Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Chicago, Chicago, My Kind of Place?

Posted on October 10, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Other people will no doubt have a plethora of reactions to this rather heated debate over the Patriot Act between U.Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone and Professor-Judge Richard Posner. I’m afraid that my initial reaction was that I think I’d really like Chicago (a law school which I’ve only ever visited once, and then only too briefly to get a feel for the place).

Posted in Civil Liberties, Law School | 1 Comment

Please Take a Minute

Posted on October 8, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Please take a minute or two to read this column by the Miami Herald’s Leonard Pitts Jr., Bennett’s quip touches on tacit race, crime tie before it goes behind the Miami Herald’s pay archive wall.

Please.

Posted in Civil Liberties | 4 Comments

How Others See One

Posted on October 8, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

It’s always a bit of a shock to find out how others see one. Take, for example, this World of Warcraft avatar that Dan Hunter picked to represent me to the audience at State of Play:

avtar-MF.jpg

I will try to post a tidied text of my talk soon.

[Update:] It seems that I’m a Tauren, and maybe that’s not so bad:

The Tauren are huge, bestial creatures who live in the grassy, open barrens of central Kalimdor. They live to serve nature and maintain the balance between the wild things of the land and the restless spirit of the elements. Despite their enormous size and brute strength, the remarkably peaceful Tauren cultivate a quiet, tribal society. However, when roused by conflict, Tauren are implacable enemies who will use every ounce of their strength to smash their enemies under hoof. Under the leadership of their ancient chief, Cairne Bloodhoof, the Tauren allied themselves with the Orcs during the invasion of the Burning Legion. The two races have remained steadfast allies ever since. Like the Orcs, the Tauren struggle to retain their sense of tradition and noble identity.

Posted in Talks & Conferences, Virtual Worlds | Comments Off on How Others See One

State of Play Virtual Jury

Posted on October 8, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Later today – probably shortly after 12 noon – I’ll be part of a panel that will be debating the role of (terrestrial) law in virtual spaces. On side will be the enthusiasts who will argue that mundane law has little or no useful role to play in regulating behaviors in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. What rules are needed, I would argue in their shoes, will be provided by the game designers, the End User License Agreements (EULAs), and most importantly via emergent behavior as between the users. If I were on the other side I would say, when it’s just a game, we play by its rules, but as we get to things which involve exchange of valuable commodiities, even virtual ones, when we are talking tort, trademark violations, stalking, and so on, then the fact that you happened to use a fancy graphics card to help perpetrate it should make no difference.

Here’s the line-up:

Richard Bartle, Creator of MUD
Dan Hunter, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (Moderator)
David Johnson, New York Law School
David Post, New York Law School
Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger, Harvard University – School of Public Policy
Joel R. Reidenberg, Fordham University – Law
Tim Wu, Columbia – Law

My role, foisted upon me, is to sit like a potted plant for most of the debate and then sum up. The official title is “Judge, Jury and Executioner”. The problem, though, is that I have good friends on both sides of the panel. And executioner sounds sooo tacky. So for days I have been looking for a baby in hopes of being able to cut it. No luck.

The good news, however, is that I have found a very state-of-play kind of way to weasel out of the ugly part of this job: I’ve set up a virtual jury room, and the people in the audience with laptops (and those of you at home following along on the webcast can vote on who you think s winning (won) the debate

Posted in Talks & Conferences | 2 Comments

I Predicted The Rise of Masks in Public

Posted on October 8, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Years ago, in writing about privacy in public places and the rise of ubiquitous camera surveillance — a state now nearly achieved in parts of the UK and the US, and coming to a lamppost near you — I predicted that masks would become a hot fashion accessory. And sure enough, in the UK someone is selling Hoodie sweatshirts with integrated masks. (spotted via Boing Boing)

I don’t know what the law is in the UK, but in the US we have mask laws in many states (written originally to stamp out the KKK), that prohibit the wearing of masks in public. These laws are enforced somewhat erratically — they never seem to apply on Oct. 31. And some courts have ruled them unconstitutional, although others have upheld them.

There have been a few cases since I wrote The Death of Privacy?, which is a general survey of technological threats to privacy and possible responses, but if you would like a brief discussion of the legal issues relating to masks you will find them in Section II.B.1.b.

Posted in Law: Privacy | 8 Comments

Live At State of Play

Posted on October 7, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Caroline is giving her talk at State of Play as I type this.

caro-sop.jpg
Photo credit: David Froomkin

It’s being webcast.

Posted in Talks & Conferences | Comments Off on Live At State of Play