Jon Penney
@penney.bsky.social
Law Prof/Social Scientist | Osgoode Hall Law School | PhD Oii@Oxford (Balliol) | Fellow/Affiliate: CitizenLab, BKCHarvard, CCRInitiative | twitter.com/@jon_penney | mastodon.social/@penney | jonpenney.com | Law, technology, and human rights
Pinned
Jon Penney
@penney.bsky.social
· Jan 23
Opinion: The TikTok ban is already dead in the water
No matter what happens next, Donald Trump has already completely undermined the law’s efforts to protect national security from Chinese interference
www.theglobeandmail.com
I wrote about the the TikTok ban in the @theglobeandmail.com. I argue the ban is dead for a few reasons, but mostly because its' design failed to account for the new era that Trump's admin represents: persistent weaponization of tech and state power: www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Jon Penney
How can we know if a law or policy has chilled people’s free expression? Can we use science to find out?
Excited to join @penney.bsky.social, author of a new book on Chilling Effects, & @katygb.bsky.social on Dec 10th to discuss the science of civil liberties
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Excited to join @penney.bsky.social, author of a new book on Chilling Effects, & @katygb.bsky.social on Dec 10th to discuss the science of civil liberties
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
The Science of Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
November 5, 2025 at 6:49 PM
How can we know if a law or policy has chilled people’s free expression? Can we use science to find out?
Excited to join @penney.bsky.social, author of a new book on Chilling Effects, & @katygb.bsky.social on Dec 10th to discuss the science of civil liberties
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Excited to join @penney.bsky.social, author of a new book on Chilling Effects, & @katygb.bsky.social on Dec 10th to discuss the science of civil liberties
knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Reposted by Jon Penney
Details and RSVP link for the social science and chilling effects webinar on Dec. 10, with @penney.bsky.social and @natematias.bsky.social: knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
The Science of Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
November 3, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Details and RSVP link for the social science and chilling effects webinar on Dec. 10, with @penney.bsky.social and @natematias.bsky.social: knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...
Reposted by Jon Penney
Want to learn more about chilling effects and why they matter to the First Amendment? Join our webinar with litigators and experts on Monday, Nov. 17, including @carriedecell.bsky.social @evelyndouek.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @stacylivingston.bsky.social:
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
Litigating Chilling Effects
knightcolumbia.org
October 28, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Want to learn more about chilling effects and why they matter to the First Amendment? Join our webinar with litigators and experts on Monday, Nov. 17, including @carriedecell.bsky.social @evelyndouek.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @stacylivingston.bsky.social:
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
knightcolumbia.org/events/litig...
Reposted by Jon Penney
The Columbia settlement is an “astonishing transfer of autonomy and authority to . . . an administration whose disdain for the values of the academy is demonstrated anew every day.” New @knightcolumbia.org analysis of the Columbia settlement, just published. knightcolumbia.org/blog/what-th...
What the Columbia Settlement Really Means
knightcolumbia.org
August 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
The Columbia settlement is an “astonishing transfer of autonomy and authority to . . . an administration whose disdain for the values of the academy is demonstrated anew every day.” New @knightcolumbia.org analysis of the Columbia settlement, just published. knightcolumbia.org/blog/what-th...
Reposted by Jon Penney
There's still time to apply to present a paper at the Canadian Technology Law Conference!
Just email your abstract and CV along by May 5.
@suziedunn.bsky.social @schulichlaw.bsky.social @jenraso.bsky.social @f-mb.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @schulichlaw.bsky.social
Just email your abstract and CV along by May 5.
@suziedunn.bsky.social @schulichlaw.bsky.social @jenraso.bsky.social @f-mb.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @schulichlaw.bsky.social
May 2, 2025 at 2:37 PM
There's still time to apply to present a paper at the Canadian Technology Law Conference!
Just email your abstract and CV along by May 5.
@suziedunn.bsky.social @schulichlaw.bsky.social @jenraso.bsky.social @f-mb.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @schulichlaw.bsky.social
Just email your abstract and CV along by May 5.
@suziedunn.bsky.social @schulichlaw.bsky.social @jenraso.bsky.social @f-mb.bsky.social @penney.bsky.social @schulichlaw.bsky.social
Reposted by Jon Penney
From concerns about social media addiction to urgent civil liberties issues, courts are asking scientists to be arbiters of alleged technology harms. How can scientists reliably inform courts and how can courts interpret our work?
New article with @penney.bsky.social
tsjournal.org/index.php/jo...
New article with @penney.bsky.social
tsjournal.org/index.php/jo...
Science and Causality in Technology Litigation
| Journal of Online Trust and Safety
Journal of Online Trust and Safety
tsjournal.org
April 29, 2025 at 3:23 PM
From concerns about social media addiction to urgent civil liberties issues, courts are asking scientists to be arbiters of alleged technology harms. How can scientists reliably inform courts and how can courts interpret our work?
New article with @penney.bsky.social
tsjournal.org/index.php/jo...
New article with @penney.bsky.social
tsjournal.org/index.php/jo...
