iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Yes, we have 20-year-old state data breach notice laws that are very effective in ensuring you learn that your credit card number was stolen a few months ago.

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People are becoming worried that the U.S. has no laws that are effective against AI-driven data breaches, but wait until they learn that the U.S. also has no laws that are effective against human-driven data breaches.

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I published the fourth edition of my cybersecurity law textbook less than a year ago but I suppose I need to do a fifth edition like now.

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I’m particularly curious about the Census Bureau incident - the agent obtained data from thr Census website using login credentials that it found online but it wasn’t a breach. So what data did it obtain? Was it already public data?

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The video of my fireside chat with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez is up.

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

“Facebook has this weird legal protection where they’re defined as a phone company.”

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The new season of The Paper has a Section 230 reference!

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Teaching cybersecurity law in fall 2026 means that you can’t really finalize your plans until the evening before class.

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The judge has yet to indicate how he’ll rule on the motion, but so far he has seemed very hostile to xAI and particularly angry that the company took nearly 3 months to file this suit. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he denies the motion and the case bounces around in the d ct. for a while.

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Important procedural updates in xAI’s lawsuit challenging MN’s AI nudification law. Last week the judge denied the preliminary injunction but avoided ruling on xAI’s (strong) First Amendment arguments. xAI now seeks an expedited injunction pending its appeal to CA8 The state has opposed xAI’s motion

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Judge Donovan Frank today denied X.Ai’s motion for a preliminary injunction blocking Minnesota’s AI nudification law, but refrained from ruling on the law’s constitutionality (he focused on the likelihood of injury to X.Ai and other factors). X.Ai has appealed to the Eighth Circuit.

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Interesting comparison with the criminal plea. I guess the distinction I see is that criminal defendants typically aren’t speech intermediaries so their plea deals don’t affect the speech rights of third parties. Of course the deals could impact the D’s speech rights, but that’s a different issue.

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When the settlement isn’t being used to impose restrictions that courts already have said violate the First Amendment rights of users. I understand you don’t want to call it jawboning, but don’t you see how this is an end run around the First Amendment?

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Fortunately there have been no threats to free speech in the past two years!

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If it’s not jawboning because the intermediary theoretically could have pushed back but chose not to, that would apply to nearly every scenario.

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I think our disagreement is where the jawboning happened. Yes, states could file a lawsuit and that alone is not jawboning. The jawboning takes place when they use leverage of the lawsuit to privately negotiate a settlement that imposes conditions that courts said violate 1A when imposed by states.

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The first thing I see when I walk into my office building each morning.

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That’s fair! Though I think “voluntarily” is not all that clear cut in this case (or really any of them).

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Although the court has to approve the settlement, this was negotiated between Meta and AG’s. Meta wouldn’t have entered into this agreement had it not been for the pressure the states brought. And courts already have found parts of the settlement to be 1A violations if imposed by states directly.

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What is the textbook definition of jawboning, and how does this not qualify?

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So it’s jawboning if the government makes an informal threat, but once the government begins to show that it is following through on that threat, it’s no longer jawboning?

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Not pressure platforms to impose restrictions that courts have found to be unconstitutional, would be a good start. Also not fuel a moral panic about technology, and instead have useful education about social media in schools.

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Do you think that what NY DFS did in Vullo was jawboning? If so, how is the Meta case - where the AG’s went further than merely threatening to bring an action - not jawboning?

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What is your definition of jawboning and why do you think the government’s use of litigation that could cost $1.4 trillion does not qualify?

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Reposted by Jeff Kosseff

Minnesota Law @umnlawschool.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Join the University of Minnesota Law School and @hubbardschoolumn.bsky.social for a fireside chat with @jkosseff.bsky.social, Sihla Professor of Media Ethics and Law, and FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez for a discussion about free speech, media, and the future of American democracy. z.umn.edu/binh

Constitution with maroon overlay in background; A path Forward For the First Amendment: A Fireside Chat with FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez and Professor Jeff Kosseff, Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law, Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communications, University of Minnesota Law School; September 9, 2026, 4-5:00 pm, Walter Mondale Hall, Lockhart Auditorium (Room 25)

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I spent years writing a book about the importance of anonymous speech from our nation’s founding through modern times. Today’s Meta settlement is a huge - and possibly fatal - setback to the ability to speak anonymously online.

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Reposted by Jeff Kosseff

Minnesota Law @umnlawschool.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

We are excited to announce that @jkosseff.bsky.social has joined the University and the Law School this month as the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law and the director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law at the @hubbardschoolumn.bsky.social. Welcome! z.umn.edu/bhqs

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

First day in my new office. Time to get started!

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Jeff Kosseff @jkosseff.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

The phrase “Section 230 immunity” appears in 442 court opinions, including dozens from the Ninth Circuit. Apparently they were all wrong.

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Reposted by Jeff Kosseff

Minnesota Law @umnlawschool.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

@jkosseff.bsky.social spoke to @postbulletin.bsky.social about an appeal by a woman found guilty of misdemeanor disorderly conduct for using a racial slur against a Black autistic child at a park. Free speech experts say she has a strong chance of winning on First Amendment grounds. z.umn.edu/bh1j

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This is from one of the dozens of Ninth Circuit opinions that is … in disagreement with the Ninth Circuit’s new view.

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Here is the very unfortunate opinion: cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...

cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov

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The Court said it would be “surprising” if Congress intended to create immunity. Surprise! That’s exactly what it intended. I have a whole book for the Court to read. Or this article: www.bu.edu/bulawreview/...

bu.edu

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The entire purpose of Section 230 shifted when the conference committee added that second sentence and made other changes. It had been about protecting the Internet from regulation. In its final form, it became immunity from lawsuits.

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