Paul Alan Levy 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Abolish ICE Before They Kill Again, Impeach Trump & Noem Before They Incite More Murder

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2026 @ 04:53pm

    Okay, but

    Do you share my evaluation of their handling of THIS story?

  • On the post: Abolish ICE Before They Kill Again, Impeach Trump & Noem Before They Incite More Murder

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2026 @ 02:51pm

    Almost first rate reporting

    This detailed analysis of the incident is terrific, but I have to dissent in one respect: your complaints about media equivocation. You published this story the day after -- more than 24 hours after -- Good was murdered. You had the luxury of taking advantage of detailed reports in the media (and elsewhere) including, for example, the NYT and Washington Post. So you were able to come to conclusions about the ICE agent who did the shooting without any concerns about being sued for libel. But when media entities like the NYT published breaking news stories yesterday morning, they did not have that luxury. And every media company around has in mind the readiness of some lawyers firms associated with right-wing causes to jump into libel suits that might seem hard to win but can be filed in state courts in jurisdictions that might well be hostile to the big-city media, or in federal courts where even a state anti-SLAPP law will be inapplicable under Erie. And they all remember what happened to the Washington Post and CNN when they rushed to publication about the confrontation near the Lincoln Memorial between Nicolas Sandmann and Nathan Phillips and overstated some aspects. Even with libel insurance coverage, being a defendant in case like that can be overwhelming. And even without naming the officer, stories necessarily were about a single individual who thus would have standing to sue for libel. Should the media have held off on publication to make sure they had enough time to do the careful analysis that you were able to use? Or was it better that they spread the news quickly while noting the conflicting statements on both sides?

  • On the post: Chuck Schumer’s Ridiculous Strategy For Trump’s Illegal War: Hope Republicans Come To Their Senses

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 06 Jan, 2026 @ 02:41pm

    Polling data, please

    What basis is there to believe that running the 2026 midterms on the issue of the illegality of the military action in Venezuela is the winning strategy?

  • On the post: How Trademark Ruined Colorado-Style Pizza

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2025 @ 07:15pm

    What (besides the name) makes Colorado pizza distinctive?

    Nothing in this article gives a reader reason to think that the name is anything other than a marketing ploy. for example, maybe someone thought that such a label could encourage a consumer in Denver to patronize a local merchant. Not willing to sit through the linked 51 minute podcast to figure out whether it is explained there

  • On the post: Cowardice And Capitulation At Cornell

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2025 @ 02:58pm

    James Gross

    Whose histories of the early days National Labor Relations Board have sat on my office bookshelf forever.

  • On the post: Hey Brendan Carr, Try Censoring This

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 24 Sep, 2025 @ 02:05pm

    For those without the patience to watch for a half hour

    The transcript is here: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/24/business/monologue-transcript-kimmel-return

  • On the post: Where Did All Those Brave Free Speech Warriors Go?

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 19 Jul, 2025 @ 05:50am

    Not fair to say that the ONLY subject that is beyond the pale is DEI

    Also beyond the pale is criticizing Israel and expressing concern for the plight of Palestinians in Gaza. I think of this as DEI for a segment of Jewish kids

  • On the post: Judge Cites Kafka Regarding Renditioning Venezuelans To Salvadoran Concentration Camp, But Allows Kafkaesque Conditions To Continue

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2025 @ 10:47am

    Unlike Techdirt, trial judges are constrained by the fact that what they write is subject to appeal

    So, they have to live in the real world. And the motions panel in the DC Circuit this month is Judges Katsas, Rao, and Walker, all appointed during Trump's first term. Would you REALLY rather he issue an order that is likely to be overturned on appeal?

  • On the post: Trump’s Illegal Effort To Defund Public Broadcasting Stumbles Forward

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 07 May, 2025 @ 09:01am

    Advertising on some public radio stations

    There sometimes seems to be little difference between "underwriting" and advertising on some public radio stations. Speaking as the member of the board of a small opera company that barely squeaks by financially, I must say that I have been annoyed by the refusal of our local classical music station to mention our company's performances unless the company buys an "underwriting package" in which different levels of payment secure specific numbers of mentions, with higher payments securing mentions at more favorable times.

  • On the post: Harvard Goes To Court To Stop Trump Nonsense

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 22 Apr, 2025 @ 11:48am

    FWIW, Columbia President Signed this statement

    Which I saw in a message from the president of my own alma mater, Reed College https://www.aacu.org/newsroom/a-call-for-constructive-engagement

  • On the post: Harvard Goes To Court To Stop Trump Nonsense

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 22 Apr, 2025 @ 09:36am

    Has Columbia in fact capitulated

    Plainly it was moving in that direction, but it is not at all clear that the capitulation was finalized. More recent signs are that, seeing Harvard's example, it has pulled back from the humiliating end. I wonder whether it is helpful to keep assuming that Columbia has agreed to bad terms -- because that could encourage others with fewer resources to do so as well.

