Derek Slater
@derekslater.bsky.social
Reposted by Derek Slater
As the former Google Associate General Counsel for web search -- a product built on scraping third party content without permission -- I'm having a lot of trouble processing Google's new lawsuit against someone else for scraping search results. storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog...
storage.googleapis.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:24 PM
As the former Google Associate General Counsel for web search -- a product built on scraping third party content without permission -- I'm having a lot of trouble processing Google's new lawsuit against someone else for scraping search results. storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog...
Reposted by Derek Slater
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Was doing some research around AI agents, and ensuring users' rights - and @anildash.com was really cooking here. In 2013! www.anildash.com/2013/03/19/t...
The Case for User Agent Extremism - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Was doing some research around AI agents, and ensuring users' rights - and @anildash.com was really cooking here. In 2013! www.anildash.com/2013/03/19/t...
Reposted by Derek Slater
Building evidence and driving toward scientific consensus around AI’s impact on youth mental health is not going to be straightforward, but industry can and should engage with and support better research, says Betsy Masiello, cofounder of Proteus Strategies.
buff.ly/79VTteV
buff.ly/79VTteV
October 29, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Building evidence and driving toward scientific consensus around AI’s impact on youth mental health is not going to be straightforward, but industry can and should engage with and support better research, says Betsy Masiello, cofounder of Proteus Strategies.
buff.ly/79VTteV
buff.ly/79VTteV
Reposted by Derek Slater
Cornell is seeking postdocs for the Empire AI Fellows program. The focus is on technical research, but if this looks interesting to you and your technical AI work has connections to law, please reach out!
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30971
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30971
Cornell University, Empire AI Fellows Program
Job #AJO30971, Postdoctoral Fellow, Empire AI Fellows Program, Cornell University, New York, New York, US
academicjobsonline.org
October 28, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Cornell is seeking postdocs for the Empire AI Fellows program. The focus is on technical research, but if this looks interesting to you and your technical AI work has connections to law, please reach out!
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30971
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30971
worth reading this alongside www.techdirt.com/2025/10/24/r... - while my article is about (c) and reddit's claims is a weird mutant, important to consider the competitive implications of these claims against AI services
@mcarrier.bsky.social and @derekslater.bsky.social explain how copyright's competition-promoting tools can be used to combat Big Tech's monopoly power and foster a robust AI marketplace. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/worr...
Worried About AI Monopoly? Embrace Copyright’s Limits
Copyright’s limits play essential antimonopoly functions. Undermining them in the context of AI is likely to strengthen Big Tech.
www.lawfaremedia.org
October 27, 2025 at 4:21 PM
worth reading this alongside www.techdirt.com/2025/10/24/r... - while my article is about (c) and reddit's claims is a weird mutant, important to consider the competitive implications of these claims against AI services
Reposted by Derek Slater
@mcarrier.bsky.social and @derekslater.bsky.social explain how copyright's competition-promoting tools can be used to combat Big Tech's monopoly power and foster a robust AI marketplace. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/worr...
Worried About AI Monopoly? Embrace Copyright’s Limits
Copyright’s limits play essential antimonopoly functions. Undermining them in the context of AI is likely to strengthen Big Tech.
www.lawfaremedia.org
October 27, 2025 at 3:07 PM
@mcarrier.bsky.social and @derekslater.bsky.social explain how copyright's competition-promoting tools can be used to combat Big Tech's monopoly power and foster a robust AI marketplace. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/worr...
