, and recommend solutions www.techpolicy.press/ryan-calo-wa...

BU's @morganweiland.bsky.social discusses Communication Research Center's (CRC) survey showing 74% of Americans oppose government censorship of media, despite Trump admin pressures on ABC over Kimmel. Public supports First Amendment across political lines. sites.bu.edu/crc/2025/10/...

Eight (or so) Questions to Ask about the ChatGPT Warrant Earlier this week, the indefatigable Thomas Brewster at Forbes, a journalist who’s been covering the digital surveillance beat for years, reported on a search warrant to OpenAI seeking to unmask a par...

OpenAI received its first known warrant seeking ChatGPT user data in a child exploitation case. @riana.bsky.social warns this opens the door to "reverse prompt warrants" like Google faced. AI companies must limit data collection they collect on their users cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2025/10...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Recent upheavals at X and Meta stem from oligarchic ownership by Musk and Zuckerberg who directly control content policies. CIS Affiliate @pjleerssen.bsky.social examines how these moguls influence digital governance through ideological or economic motives.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...