Curt Levey — president of the Committee for Justice, a nonprofit group promoting limited government and judicial nominations — said that the executive order itself has 'limited teeth' regarding Section 230, since it requests the independent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adjust their interpretations of Section 230. Still, if the FTC were to take some action at Trump’s request, that would “surely be challenged” in the courts, he said.

The Administration cannot order the FCC and FTC, both independent agencies, to take any actions. While the executive order's more limited approach – petitioning the FCC for rulemaking and directing the FCC to 'consider taking action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law' – is permissible, the FCC rules and FTC enforcement actions that result may be unlawful. Depending on the details, they may well violate the First Amendment rights of social media platforms or interpret Section 230 in a manner inconsistent with the statutory text, its intent, and its interpretation by the courts.

May 25, 2020 marks two years since the landmark General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, and European regulators find themselves struggling to enforce a law that has burdened the economy through enormous compliance costs and created more confusion than clarity. Meanwhile in the US, recent concerns over contact tracing and public health data during the COVID-19 pandemic have underscored the tension between a person’s right to privacy and the public’s right to know. What lessons for U.S. policy can be learned through the mistakes of others? Three leading privacy experts take an in-the-trenches look at how our privacy laws work (or don’t), recent failures in the states and abroad, and what is on the horizon as state and feder...

"Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words," which tells the story of Clarence Thomas's journey from poverty and segregation in the South to the Supreme Court, debuted on national television last week. To mark the occasion, our panelists—former law clerks for Justice Thomas and the author of Understanding Clarence Thomas: The Jurisprudence of Constitutional Restoration—discuss his nearly thirty years on the Court, his approach to the law, and how his earlier life has shaped his jurisprudence.

It should not be a point of contention to say that the FCC is the agency of jurisdiction in commercial spectrum policy, but it appears to have become one. Federal law (and more than two decades of federal practice) makes clear the process by which federal agencies work with the FCC to construct a uniform, coherent federal policy. When those processes are not followed, as the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee ​recently observed​, the interests of the United States suffer and our international leadership on spectrum matters is compromised. In the case of the Ligado Networks license modification, the FCC meticulously followed these processes. The FCC fully consulted with relevant federal agencies at each stage o...

On Thursday, May 21, at 1:00 p.m. EDT, the Committee for Justice will host a virtual panel on Justice Clarence Thomas and the interplay between his early life and judicial philosophy, in time for this week’s national TV release of the documentary “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words.” Committee for Justice President Curt Levey will moderate the discussion, led by Erik Jaffe of Schaerr Jaffe, Ralph Rossum of Claremont McKenna College and Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network.

"Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words," which tells the story of Clarence Thomas's journey from poverty and segregation in the South to the Supreme Court, debuts on national television this week. To mark the occasion, our panelists—former law clerks for Justice Thomas and the author of Understanding Clarence Thomas: The Jurisprudence of Constitutional Restoration—will discuss his nearly thirty years on the Court, his approach to the law, and how his earlier life has shaped his jurisprudence.

Robert Bork’s consumer welfare paradigm, which has heavily influenced the evolution of antitrust analysis and enforcement over the past 42 years, is under attack. Critics from both parties assert not only that antitrust has been unable to keep up with developments in the high tech, finance, and communications industries, but also that competition law should be weaponized and used as a tool to address broader concerns such as privacy, inequality, and political viewpoint discrimination. In response, the DOJ and FTC have launched investigations into Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee has launched its own investigation into these companies and are also reviewing whether changes are necessary to...

Virtual Panel Discussion: 

New Title IX Rules for Sexual Assault & Harassment

On May 6, the U.S. Department of Education released new Title IX regulations governing how schools handle students' accusations of sexual assault and harassment. The regulations are intended to ensure that every accusation of sexual misconduct is taken seriously while also guaranteeing due process and a presumption of innocence for the accused. Supporters of the new rules point out that due process has been lacking on many campuses since the Obama Administration's issuance of Title IX guidance in 2011. Critics of the rules, including Joe Biden and many other Democrats, say they will make it harder for accusers to obtain justice. Our panelists will discuss the merits...