Reposted by Derek Slater
#Reddit’s ‘#AI #Scraping’ Lawsuit Is An Attack On The #OpenInternet - www.techdirt.com/2025/10/24/r... important detailed analysis by @mmasnick.bsky.social of very bad, very reckless behaviour
Reddit’s ‘AI Scraping’ Lawsuit Is An Attack On The Open Internet
When Reddit sued “data scraper” companies and AI firm Perplexity earlier this week, I assumed it was another predictable skirmish over AI training data—the kind of case we’ve been…
www.techdirt.com
October 24, 2025 at 6:51 PM
#Reddit’s ‘#AI #Scraping’ Lawsuit Is An Attack On The #OpenInternet - www.techdirt.com/2025/10/24/r... important detailed analysis by @mmasnick.bsky.social of very bad, very reckless behaviour
also: as a policy matter, this seems incongruent with what antimonopoly advocates have sought and in part achieved in the Search antitrust case. Perplexity is using Google's SERP to create a competing product; Reddit says they shouldn't be able to.
I'm unimpressed by Reddit's lawsuit against Perplexity et al. In the process of pleading notably weak DMCA claims, I think Reddit pleads itself out of court on its state-law claims.
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cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/u...
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cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/u...
cdn.arstechnica.net
October 24, 2025 at 4:24 PM
also: as a policy matter, this seems incongruent with what antimonopoly advocates have sought and in part achieved in the Search antitrust case. Perplexity is using Google's SERP to create a competing product; Reddit says they shouldn't be able to.
Reposted by Derek Slater
I'm unimpressed by Reddit's lawsuit against Perplexity et al. In the process of pleading notably weak DMCA claims, I think Reddit pleads itself out of court on its state-law claims.
1/
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/u...
1/
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/u...
cdn.arstechnica.net
October 24, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I'm unimpressed by Reddit's lawsuit against Perplexity et al. In the process of pleading notably weak DMCA claims, I think Reddit pleads itself out of court on its state-law claims.
1/
cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/u...
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cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Derek Slater
Some of us are old enough to remember when Reddit cared about the open web and recognized the DMCA shouldn’t be used as a hack around fair use. x.com/lehogg/statu...
Luke Hogg on X: "Hey @Reddit, this you arguing for reforms to the DMCA so that companies can't abuse it to prevent people from "using their electronic devices in lawful, non-infringing ways?" What changed? https://t.co/9Gbshj6DOK" / X
Hey @Reddit, this you arguing for reforms to the DMCA so that companies can't abuse it to prevent people from "using their electronic devices in lawful, non-infringing ways?" What changed? https://t.co/9Gbshj6DOK
x.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Some of us are old enough to remember when Reddit cared about the open web and recognized the DMCA shouldn’t be used as a hack around fair use. x.com/lehogg/statu...
Reposted by Derek Slater
This is an interesting tactic by Cloudflare, but I don't believe the legal hook that Prince suggests will influence Google exists under U.S. law. arstechnica.com/ai/2025/10/i...
Inside the web infrastructure revolt over Google’s AI Overviews
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince is making sweeping changes to force Google’s hand.
arstechnica.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:39 PM
This is an interesting tactic by Cloudflare, but I don't believe the legal hook that Prince suggests will influence Google exists under U.S. law. arstechnica.com/ai/2025/10/i...
Reposted by Derek Slater
I have a theory www.theverge.com/policy/79849...
American politics has devolved into shitposting and aura farming
The Frog is owning the president.
www.theverge.com
October 11, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I have a theory www.theverge.com/policy/79849...
