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A key feature of the current anti-LGBTQ backlash is opposition to gender affirming medical care for minors. Anti-trans activists bring out physicians to argue that "science" shows that gender affirming care is dangerous and should be banned, particularly for vulnerable children. These physicians present themselves as neutral and unbiased, responding to organic concerns from lawmakers--but the truth is far different. This Note examines the hidden connections between these physicians and conservative lawmakers, contrasting what is said in public with the physicians' comments behind the scenes. Through examination of emails, comparison of written testimony, and interviews with former collaborators, this Note reveals the true motivations behind these bans and shows why knowledge of these true motivations is important., INTRODUCTION 1264 I. BACKGROUND ON TRANSITION CARE 1264 II. THE LEGISLATION 1268 III. THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG: THE NETWORK EXPOSED 1269 A. THE BEGINNING: SOUTH DAKOTA 1270 B. INFLUENCE [...]

Despite their well-known negative aspects, social media and streaming services have become integral for consumers' daily entertainment and social connection. Although most users have some idea of these services' harmful mental impacts, they are typically unaware of the carbon emissions that result from them. This dissonance is not an accident, but rather the direct result of incomplete data and the omission of individual user-level estimates for carbon emissions in private governance reports published by social media and streaming companies. Where these governance reports do include user-level figures, they are not provided in a meaningful way such that users could consequentially alter their behavior to minimize that harm. Though the impact of individual usage may initially seem minimal on a micro-level, minor changes in individual carbon contributions may have substantially positive impacts where numerous consumers implement them on a macro-level; these services benefit from billions of users, thus, seemingly small behavioral changes that reduce usage time can result in notable emissions reductions in the aggregate. While regulatory actions may retroactively address these consequences, stronger solutions reside in the private spehere through actions like reducing reliance on addictive algorithms, offering paid subscriptions that eliminate or decrease advertisements, and bolstering information disclosure to users through these companies' internal governance reports. While most adults in the United States are in agreement that environmental concerns are an important national focus, disagreement remains over adequate responses, and many environmentally harmful industries are still economically essential. As a result, attention must be afforded to these widespread energy uses for entertainment sectors and their resulting emissions., TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE EMERGENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND STREAMING SERVICES 551 II. SOCIAL MEDIA AND STREAMING SERVICES' IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENTAL 554 ORGANIZATIONS III. THE MECHANICS OF SOCIAL MEDIA [...]

Generative AI makes it possible to create unlimited amounts of text at essentially zero cost. While this technology has many benefits, it can also be used in ways that undermine the goals of the patent system. This Article identifies policy solutions to address the potentially anti-innovative application of generative AI in several patent-related contexts. First, it examines the use of AI to publish massive online databases of preemptive prior art intended to foreclose patentability. This Article argues that computer-generated invention descriptions published without any substantive nexus to human understanding of their contents should not count as 'printed publications' under US patent law. In addition, this Article considers the use of AI to automate the process of writing and filing enormous numbers of patent applications. It also explores the associated market incentives as well as the potential role of regulatory measures and market forces to provide a corrective effect., TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 376 A. Generative Artificial Intelligence 379 B. The Patent System and AI 382 II. AI-GENERATED PREEMPTIVE PRIOR ART DISCLOSURES 386 A. Motivations and Methods 386 [...]

I. Introduction Consider this scenario: a consumer receives a social media advertisement for a discounted price of a service. They sign up for the service thinking it was a one-time [...]

Private equity has become a dominant force in distressed investing and Chapter 11 corporate reorganization. As a result, three new types of attorney conflicts have emerged, each of which threatens to undermine the efficacy and credibility of the bankruptcy system. Bankruptcy judges, practitioners, and scholars must respond. This Comment provides those stakeholders with a doctrinal and normative framework to understand the conflicts that pervade the system. In particular, this Comment defines three types of conflicts, explains how each threatens the functionality of Chapter 11 corporate restructuring, lays the doctrinal groundwork for a new understanding of attorney disinterestedness, and provides solutions to mitigate the relevant conflicts. In doing so, this Comment provides much-needed guidance to bankruptcy stakeholders who are keen to ensure debtor estates receive competent, loyal, and zealous representation., INTRODUCTION 1126 I. PRIVATE EQUITY'S CENTRAL ROLE IN INSOLVENCY 1130 A. The Relevance of Attorney Conflicts Has Increased with the Power of Private Equity 1132 II. CONSTRAINTS AND DUTIES OF [...]