  • On the post: Associated Press Sues Trump Officials After Ban Over ‘Gulf Of Mexico/America’ Nonsense

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 21 Feb, 2025 @ 07:44pm

    Even if the AP were being "political"

    Denying access based on point of view expressed in speech is a classic First Amendment violation. And the vitriolic screed from the White House Communications Director, talking about crushing AP's "leftist reporters," shows pure viewpoint discrimination. Cheung has not yet learned that the rhetoric he spewed as a campaign spokesperson is gonna get his office into trouble when he speaks as a government official. Quoted here: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/21/associated-press-lawsuit-trump-officials-white-house-00205504 Re exclusion where: the original exclusion was limited to the Oval Office and Air Force one -- and I criticized Karl Bode's piece on this issue earlier this week for failing to note that. (Credit to him for fixing the error) But later communications cited in the complaint call into question whether that limit still exists.

  • On the post: White House Access Press Shrinks Like Feckless Daisies After AP Kicked Out Of Oval Office For Rejecting ‘Gulf Of America’ Name Change

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2025 @ 02:30pm

    Factual error in the article

    A friend of mine who regularly covers the White House for a major publication notes that AP has NOT been barred from the briefing room. It was excluded from the Oval Office and from Air Force One. Still a potential First Amendment violation, and still something over which a lawsuit like Sherrill v Knight and TCP Communications v Sellers ought to be filed as I see it.

  • On the post: White House Access Press Shrinks Like Feckless Daisies After AP Kicked Out Of Oval Office For Rejecting ‘Gulf Of America’ Name Change

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2025 @ 08:27am

    Coverage, not protests

    I for one am far more concerned with what they report than with any protests in which they might engage. I get the WaPo and NYT delivered daily and read them over breakfast. I see plenty of hard-hitting coverage. The constant whining about how the so-called legacy media are not being militant enough is tiresome.

  • On the post: Ninth Circuit Reverses Course, Says Oregon’s Surreptitious Recording Law Is Constitutional, Actually

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 16 Jan, 2025 @ 10:16am

    The fact that journalists want to do things does not mean that the First Amendment protects that

    Assume that a journalist wants to wiretap a conversation without ANYBODY's consent. Would you defend that under the First Amendment too?

  • On the post: Biden’s TikTok Flip-Flop: President Rushes To Undo Ban He Championed As Backlash Grows

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 16 Jan, 2025 @ 08:57am

    Repeating my comments on Bluesky

    /1/ There is an entirely lawful way for Trump and his Republican lackeys to "save TikTok," with only a few hours of its being offline – or maybe none! Trump formulates a bill that carries out his master plan, repealing the current law and replacing it with something else /2/ Both House and Senate pass it on Saturday. The lackeys who voted for the bill being repealed explain that, as worried as they were about China acquiring data about American users, the threat from the great god Trump to support primary opponents is much more worrisome. ‪ /3/ Either Biden signs the bill immediately, or Trump signs it immediately after taking the oath of office. ‪Paul Alan Levy‬ ‪@paulalanlevy.bsky.social‬ · Paul Alan Levy‬ ‪@paulalanlevy.bsky.social‬

  • On the post: Judge: Just Because AI Trains On Your Publication, Doesn’t Mean It Infringes On Your Copyright

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 13 Nov, 2024 @ 11:36am

    This is NOT a ruling on whether training infringes copyright

    The plaintiff's ONLY theory was that removal of CMI violated the DMCA. The judge intimates no view about whether training on copyrighted works infringes copyright. "Whether there is another statute or legal theory that does elevate this type of harm remains to be seen. But that question is not before the Court today." And "Other provisions of the Copyright Act afford such protections [against non-consented use], see 17 U.S.C. § 106, but not Section 1202." Those questions remain to be decided in other cases

  • On the post: Judge To Zuckerman: Release Your App First, Then We’ll Talk Section 230

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 13 Nov, 2024 @ 08:11am

    Decision seems correct to me

    As I read the decision and the comments, it's not just that he has not published; it is that Zuckerman has not yet created the tool. There is therefore no ripe controversy.

  • On the post: Georgia’s Secretary Of State Slapped With Frivolous Lawsuits: The Case For A Federal Anti-SLAPP Law

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 22 Aug, 2024 @ 07:07pm

    So who is going to approach Georgia Republican reps to co-sponsor?

    EOM

  • On the post: Dear Taylor Swift: There Are Better Ways To Respond To Trump’s AI Images Of You Than A Lawsuit

    Paul Alan Levy ( profile ), 21 Aug, 2024 @ 07:34am

    Should she sue

    She has a strong right of publicity claim, but she probably has no interest in getting bogged down in litigation. Using her bully pulpit might well be much more effective. It will be interesting to see how she navigates this

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