Reposted by Derek Slater
We're so relieved to see Germany reaffirm its opposition to the dangerous Chat Control proposal--the one that would mandate mass scanning of communications. Germany's long been a solid champion of privacy, and the news that it was considering backing mass surveillance was alarming. 1/
October 9, 2025 at 11:40 AM
We're so relieved to see Germany reaffirm its opposition to the dangerous Chat Control proposal--the one that would mandate mass scanning of communications. Germany's long been a solid champion of privacy, and the news that it was considering backing mass surveillance was alarming. 1/
Reposted by Derek Slater
Really smart analysis by music industry veteran and @au-mtd.bsky.social doctoral candidate Neil Perry:
The Manufactured Panic Over Tilly Norwood
#ai #cinema #labor #IP
The Manufactured Panic Over Tilly Norwood
#ai #cinema #labor #IP
The Manufactured Panic Over Tilly Norwood
The recent uproar over Tilly Norwood, the AI-generated “actress” introduced at the Zurich Film Festival, has revealed more about…
medium.com
October 2, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Really smart analysis by music industry veteran and @au-mtd.bsky.social doctoral candidate Neil Perry:
The Manufactured Panic Over Tilly Norwood
#ai #cinema #labor #IP
The Manufactured Panic Over Tilly Norwood
#ai #cinema #labor #IP
Reposted by Derek Slater
Reposted by Derek Slater
for those who don't follow it, "chat control" is the idea that, since encrypted messaging can't be spied on / monitored, that your actual phone should scan everything you write or send before you send it www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Chat Control Is Back on the Menu in the EU. It Still Must Be Stopped
The European Union Council is once again debating its controversial message scanning proposal, aka “Chat Control,” that would lead to the scanning of private conversations of billions of people. Chat ...
www.eff.org
September 30, 2025 at 2:59 PM
for those who don't follow it, "chat control" is the idea that, since encrypted messaging can't be spied on / monitored, that your actual phone should scan everything you write or send before you send it www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Reposted by Derek Slater
I have never in my life covered an FCC official that gives less of a fuck about the public interest
even first term FCC boss Ajit Pai, who was a complete revolving door hack, believed this sort of censorship crossed a line
even first term FCC boss Ajit Pai, who was a complete revolving door hack, believed this sort of censorship crossed a line
FABER: I wonder whether you're just targeting comedians who are offending the president
BRENDAN CARR: Broadcast TV is different. If you have broadcast TV license, it comes with an obligation to serve the public interest.
BRENDAN CARR: Broadcast TV is different. If you have broadcast TV license, it comes with an obligation to serve the public interest.
September 18, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I have never in my life covered an FCC official that gives less of a fuck about the public interest
even first term FCC boss Ajit Pai, who was a complete revolving door hack, believed this sort of censorship crossed a line
even first term FCC boss Ajit Pai, who was a complete revolving door hack, believed this sort of censorship crossed a line
Reposted by Derek Slater
Losing my ever-loving-mind watching the same people who were just clutching their pearls claiming censorship over mean emails from WH staffers to Twitter about COVID misinfo are now HAVING THE FCC CHAIR openly threaten broadcast licenses over a joke about the president AND THE BROADCASTERS CENSOR IT
September 18, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Losing my ever-loving-mind watching the same people who were just clutching their pearls claiming censorship over mean emails from WH staffers to Twitter about COVID misinfo are now HAVING THE FCC CHAIR openly threaten broadcast licenses over a joke about the president AND THE BROADCASTERS CENSOR IT
Reposted by Derek Slater
And the Ellisons are also first in line to buy TikTok if it gets sold, which would fuse CBS, CNN, Time Warner, Paramount, and TikTok all into one company whose entire function would be to blow smoke up the right wing's ass
In the crush of days' news, this -- and red-flashing-light alarm over it -- has been lost. Listen up: The Ellisons, the miniMurdochs, want to turn CNN into FoxNews Jr. alongside their terminally tained (C)BS (the B stands for Bari). Let's hear some shocked shouting, people!
This is terrible! It would put CNN in the hands of the miniMurdochs, the Ellisons, and likely awful Bari Weiss. If anyone could still spell antitrust, it should be blocked, but it won't be. Mass media are dead! They're picking at the carcasses
www.wsj.com/business/med...
www.wsj.com/business/med...