After an appellate court announces its opinion and judgment, it issues the 'mandate, ' returning jurisdiction to the lower court and commanding it to implement the judgment. In the time between judgment and mandate, appellate judges have power to 'hold' the mandate, or to order that the mandate not issue until further notice. This is usually done because the judge--who may or may not be a member of the original panel--intends to seek revision of the opinion or request that the case be reheard by the en banc court. But courts typically do not notify the parties when a judge holds the mandate. This leads to inaccuracy in legal writing, with parties unknowingly citing cases that may cease to be good authority. A survey of the relevant data shows that when a judge holds the mandate, the original panel opinion is vacated 62.1% of the time. The lack of information also takes litigants out of the equation, depriving courts of the ordinary benefits of party presentation. In addition to introducing the basic nature of an appellate court mandate, this Article advocates for the adoption of local rules that provide for notification on the public docket when a judge holds the mandate on his or her own motion., TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 156 I. BACKGROUND ON MANDATES 158 A. Mandates Generally 158 B. Different Forms of Mandates 161 C. Federal Rules 168 D. Local Rules 171 II. PROBLEMS [...]

Death is difficult--even for lawyers who counsel clients on end-of-life planning. The predominant approach to counseling clients about death relies too heavily on traditional notions of personal autonomy and a nearly impenetrable right to be free from interference by others. Rooted in these notions, contracts called 'advance directives' emerged as the primary tool for choosing one's final destiny. Nevertheless, advance directives are underutilized and ineffective because many people are mired in death anxiety, indecision, and the weight of planning for a hypothetical illness. In the end, many do not get the death they choose: to trust in others and share the arduous decision-making responsibility with loved ones. This Article proposes that lawyers shift away from a rights-based paradigm that insists clients make decisions alone, unobstructed by family and friends. Instead, it offers an alternative counseling model that draws on relational autonomy and values the inherent interplay between client independence and interdependence. Grounded in feminism, relational autonomy reimagines individualistic conceptions of self and identity to embrace our essential social and connected nature. Lawyers can enhance end-of-life decision-making to be in alignment with client goals by refocusing it from a solitary experience to one inclusive of the interests and participation of loved ones. While death is inevitable, we no longer need to insist it is done alone., INTRODUCTION I. END-OF-LIFE JURISPRUDENCE IS GROUNDED IN TRADITIONAL AUTONOMY A. The Right to Bodily Autonomy and Self-Governance B. The Evolution of the End-of-Life Legal Landscape C. Preserving Autonomy Through Advance [...]

There is a widespread sense that the internet and social media are broken, and there is great political pressure to fix them. But there is little consensus regarding what the problem is or how to solve it. While Congress has been unable to come to sufficient consensus to act, state governments recently have begun to enact laws addressing the issue, and hundreds of bills are pending in state legislatures across the country. Conservative states, like Florida and Texas, have enacted laws prohibiting platforms from moderating speech. Liberal states, like New York and California, have enacted laws to encourage platforms to moderate more expression, such as hateful content or speech that could harm children. Some states have restricted platforms' ability to offer their services to minors and imposed significant moderation requirements with respect to permitted underage users. And many states have enacted or considered laws requiring internet companies to make burdensome disclosures. Many more state laws, some based on these and many taking new approaches, are sure to follow. But such state regulation of content moderation by online platforms is undesirable. These are national media that are enormously important for expression, and a myriad of state regulations would have a devastating effect on speech. Many of the laws discussed in this Article would violate the First Amendment, even more would be preempted by federal law, and almost all would be bad policy. Laws that require content moderation unconstitutionally restrict platforms' speech and editorial discretion. Laws that prohibit content moderation or impose significant disclosures compel speech, in violation of the First Amendment. And even for those state regulations that do not infringe the First Amendment, almost all are preempted by Section 230, a federal law that immunizes platforms from liability for user content that the platforms host or remove, or other federal laws. This Article focuses not on how social media should be regulated, but on who should do the regulating. We argue that, to the extent that regulation of content moderation is desirable, it should come from the federal government. State attempts to regulate internet content should be struck down, and states should abstain even from those attempts to regulate content moderation that are not unconstitutional or preempted., INTRODUCTION 3 I. STATE LAWS REGULATING THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA 7 A. State Content-Moderation Laws 7 1. Laws Prohibiting Content Moderation 8 2. Laws Requiring Content Moderation 10 B. [...]