Reposted by Jon Penney
Really grateful to the Université de Montréal for organizing this roundtable on The Privacy Fallacy and to @penney.bsky.social @elanazeide.bsky.social @stzeitouni.bsky.social @cehaupt.bsky.social Nicolas Vermeys Pierre-Luc Deziel & Neil Richards for joining and sharing their fabulous interventions
March 17, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Really grateful to the Université de Montréal for organizing this roundtable on The Privacy Fallacy and to @penney.bsky.social @elanazeide.bsky.social @stzeitouni.bsky.social @cehaupt.bsky.social Nicolas Vermeys Pierre-Luc Deziel & Neil Richards for joining and sharing their fabulous interventions
Reposted by Jon Penney
Steve Levitsky, co-author of How Democracies Die
"the U.S. is sliding toward a more 21st-century model of autocracy: competitive authoritarianism"
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
"A failure to resist... could pave the way for authoritarian entrenchment"
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
"the U.S. is sliding toward a more 21st-century model of autocracy: competitive authoritarianism"
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
"A failure to resist... could pave the way for authoritarian entrenchment"
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
February 11, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Steve Levitsky, co-author of How Democracies Die
"the U.S. is sliding toward a more 21st-century model of autocracy: competitive authoritarianism"
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
"A failure to resist... could pave the way for authoritarian entrenchment"
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
"the U.S. is sliding toward a more 21st-century model of autocracy: competitive authoritarianism"
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
"A failure to resist... could pave the way for authoritarian entrenchment"
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
Reposted by Jon Penney
A classic authoritarian move is to go after judges. I honestly did not think we would see it in the US because the system is already so politicized and Trump has a 6-3 majority. But here we are.
GOP Rep. Eli Crane is drafting articles of impeachment for District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer because he issued an injunction blocking DOGE from accessing Treasury financial data of millions of Americans.
This is classic authoritarian intimidation of the judiciary to remove checks on the executive.
This is classic authoritarian intimidation of the judiciary to remove checks on the executive.
February 11, 2025 at 7:07 PM
A classic authoritarian move is to go after judges. I honestly did not think we would see it in the US because the system is already so politicized and Trump has a 6-3 majority. But here we are.
Reposted by Jon Penney
Check this interview out. @rondeibert.bsky.social and @citizenlab.ca at the Munk School are Canadian national treasures. youtu.be/x3z_R-oIRzg
Cybersecurity and Cyber Espionage with Ron Deibert | The Herle Burly
YouTube video by Air Quotes Media
youtu.be
February 10, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Check this interview out. @rondeibert.bsky.social and @citizenlab.ca at the Munk School are Canadian national treasures. youtu.be/x3z_R-oIRzg
Reposted by Jon Penney
President Trump delayed the U.S. #TikTok ban, but is his executive order legally sound? The Citizen Lab’s @penney.bsky.social writes for the @theglobeandmail.com, questioning whether the move addresses privacy issues or is purely about political power.
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: The TikTok ban is already dead in the water
No matter what happens next, Donald Trump has already completely undermined the law’s efforts to protect national security from Chinese interference
www.theglobeandmail.com
February 6, 2025 at 3:08 PM
President Trump delayed the U.S. #TikTok ban, but is his executive order legally sound? The Citizen Lab’s @penney.bsky.social writes for the @theglobeandmail.com, questioning whether the move addresses privacy issues or is purely about political power.
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Jon Penney
it really is appropriate to view this as potentially the biggest privacy and cybersecurity scandal in American history
“Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer who has been tapped to lead a technology team at G.S.A., told some staff members that he hoped to put all federal contracts into a centralized system so they could be analyzed by artificial intelligence”
Our deep dive into Musk's takeover: Even some officials who like what Musk is doing feel helpless to hold him accountable. His allies are diving in to agencies, gaining access to systems, planning layoffs, and proposing a sweeping AI initiative to review contracts. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/u...
February 3, 2025 at 11:44 PM
it really is appropriate to view this as potentially the biggest privacy and cybersecurity scandal in American history
I wrote about the the TikTok ban in the @theglobeandmail.com. I argue the ban is dead for a few reasons, but mostly because its' design failed to account for the new era that Trump's admin represents: persistent weaponization of tech and state power: www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: The TikTok ban is already dead in the water
No matter what happens next, Donald Trump has already completely undermined the law’s efforts to protect national security from Chinese interference
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 23, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I wrote about the the TikTok ban in the @theglobeandmail.com. I argue the ban is dead for a few reasons, but mostly because its' design failed to account for the new era that Trump's admin represents: persistent weaponization of tech and state power: www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Jon Penney
How can scientists provide courts with reliable evidence in tech litigation?
@mwoluchem.bsky.social interviewed researchers, civil society, & litigators CAT Lab convened to ask this question. Here's her report: A Collective Front Toward Platform Accountability
citizensandtech.org/2025/01/scie...
@mwoluchem.bsky.social interviewed researchers, civil society, & litigators CAT Lab convened to ask this question. Here's her report: A Collective Front Toward Platform Accountability
citizensandtech.org/2025/01/scie...