September 13, 2025 at 8:08 PM
And the Ellisons are also first in line to buy TikTok if it gets sold, which would fuse CBS, CNN, Time Warner, Paramount, and TikTok all into one company whose entire function would be to blow smoke up the right wing's ass
See also: bsky.app/profile/daph... (filed under 'it could still get worse')
We’re Walling Off The Open Internet To Stop AI—And It May End Up Breaking Everything Else
A longtime open internet activist recently asked me whether I'd reversed my position on internet openness and copyright because of AI. The question caught me off guard—until I realized what he was seeing.…
A longtime open internet activist recently asked me whether I'd reversed my position on internet openness and copyright because of AI. The question caught me off guard—until I realized what he was seeing.…
We’re Walling Off The Open Internet To Stop AI—And It May End Up Breaking Everything Else
A longtime open internet activist recently asked me whether I'd reversed my position on internet openness and copyright because of AI. The question caught me off guard—until I realized what he was seeing. Across the tech policy world, people who spent decades fighting for an open, accessible internet are now cheering as that same internet gets locked down, walled off, and restricted.
www.techdirt.com
September 8, 2025 at 8:56 PM
See also: bsky.app/profile/daph... (filed under 'it could still get worse')
Reposted by Derek Slater
I found this explanation of the Bartz v Anthropic settlement quite useful. www.authorsalliance.org/2025/09/07/t...
The Anthropic Settlement – what it is and isn’t (and who could get paid)
www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com EDIT: On Sunday evening, Judge Alsup granted the motion for a hearing on Monday, September 8th, but expressed disappointment over lack of details, mostly on the…
www.authorsalliance.org
September 8, 2025 at 12:20 PM
I found this explanation of the Bartz v Anthropic settlement quite useful. www.authorsalliance.org/2025/09/07/t...
Reposted by Derek Slater
This letter is important. It is a careful, detailed, scholarly, and accurate explanation of the elements of the DSA and EU law that prevent the DSA from being a "censorship" law in the first place. The list of EU expert signatories is stellar. @hutko.bsky.social @joanbarata.bsky.social
I also joined 30+ EU and US scholars on the DSA in letter debunking Jim Jordan's claims that the Digital Services Act is a censorship law (it's content neutral) and that it censors US speech (it applies only inside the EU) husovec.eu/wp-content/u...
husovec.eu
September 3, 2025 at 3:05 PM
This letter is important. It is a careful, detailed, scholarly, and accurate explanation of the elements of the DSA and EU law that prevent the DSA from being a "censorship" law in the first place. The list of EU expert signatories is stellar. @hutko.bsky.social @joanbarata.bsky.social
Reposted by Derek Slater
The linked headline's "unexpected" is ridiculous. Every person who worked in this space (specifically, not legislators) said, correctly, that this would happen. It should be replaced with "predicted" or "standard" or "obvious." This is not an untried policy! See also FOSTA/SESTA.
New: I looked at 90 porn sites to test the new age-verification law rewriting the web. The ones following the rules, and scanning visitors' faces, are crumbling, while the lawbreakers are doubling or tripling their traffic. One of many unintended consequences for an experimental tech wapo.st/47QuttW
‘Scan your face’ laws for the web are having unexpected consequences
The new age-verification laws in the United States and United Kingdom have brought some surprising downsides, including soaring traffic to seedy parts of the web.
wapo.st
August 31, 2025 at 6:17 PM
The linked headline's "unexpected" is ridiculous. Every person who worked in this space (specifically, not legislators) said, correctly, that this would happen. It should be replaced with "predicted" or "standard" or "obvious." This is not an untried policy! See also FOSTA/SESTA.
Reposted by Derek Slater
New from me and @derekslater.bsky.social on @lawfaremedia.org: What History Can Teach Us About Copyright, AI, and ‘Market Floods’
What History Can Teach Us About Copyright, AI, and ‘Market Floods’
Although some fear that AI will flood the market, harming existing copyrighted works, historical examples seem to tell a different story.
www.lawfaremedia.org
August 27, 2025 at 2:08 PM
New from me and @derekslater.bsky.social on @lawfaremedia.org: What History Can Teach Us About Copyright, AI, and ‘Market Floods’