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Cathy Gellis

@cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy
23 followers 0 following 104 posts

US lawyer and former Internet professional interested in tech, international law, civil liberties & their convergence, plus the sociology of technology […] [bridged from mastodon.cloud/@cathygellis on the fediverse by fed.brid.gy ]

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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026
Want the government to be able to tell you how you have to spend your limited advertising $? Or whom you must speak to? Assuming you think that's something the First Amendment should prevent then have I got the amicus brief for you! Here's one I wrote in a California case where the government is […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 13/08/2026
A few weeks ago I spoke at LexLab @ UC Law San Francisco about lawyers and AI. Lots of lawyers are keen to roll AI into their practices, and lots of vendors keen to sell them those tools. But there are lots of rules that govern how lawyers do their jobs, and lots of AI use that runs afoul of […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 04/06/2026
I filed an amicus brief this week for Techdirt arguing that Louisiana's social media age-gating law, like all Internet age-gating laws, violates the First Amendment. I filed it at the Fifth Circuit, which struggles mightily with upholding the First Amendment... Here's a post about what we […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 27/05/2026
I spent the weekend deciding who to vote for in the CA primary - there's many offices on the ballot, not just gov! I got really frustrated with how the top-two primary system was forcing me to vote, for who could win rather than who I want. So I wrote about how we really need ranked choice […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 13/05/2026
Me thinks John Roberts doth protest too much... So I wrote about it at Techdirt. Sure, sometimes SCOTUS does its jurisprudence properly. But we need to care about how often it doesn't […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 01/05/2026
While the Supreme Court was busy being terrible this week, it also managed to do something good on the First Amendment front. I wrote about why it's important -- including, potentially, for online speech -- at Techdirt […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 10/04/2026
If you've been hearing something about Anthropic's Mythos model, and wondering why, my new post at Techdirt explains the cybersecurity implications it, and eventually all AI, will have and how we need to reorient our public policy to address those implications (looking at you, copyright law...) […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 07/04/2026
Want to think about something relatively normal and in fact a NOT terrible thing the Supreme Court has done? Good news! If the nation survives the week, so might the Internet, thanks to this recent decision […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 03/04/2026
This was a hard post to write b/c many are legitimately upset by this decision because it seems to validate conversion therapy. But it doesn't legalize it, and it gives an important tool to those fighting laws (ex: Texas's) trying to do the opposite and punish therapists who accept LBGTQ+ […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 30/03/2026
I was on This Week in Tech yesterday talking about some of the big recent court actions in tech policy cases (Cox, Anthropic, social media jury trials, etc.) among other things (ex: complaining about the design weakness of USB-C...). twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/epi…
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 28/03/2026
Like discovering that Iran could block the straight of Hormuz, last week Hegseth found out that the First Amendment blocked his "supply chain risk" designation of Anthropic. I wrote about the preliminary injunction that just came out […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 26/03/2026
UGH: I need to reinstall my Nuance Power PDF Advanced sw but the license servers don't work. Thought it was sold to Kolfax but customer service hung up on me and its published email is dead. So I tried Tungsten Automation, which says it's Nuance's successor but there's no one to talk to […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 19/03/2026
We will never be able to dissuade a country from developing nuclear weapons when we are content to leave a madman in the office who's threatening to use ours. I wrote this week how Congress's refusal to impeach is mortgaging our future […]
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/03/2026
Feeling pretty smug about all those clocks I never bothered to change back in November.
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/03/2026
It’s probably once again a bad time, historically speaking, for archdukes to ride in open convertibles.
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 11/02/2026
It was a two-podcast week for me! In addition to being on Paula Poundstone's podcast, I also was on the Techdirt podcast talking about the Supreme Court and the Internet. www.techdirt.com/2026/02/10/techdir…
techdirt.com
Techdirt Podcast Episode 443: The Supreme Court’s Internet Cases
Support us on Patreon » In the last few years, the Supreme Court has been paying a lot more attention to the internet than it ever has before, and the cases keep on coming. This is already having a big impact on how the internet functions, and it doesn’t look likely to stop any time soon. […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 10/02/2026
I was on the latest episode of Paula Poundstone's podcast talking about the First Amendment. Listen for a shout-out to anti-SLAPP laws, an explanation why "can't shout fire in a crowded theater" is NOT the law, and a caution to think twice about overruling Citizens United. (My segment starts […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 09/02/2026
I have a new post at Techdirt that is both a look back at just about everything I've written about Section 230 since its 20th birthday, and a crash course in how it works and why we need it […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 29/01/2026
In my latest post for Techdirt, I argued that it's time to call a spade a spade. The comparisons between what the Trump Administration is doing, and what the German Nazis did, is inescapable. And denying it (as the US Holocaust Museum shamefully did) just makes us more vulnerable to it […]
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/01/2026
Despite everything that happened at Davos, I still haven't forgotten about the Epstein files.