Building Bridges for Science in Technology Litigation
How can we bridge the knowledge gaps between empirical researchers, litigators, and regulators?
citizensandtech.org
January 23, 2025 at 3:41 PM
How can scientists provide courts with reliable evidence in tech litigation?
@mwoluchem.bsky.social interviewed researchers, civil society, & litigators CAT Lab convened to ask this question. Here's her report: A Collective Front Toward Platform Accountability
citizensandtech.org/2025/01/scie...
@mwoluchem.bsky.social interviewed researchers, civil society, & litigators CAT Lab convened to ask this question. Here's her report: A Collective Front Toward Platform Accountability
citizensandtech.org/2025/01/scie...
Reposted by Jon Penney
NGOs and individual experts, including Citizen Lab's @rondeibert.bsky.social, @noura.bsky.social, @penney.bsky.social, and Kate Robertson, urge Canada to reject the UN's draft Convention against Cybercrime in an open letter to @melaniejolycan.bsky.social, Hon Dominic LeBlanc & Hon Arif Virani.
December 12, 2024 at 4:38 PM
NGOs and individual experts, including Citizen Lab's @rondeibert.bsky.social, @noura.bsky.social, @penney.bsky.social, and Kate Robertson, urge Canada to reject the UN's draft Convention against Cybercrime in an open letter to @melaniejolycan.bsky.social, Hon Dominic LeBlanc & Hon Arif Virani.
Reposted by Jon Penney
November 17, 2024 at 9:53 PM
Reposted by Jon Penney
Great to see the mass exodus from X, Threads, and other platforms to #Bluesky. For those interested in privacy and tech law, highly recommend Dan’s starter pack! bsky.app/profile/dani...
Privacy Law Starter Pack
Check back from time to time, as I will plan to keep this updated. And ping me if you want to be added.
bsky.app/starter-pack...
Check back from time to time, as I will plan to keep this updated. And ping me if you want to be added.
bsky.app/starter-pack...
November 16, 2024 at 6:53 PM
Great to see the mass exodus from X, Threads, and other platforms to #Bluesky. For those interested in privacy and tech law, highly recommend Dan’s starter pack! bsky.app/profile/dani...
Couldn’t agree more. I mean, I’m reading @sarahjeong.bsky.social reporting from inside the National Assembly in Seoul. That’s what Twitter used to offer. bsky.app/profile/esqu...
Bluesky is scratching that itch to be able to follow good and reliable information of fast moving international developments that twitter used to. No conspiracy theories or trolls. Quick, efficient, reliable information from reputable journalists. I missed this so much.
December 3, 2024 at 7:14 PM
Couldn’t agree more. I mean, I’m reading @sarahjeong.bsky.social reporting from inside the National Assembly in Seoul. That’s what Twitter used to offer. bsky.app/profile/esqu...
Reposted by Jon Penney
that Korea does this, immediately, in the face of actual soldiers trying to impose martial law - when members of our own congress voted for a coup hours after the J6 mob stormed congress, and the coup instigator won the next election - is about as scathing an indictment of America as I’ve ever seen
190 present, 190 voted to DEMAND END TO MARTIAL LAW DECLARATION
December 3, 2024 at 4:19 PM
that Korea does this, immediately, in the face of actual soldiers trying to impose martial law - when members of our own congress voted for a coup hours after the J6 mob stormed congress, and the coup instigator won the next election - is about as scathing an indictment of America as I’ve ever seen
Reposted by Jon Penney
I'm at the National Assembly building. The army is here. And I just saw two soldiers in fatigues getting pushed around by belligerent ajusshis. and they looked legit scared.
December 3, 2024 at 3:39 PM
I'm at the National Assembly building. The army is here. And I just saw two soldiers in fatigues getting pushed around by belligerent ajusshis. and they looked legit scared.
Reposted by Jon Penney
Great surveillance studies starter pack from @ubisurv.net go.bsky.app/HYGu6oX
November 26, 2024 at 7:56 PM
Great surveillance studies starter pack from @ubisurv.net go.bsky.app/HYGu6oX
Critical point here by @stamos.org; there’s nothing unique about @bsky.app that prevents it from these abuses. Need trust, safety, and security team/measures. bsky.app/profile/stam...
1) Many underestimate the investment the PRC has put into influencing the US social media sphere.
2) The destruction of Trust and Safety at X has made it a playground for PRC actors.
3) It's nice to see them whine about BlueSky.
4) But there is nothing magical about BlueSky to keep them away.
2) The destruction of Trust and Safety at X has made it a playground for PRC actors.
3) It's nice to see them whine about BlueSky.
4) But there is nothing magical about BlueSky to keep them away.
lol China's state media is sad about Bluesky because it's not an easy propaganda distribution channel like X (and Facebook)
www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
November 26, 2024 at 4:16 PM
Critical point here by @stamos.org; there’s nothing unique about @bsky.app that prevents it from these abuses. Need trust, safety, and security team/measures. bsky.app/profile/stam...