Cyberlaw Central

Links for Week of April 24, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 19:59:36 +0000

This week, I really liked Nilay Patel’s essay at The Verge on what he calls “Software brain.” It’s about the AI backlash. I especially like his comparison to “Lawyer brain.” I also liked Professor Guadamuz’s post about the Pelham II copyright decision in the EU and how it will affect AI outputs. Finally, the fairness hearing regarding the settlement in the Bartz v. Anthropic case has been moved to May 14th, with some sealed objections now unsealed. It promises to be an interesting hearing!

Software Brain

https://www.theverge.com/podcast/917029/software-brain-ai-backlash-databases-automation

Pelham II EU Copyright case – AI Outputs

https://www.technollama.co.uk/pastiche-or-cliche-what-pelham-ii-might-mean-for-ai-outputs

Bartz v. Anthropic – Fairness Hearing Moved

https://www.authorsalliance.org/2026/04/14/bartz-v-anthropic-settlement-update-new-date-and-time-for-the-fairness-hearing-you-can-join-online-and-unsealed-objections/

Links for Week of April 17, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:56:15 +0000

This week, I liked an article by Ashley Belanger about a parent facing a support nightmare on Discord. The child had lied about their age before the account was hacked, so there was no way for the parent to try to help. The National Law Review posted a nice summary of the key takeaways from the 2026 IAPP Global Privacy Summit. Finally, I liked Professor Ochoa’s guest post on the Cox v. Sony case.

Support Nightmare on Discord

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/dad-stuck-in-support-nightmare-after-teen-lied-about-age-on-discord/

2026 IAPP Global Privacy Summit

https://natlawreview.com/article/key-takeaways-2026-iapp-global-privacy-summit

Cox v. Sony

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/04/u-s-supreme-court-narrows-secondary-liability-in-copyright-law-cox-v-sony-guest-blog-post.htm

Links for Week of April 10, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This week, LinkedIn is at the center of a major privacy controversy involving secret browser surveillance. I liked an article by Glyn Moody about agentic AI and its impact on copyright, specifically regarding computer code. Also, Amnesty International weighed in on the EU’s “Digital Omnibus,” arguing it would gut GDPR protections to feed Big Tech’s AI ambitions.

LinkedIn Browser Surveillance

Agentic AI and Copyright of Computer Code

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/04/03/can-agentic-ai-coding-tools-finally-end-copyright-for-software-while-re-inventing-open-source/

Amnesty International’s Critique of EU’s Digital Omnibus

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/04/eu-simplification-laws/

Links for Week of April 3, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This week, Meta filed a statement in one of the torrenting cases for AI training data, claiming that the recent Cox decision will help it avoid liability. There’s some controversy over the official White House app, as it has significant privacy concerns. The author is apparently also a UFO conspiracy theorist. Finally, Anthropic’s Claude had its code leaked through what was apparently human error.

My appearance on the Sci Fi Book Pod discussing Robert Heinlein’s 1966 classic, “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” is now online. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlKNz3eXFBU.

To learn more about my Sci Fi and Fantasy Book Club, see https://bookclubs.com/clubs/5958204/join/a48ac1.

Meta Torrenting Case Update

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/meta-hopes-scotus-piracy-ruling-will-help-it-beat-lawsuit-over-torrenting-ai-data/

Controversial White House App

Anthropic’s Claude Code Leak

Links for Week of March 27, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This week, I liked a post by Jonathan Bailey about the slow collapse of copyright trolling. The Supreme Court ruled in the Cox case, denying contributory liability by ISPs for copyright infringement, at least on those facts. Finally, the FCC is banning Wi-Fi routers not made in the USA, but only certain ones, to take effect in the future, which is confusing to say the least since almost all of them are not made in the USA.

Slow Collapse of Copyright Trolling

https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2026/03/23/the-slow-collapse-of-copyright-trolling

Contributory Liability – Cox v. Sony

FCC’s Router Ban

Links for Week of March 20, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This week, I liked Professor Guadamuz’s post about the Like Company v. Google case in the EU, and how it may impact discussions of copyright and AI. Guest blogger Cathay M. Smith had a nice post on the RRT v. Bawtinheimer case and how they are trying to use copyright law to shut down its critics. Finally, John Gruber linked to a great article by Shubham Bose pointing out the user interface problems we are facing with the Web today. He went to the New York Times site and got 422 network requests and 49MB of data just to look at four headlines.