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 24/01/2026
Food for thought... In my latest Techdirt post I wonder what if Trump has already effectively abandined the presidency? What do we do? What do the courts do? www.techdirt.com/2026/01/23/a-year-…
techdirt.com
A Year In, And It’s Time To Recognize: The Oval Office Is Empty
It will be to the everlasting shame of all Americans that impeachment has not yet been accomplished to formally remove Trump from office. Not in his previous term, and not this one, at least not so far. In fact, this term it has hardly even been attempted. If it weren’t for Representative Green honoring his […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 16/01/2026
Perhaps my most timely Techdirt post ever: Today SCOTUS granted cert in a case involving electronic surveillance. Yesterday I published a post from a Justice Gorsuch concurrence on Wednesday, suggesting the Court was ready to revisit how the 4th Amendment applied to electronic surveillance […]
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/01/2026
Aside from the war crime of attacking survivors of a shipwreck, we must now add the war crime of perfidy. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/us/polit… [gift link] Perfidy is a considered serious crime in war because […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 08/01/2026
Remember 24 hours ago when we were still mad at Hilton, who insisted that these monsters needed to be housed on their properties? Want to tell them? I've got you covered with this model letter. www.techdirt.com/2026/01/07/dear-hi…
techdirt.com
Dear Hilton: Lose My Number
For those who wish to tell Hilton what they think of them, here is a model letter. Dear Hilton: I, as well as many of my friends and fellow citizens (as social media reflects), initially read with patriotic pride the news that a Hilton franchisee in Minnesota had refused service to ICE personnel—at least initially, […]
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/01/2026
Susan Landau, @SteveBellovin , and I have a piece up on Lawfare on the UK’s latest ill-advised attempts to prohibit strong encryption. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-u.…
lawfaremedia.org
The U.K.’s Plan for Electronic Eavesdropping Poses Cybersecurity Risks
The U.K. government’s latest attempt to access encrypted cloud backups could allow adversarial actors to gain access to sensitive data.
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 12/12/2025
The Democrats did something good yesterday! A significant majority voted to pursue impeachment. It didn't succeed, but let's celebrate it anyway, so that the hold-outs see that it's best to join them. And hopefully their GOP colleagues too... Here's my Techdirt post about it […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 12/12/2025
I was on This Week in Technology last weekend. If you missed it, now you can see it! twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/epi…
twit.tv
This Week in Tech: Amy's Crazy Husband | TWiT.TV
What happens if your internet provider gets the blame for what you download? This week, the panel unpacks a billion-dollar copyright battle at the Supreme Court that could
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 08/12/2025
Today's SCOTUS argument was awful. But (catching up) here's a write-up of last Monday's hearing about Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, a big copyright/DMCA/online free speech case I wrote a brief in, which may be the last time I ever say anything nice about the conservative […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 08/12/2025
This morning is oral argument at the Supreme Court in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment. Cox unfortunately isn't pressing this point but it is an enormously important First Amendment case involving online free speech. Here's the amicus brief I wrote […]
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 03/12/2025
Hey folks: this morning we're launching a monthlong fundraiser for @techdirt.com. Over the last year, we've been steadfast in not self-censoring, not capitulating, not sanewashing bullshit. But that's come at a cost. And we need help: rtb.techdirt.com/products/fri...
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 27/11/2025
Would you like something to argue about this Thanksgiving? Here: I wrote about how Congress refusing to impeach Trump violates their oath of office. www.techdirt.com/2025/11/26/oaths-o…
techdirt.com
Oaths Of Office, And How Everyone Not Moving To Impeach Trump Is Violating Their Own
Until very recently the only member of Congress excused from not having moved to impeach Trump was Rep. Grijalva, because until someone swore her in there was nothing she could officially do. But for everyone else already sworn into this 119th Congress, there was no excuse. There is no excuse. The refusal to act, to […]
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/11/2025
So I guess all those skyscrapers in Manhattan will be torn down to make way for collective farms now that Mamdani’s been elected.