The New Zealand common law has been hesitant to recognise the multifaceted nature of modern privacy invasions. In an attempt to maintain certainty and conceptual clarity, the courts have developed two privacy actions: the tort of wrongful publication of private facts, and the tort of intrusion upon seclusion. These torts protect distinct types of wrongful conduct and different privacy interests, despite sharing almost identical structural requirements. However, the categorisation of privacy actions is becoming increasingly artificial as the characteristics of the torts overlap. In practice, both informational and physical privacy interests may be relevant to a singular claim. Furthermore, in the light of recent developments to the publicity requirement, the circumstances distinguishing one tort from the other are now as little as a disclosure to a singular individual. This article argues the existence of separate torts is becoming increasingly illogical and unduly restrictive when grappling with nuanced problems posed by emerging privacy threats. If the privacy framework is to adapt to the modern world, discussions of a singular tort ought to be reignited, albeit from a different angle. By reconfiguring the descriptive and normative tools currently deployed by courts, a singular tort will enable more flexible, cohesive and workable privacy protection., I INTRODUCTION Discussions of a singular common law tort of privacy have been present for decades but never gained any meaningful traction in senior courts. (1) In New Zealand, the [...]

The federal government has committed to law reform to protect press freedom in police investigations. But what form should this protection take? This article undertakes the first critical, comparative analysis of the protections afforded to the press from search and seizure powers across Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. It is also informed by developments in the United States and New Zealand. The analysis demonstrates that Australia lags well behind these comparable nations in providing even a bare minimum of protection for the press. More importantly, it illuminates a workable and appropriate law reform agenda for Australia, capable of achieving law enforcement aims without undue incursion on press freedom., CONTENTS I Introduction II The Interests at Stake III Australia: Extended Shields and the Public Interest Advocate A Victoria: A Simple Shield Model B Queensland: A Tailored Shield Model C [...]

INTRODUCTION 2072 I. THE CHALLENGES POSED 2075 A. The APA's Textual Underdeterminacy 2075 B. Shades of Textualist Reasoning 2079 C. Which Context? 2081 D. A Statute of Standards Versus Rules [...]

In this article we examine the recent High Court decision in LibertyWorks Inc v Commonwealth of Australia ('LibertyWorks'). We argue that this decision fails to properly apply the implied freedom of political communication (the 'implied freedom') in four principle ways. First, the majority judgments do not properly grapple with the complexities of legislative purpose. The Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018 (Cth) ('FITS Act') targets foreign influence rather than just covert and corrupt foreign interference, yet the judgements blur this important distinction throughout. If the true legislative purpose of the FITS Act is to increase transparency to prevent foreign influence, this purpose is illegitimate and incompatible with Australia's representative government, so the FITS Act should fail on this basis. Alternatively, if the true purpose is to increase transparency to prevent foreign interference, that legislative purpose is not served by the scheme, because it is ineffective in achieving its aim. Second, the majority in LibertyWorks do not properly assess the legislative breadth of the FITS Act, including the wide range of actors to which the obligations to register relate. This, we suggest, imposes a broad and, arguably, unbalanced burden on free debate. Third, the majority do not pay sufficient regard to the different tiers of registration, which create not only public, but also private (and therefore unjustified) catalogues of information. Finally, Steward J's constitutionally conservative (yet paradoxically activist) claim that the implied freedom may not exist appears to invite a future constitutional challenge to the implied freedom. We argue his Honour may be right, but not for the reasons he elucidates. In our view, the implied freedom was essentially non-existent in this case because it was not robustly applied by the High Court., I INTRODUCTION LibertyWorks Inc v Commonwealth of Australia ('LibertyWorks') is the latest High Court judgment to examine the implied freedom of political communication. (1) The question on appeal was whether [...]

This article provides the first comprehensive analysis of Queensland's new 'journalist privilege' provisions (or 'shield law'), introduced into div 2B of the Evidence Act 1977 (Qld) in 2022, and evaluates the merits of these provisions against comparable legislation in other jurisdictions. This article aims to inform law reform to protect press freedom by recommending that shield laws across Australia be amended to adopt the favourable aspects of Queensland's new shield law. Conversely, the article also argues that the shortfalls in Queensland's own shield law, and the shield laws of other jurisdictions, can be rectified by incorporating into them the beneficial features of shield laws nationwide. Doing so would produce a uniform and exemplar shield law which provides uniform protections in all Australian jurisdictions., I INTRODUCTION In the course of acting as a public watchdog and gathering news, journalists occasionally guarantee anonymity to sources to preclude them from being 'subject to retribution for exposing [...]

