Media Law & Literacy

I first realized how terrifyingly broken our privacy system is when my family was visiting my father’s long time friend. I was too embarrassed to admit I forgot his name so I looked up his address to find out. In under 5 minutes, I uncovered his full name, his last four addresses, his entire phone number history, along with similar records for his wife and 2 kids. And truthfully, I didn’t actually know his actual address, I just pulled up google maps while my dad was parking the car and went from there. I did that just to avoid a social blunder but imagine if someone with actual malicious intent wanted that information. It doesn’t have to be on a grand international scale either; stalkers are not a far fetched idea and online harassment has become so common and accessible due to the lack of privacy. When it comes to license plate tracking and data farming , it's not just about privacy— it's about who uses the data and why. Data collection is framed as necessary for public safet...

Everytime I'm stuck at a traffic light for longer than a minute, I get curious. A swarm of questions hits me: How do they work? At complex intersections with turn signals, what if there's no one in the turn lane? Would the signal still go off? And if it doesn't, how did it know? Or pedestrian lights that don't have a button but work anyway— what IS their secret? Everytime I say: ‘when I get to my destination, I’ll look up the answer and solve the mystery once and for all’. Which as you may have already inferred: that’s never happened. The good news is that the cycle has ended! Before diving into mechanics, consider the classic 1900s movie scene where someone runs into the road: there’s some yelling (maybe cursing) as the horses pulling the cart rear up along with the typical ‘whoa’. Traffic gets disrupted due to instinct, a horse reacts to the obstacles in the way. Motorized vehicles changed everything. A car didn't have survival instincts and certainly wouldn't...

Social Media was built to exemplify two core values of free expression: Promoting Innovation (Jack Balkin) and Individual Self-Fulfillment (C. Edwin Baker) . But the reality of today is that those same platforms of free speech are being trampled by the ability to profit. The internet has enabled people to connect all over the world. That's where the emphasis of technology started: ”a common information space in which we communicate by sharing information” (Tim Berners-Lee, 1998). Blog websites, forums, emailing, phone calls, texts— those were the staples of the early days of technology. No more letters that took weeks to deliver on horseback. Ideas and thoughts could be shared almost instantly. And it was clear the effect it had on innovation and community. For example, when my required school art class forced me to spend an hour staring at a pile of fruit and ten minutes picking charcoal out from under my fingernails, I was hardly inspired. Online, however, I found artists who s...

When I think of The Justice System™, I picture the classic court setting and confusingly specific wording of contracts. It all feels like it’s supposed to be almost clinical and rigid— legal and removed from emotions or personal attachments. Yet the videos changed my view to see court as something deeply passionate. "Does oral argument make a difference? Of course it does, it has to." I was surprised to hear this but I completely agree (especially now with AI taking over our rhetoric). The laws put in place are meant to reflect the values of the people. I don't think emotion should be removed from the court because it's the true foundation of our country (hard to start a Revolutionary War with nonchalance). I always assumed the final decision wouldn't have any objections but the inclusion of disagreements is unbelievably critical to maintaining cohesive justice across the country. How are other judges meant to rule on future cases if they can't clearly unders...

  Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (YouTube ) This is my favorite place to get news. I tend to avoid reading the news or hearing about current events. And live reporting never interested me because I often felt like the emphasis was getting the information out quickly without any fact checking or further investigation. So I have a preference for investigative journalism. That being said, I find most news leaves me feeling depressed or I’m intensely passionate about an issue that feels like I have no say in. I enjoy this show because it does in depth research on topics in a comedic tone that makes it feel less heavy to digest. But most importantly for me, is that the show always closes on the note “so what can we do” and provides real tangible suggestions for viewers to partake in if they feel strongly about the topic. The hopeful ending note is something I greatly appreciate and feels less like I’m just being told the world is burning to the ground. Google News Aside from LWT, I ...