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/11/2025
"Why their decisive election victories mean bad news for Democratic prospects in 2026" - Tomorrow's NY Times, probably.
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 04/11/2025
California! I wrote a piece about why you should vote for Prop. 50: www.techdirt.com/2025/10/16/prop-50…
techdirt.com
Prop 50, The Better Of Two Bad Choices
It’s a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t choice appearing on the California ballot this Election Day: choose gerrymandering, or have gerrymandering chosen for you. It’s an ugly decision to be forced to make. But, for the moment, at least, one that needs to be made. At issue is Proposition 50, which would change the law affecting how California […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 29/10/2025
I took a closer look at the lawsuit by Arizona to force Grijalva to be seated. In short, it's a bit of a long shot, but it has a lot more going for it than some might think […]
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/10/2025
I loathe Curtis Sliwa, but I really want him to come in second ahead of Cuomo because that will be maximally humiliating for Cuomo. I am petty this way.
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/10/2025
Anyway, I think Trump should NOT get his security deposit back in 2028.
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/10/2025
Oh, now the "2024 election was stolen" clowns are threatening to sue me, presumably for referring to them as clowns. Really, if anyone should be offended here, it should be clowns.
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2025
I was kind of on the fence about Prop 50, but then I read it and wrote out my thoughts and ended up convincing myself to vote for it. See if it convinces you too: www.techdirt.com/2025/10/16/prop-50…
techdirt.com
Prop 50, The Better Of Two Bad Choices
It’s a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t choice appearing on the California ballot this Election Day: choose gerrymandering, or have gerrymandering chosen for you. It’s an ugly decision to be forced to make. But, for the moment, at least, one that needs to be made. At issue is Proposition 50, which would change the law affecting how California […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2025
I was on @twit.tv This Week in Tech on Sunday, talking about many things, including those involving technology. Highlights include Cox v. Sony pending at the US Supreme Court and robots with rotating blades... twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/epi…
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2025
I have a new Techdirt post that went up on Friday, while the CDC was trying to illegally fire everyone... www.techdirt.com/2025/10/10/i-want-…
techdirt.com
I Want A New Drug. A Vaccine Even. And A Functioning FDA, CDC, NIH, Etc…
My cancer is back. This is disappointing but not unexpected; of the 2/3 of people who survive their first bout with ovarian cancer, 80% usually have it recur at some point. For me it was sooner than expected, and disheartening because, even if I beat it back this time, it will likely come back again […]
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2025
It is, of course, utterly fitting that the mascot of ABC's parent company is a mouse, the rodent that symbolizes cowardice and timidity.
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2025
I'm rather disappointed that this was only Techdirt podcast 430 and not 512, but here's me speaking with @mmasnick about the amicus brief we filed at SCOTUS in the Cox v. Sony online copyright liability case […]
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Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2025
Trump attending a Yankees game tonight. AF1 currently on final approach to LGA, where he will presumably get a shuttle bus to the 7 train and then change at Grand Central for an 4 express train to Yankee Stadium.
Flight map showing Air Force One flying into NYC
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2025
An awful thing happened to an awful person. We can grieve the awfulness in our midst without trying to rehabilitate any of it. In fact, if we'd like less awfulness going forward, it's best not to.
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Bruce Lawson ✅ ♫ ♿ ✌️♂️✊ @brucelawson.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 09/09/2025
Apparently, it's bad luck to mention a "MacBook" in a software company. You have to call it "the Scottish laptop".
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2025
I have nothing nice to say about the Supreme Court. Or any legitimacy it might still have. But since there remained a shred as of last Friday, I filed an amicus brief about platform liability, copyright, and the 1st Amendment. It is right, even if the Court is not […]
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Cathy Gellis @cathygellis.mastodon.cloud.ap.brid.gy · 26/08/2025
I wrote more about Trump's Intel "deal." I think it's a taking and here's why. www.techdirt.com/2025/08/26/with-in…
techdirt.com
With Intel, Trump Continues His Race To Violate Every Clause In The Constitution By Now Arriving At The Takings Clause
Trump’s quest to stress-test every line in the Constitution continues apace, with his declaration that the government now owns 10% of Intel looking like nothing but a great, big, gigantic taking. Of course, it is also terrible policy. While there are sometimes compelling arguments that companies should be in public hands, like for utilities, where […]
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