Like Company v. Google – EU Case

https://www.technollama.co.uk/an-end-to-the-input-output-dichotomy-in-ai-copyright-like-company-v-google-takes-an-unexpected-turn

RRT v. Bawtinheimer – Copyright

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/a-religious-organization-is-suing-its-critics-and-the-weapon-of-choice-is-copyright-rrt-v-cheryl-bawtinheimer-guest-blog-post.htm

Website User Interface Concerns

Links for Week of March 13, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This week, more on the Thaler copyright non-decision, the Supreme Court’s denial of cert. I agree with Mike Masnick, a more nuanced case might have been a better choice. Professor Goldman had a nice post about a Schedule A case where the plaintiff had to compensate the defendants. Finally, from Domain Name Wire, news that WIPO has a new procedure that could allow domain privacy services to be unmasked for as little as $20 a domain.

Thaler and AI Copyright

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/10/stephen-thalers-legendary-ai-copyright-losing-streak-ends-with-nowhere-left-to-appeal/

Schedule A Payout to Defendants

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/sad-scheme-copyright-plaintiff-must-compensate-defendants-shenzhen-langmi-v-schedule-a-defendants.htm

Privacy Service Unmasking

https://domainnamewire.com/2026/03/09/wipo-offers-backdoor-udrp-privacy-buster-service-from-20-a-domain/

Links for Week of March 6, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 20:33:37 +0000

This week, another story of a wrongful death lawsuit against an LLM, this time Google Gemini. Some website developers are including hidden code in “Summarize with AI” buttons that inject persistent commands into the LLM, which security expert Bruce Schneier commented upon. The original reporting was by Microsoft security researchers. Finally, I liked Professor Guadamuz’s essay explaining just what the US Supreme Court’s denial of cert really means for copyrightability of AI creations in Thaler v. Perlmutter.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Gemini

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/lawsuit-google-gemini-sent-man-on-violent-missions-set-suicide-countdown/

AI Recommendation Poisoning

US Supreme Court Denies Cert in Thaler v. Perlmutter

https://www.technollama.co.uk/no-the-us-supreme-court-did-not-declare-that-ai-works-cannot-be-copyrighted

Links for Week of February 27, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This week, we learned that AI models can reproduce near-perfect copies of novels provided as training data. So, be sure to be careful what you give to AI models! Along those same lines, Microsoft deleted an older blog post encouraging users to train LLMs on pirated Harry Potter books. Techdirt had a nice post explaining, once again, what’s wrong with mandatory age verification systems – mandatory age verification creates massive, centralized honeypots of sensitive biometric data that will inevitably be breached. Finally, I neglected to link to this earlier, here is my most recent firm blog article on copyright trolls: https://levinginsburg.com/copyright-trolls-explained-when-enforcement-crosses-the-line.

AI Models Can Reproduce Near Perfect Copies of Novels

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/ais-can-generate-near-verbatim-copies-of-novels-from-training-data/

Microsoft Deletes Post on Training LLMs with Pirated Books

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/microsoft-removes-guide-on-how-to-train-llms-on-pirated-harry-potter-books/

Mandatory Age Verification Systems

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/25/hackers-expose-the-massive-surveillance-stack-hiding-inside-your-age-verification-check/

Links for Week of February 20, 2026

Kevin A. Thompson — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 16:12:17 +0000

Mark Graham, the Director of the Wayback Machine for the Internet Archive, had a nice post on Techdirt. Some sites have blocked access to the Wayback Machine thinking it would stop AI scrapers, but they are misinformed. Professor Goldman had a nice post about an unfortunate situation, being the subject of a misdirected takedown. Finally, Bytedance is modifying its Seedance 2.0 product after backlash over massive infringement claims.

Don’t Block the Wayback Machine

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/17/preserving-the-web-is-not-the-problem-losing-it-is/

A First Hand Look at the Messy Underbelly of DMCA 512(c) Takedowns

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/02/a-first-hand-look-at-the-messy-underbelly-of-dmca-512c-takedowns.htm

Seedance 2.0

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/bytedance-backpedals-after-seedance-2-0-turned-hollywood-icons-into-ai-clip-art/