This article considers the law, of New Zealand and England and Wales, relating to determinations whether P consented in various kinds of interaction with D. (The interactions considered are between persons old enough to validly consent to the conduct at issue and who are capable of evaluating and reflecting upon the consequences of their actions.) In the context of sexual interactions, the law in both jurisdictions is in a process of fitful change--from a regime in which consent could be vitiated only by threatened or actual force, impersonation, or radical misunderstanding, towards a position where the question of consent is less categorical and at large. A contrast is drawn between sexual and other interactions, including offences against the person and, especially, commercial misconduct. In the former cases, the central concern is justice between the parties. By contrast, in delineating the boundaries of what amounts to lawful commerce, it is permissible to consider what a ruling about consent may entail for the commercial system as a whole: something that can lead to a very thin conception of what makes for valid consent. The most general lesson that goes with this argument is that consent in law is not a pre-legal phenomenon., I CAVEATS AND CONCEPTS By 'modern' criminal law we mean, in a literal sense, the current criminal law of New Zealand and England and Wales--that is, as of the time [...]

Emissions data collection and management are crucial to operationalizing an emissions trading scheme (ETS'). Regulators need high-quality data to allocate emissions allowances and monitor compliance. However, collecting such data can [...]

What the Houston Court qualified as 'mysterious 'black box' impervious to challenge' was in practice a sophisticated software of many layers of calculations, which rated teachers' effectiveness to make employment decisions. In the European Union, a system as such would fall under the Proposal for AI Regulation of 2021, which qualifies AI models in education and vocational training as 'high-risk' systems. Automated decision-making systems (ADM systems), AI-driven or not, are being increasingly used by governments in public education for different purposes, such as handling applications for undergraduate admission or profiling students and teachers to assess their performance. Across cases and jurisdictions, there is growing evidence of how the use of ADM systems in the education sector is becoming quite problematic: arbitrary assignment of teaching posts in mobility procedures, undue barriers to access undergraduate studies, and frequent lack of transparency in their implementation and decisions. This Article discusses how Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regimes may contribute to rendering governments' ADM systems (AI-driven or not) accountable. The analysis of the FOIA cases (Parcoursoup saga in France, MIUR in Italy, and Ofqual in the United Kingdom) shows to what extent decisions granting access to the source code, functional and technical specifications, or third-party audits allow public scrutiny of ADM systems, detection of their pathologies, and better understanding of their adverse impacts on rights and freedoms, individual or collective. This Article also addresses the constitutional value of the right of access to public records (Parcoursup), and the importance of proactive and mandatory public dissemination to ensure traceability, transparency, and accountability of the ADM systems for FOIA purposes. In this sense, some legal initiatives across jurisdictions (Canada, France, Spain, United States, European Union) enhancing transparency and accountability of algorithmic systems will be examined., I. INTRODUCTION Governments around the world have immersed themselves in the automation and algorithmization of their activities, as this is seen as 'a way to improve, increase efficiency or lower [...]

The development of computerized tools that lead to decision-making processes which apply locally defined parameters poses many questions about democracy. These questions stem from our very conception of the state and its role, going beyond the boundaries of typical administrative law. According to a popular notion that permeates the practices of most executive branches in liberal political regimes, democratic concerns are now competing with managerial concerns. In order to analyze this idea, we must study the implementation of algorithms in administrative decision-making, underscoring both the changes to the characterization of administrative decisions and the questions raised about an administrative judicial review of litigation. To summarize a French administrative law judge's review so far, the judge began by assessing the legality of using algorithms in administrative procedures. Secondly, the judge reviewed the legality of making administrative decisions on the basis of an algorithm. Three issues now appear to be guiding the future of algorithm-based administrative decisions: (1) the security of legal transactions; (2) the compensation for harm or damage caused by the algorithms, and (3) the degree of in-depth review by the administrative judge., INTRODUCTION To confine ourselves to the most general administrative definition, an algorithm constitutes 'the study of problem-solving by implementing series of elementary operations according to a predefined process culminating in [...]