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Jim Speta

@jspeta.bsky.social
744 followers 423 following 286 posts

Law Prof, Northwestern. Former Co-Prez Law Schools Global League. Internet Policy, Ad Law, Torts, Antitrust, etc. Lawyer, past and present. Int'l Programs, former Vice Dean, Interim Dean, etc.

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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It isn't complicated. This blatantly violates the first amendment, and it must be said plainly. Litigation might be hard, and SCOTUS has made it hard to get preliminary relief. But no question it's unconstitutional. @brieannafrank.bsky.social www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
usatoday.com
Is Trump's latest White House media ban legal? It could get complicated
If recent history is the judge, President Donald Trump faces an uncertain legal landscape in his latest effort to ban certain reporters from the White House.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A real innovator. My colleague Leigh Bienen has created this online archive of her work in Chicago. florencekelley.northwestern.edu
florencekelley.northwestern.edu
The Life and Times of Florence Kelley in Chicago, 1891-1899
A digital archive on the life and times of Florence Kelley, the first woman factory inspector in the United States and resident of Hull House.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Hey, Mr. Chief Justice, does presidential immunity extend to 18 USC 597? Just wondering. apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
Trump, hoping to salvage midterms, makes dubious pledge to give every US adult $5,000 if GOP wins
President Donald Trump says he plans to give every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Though of course the US voted against. youtu.be/eLqC3FNNOaI?...
youtu.be
Why are we changing maps? (from The West Wing)
YouTube video by SaltLakeUsersGroup
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Could we have a few more things from West Wing come to pass? www.cbsnews.com/news/united-...
cbsnews.com
UN votes to endorse new map projection that shows Africa's size more accurately
Africa has long been represented as smaller than its real size in maps, which are largely based on an ancient projection.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Justice Jackson too
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I'd litigate it for 10% of the settlement. So, Google and Verizon, call me!
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Third, it wouldn't take $22 mil to litigate, so the settlement is either based on (very small) chance of a large repayment or politics. Hmm. I think institutions like Deloitte have to fight, because the admin's civil rights views are bad for business, bad for the country, and just evil.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
First, the administration's interpretation of the civil rights laws are just wrong. Second, the admin's current interpretations were not the interpretation for almost all of the relevant period. So, due process and should forbid any penalty, including recovering contract sums paid.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This is very disappointing, and quite odd. The idea that this settlement was necessary to avoid litigation expense just doesn't ring true. Deloitte paid $22-24 million to settle this? The administration's claims incredibly weak.
wsj.com
Deloitte to Pay $21.5 Million to End DOJ Fraud Investigation Over DEI Policies
The Trump administration has been probing major U.S. companies under a novel use of a federal law meant to police federal contractors.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Or folks who write about payments for exclusive position, whether on store shelves or default browsers etc. Maybe that is the better analogy, but it’s outside the settlement context.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
What do the folks who wrote about collusive settlements in Hatch Waxman patent litigation say about this? @mcarrier.bsky.social ? Closest analogy I can think of, though of course those were agreements among competitors.
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Reposted by Jim Speta
James Grimmelmann @jtlg.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
If you are responsible for a civil society organization, you will do more to advance your organization's mission—and preserve civil society as a thing that meaningfully exists—by forcing an authoritarian government to spend time and effort crushing it than by complying with its illegal damands.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
In Act one (which starts a few minutes into this episode), This American Life tracks down that music and tells us why it's all the same. www.thisamericanlife.org/516/transcript
thisamericanlife.org
516: Stuck In The Middle - This American Life
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Not that the NYTimes bothers to mention that very important context.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
By all means, let's continue to attack and defund mRNA. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/s...
nytimes.com
Moderna, Merck Say mRNA Vaccine Prevents Melanoma From Returning (Gift Article)
Moderna and Merck say the experimental vaccine prevented the return and spread of the cancer in high-risk melanoma patients.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This is great. Congrats!
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Regents suspend classes at Center for Intellectual Freedom so they can review its curriculum. Credit to the student journalists who did not use the word “ironic.” dailyiowan.com/2026/07/29/c...
dailyiowan.com
Center for Intellectual Freedom classes on hold
This is an installment in a multipart series The Iowa Board of Regents voted Wednesday to pause all courses offered through the University of Iowa’s Center for Intellectual Freedom, citing the need to...
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Conservation of concern? More seriously, I expect antitrust laws to be fathfully enforced more than I expect companies to forego profits because of their independent judgment of antitrust laws in unclear cases.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
If you care about concentration, don't be mad he did it, be mad that the current antitrust ecosystem means it wasn't a waste of his time. www.chicagobusiness.com/transportati...
chicagobusiness.com
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
A local and a national tragedy. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/19/u...
nytimes.com
Failed Immigration Cases Leave Chicago Prosecutor’s Office Reeling (Gift Article)
Prosecutors have fled the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago, angry about the cases they’ve been told to bring against protesters and immigrants.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
No true Chicagoan would take this gate promotion. My mom would spin in her grave.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
These are in fact great bagels. Yet they are still bagels. Go get Filipino pastries or something. blockclubchicago.org/2026/06/24/g...
blockclubchicago.org
Get A Taste Of NYC At H&H Bagels' 1st Chicago Store
The famous bagel chain opens 6 a.m. Thursday in Fulton Market. The first 250 customers will get a tote bag and gift card.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Watching Egypt / NZ, and like all American casual soccer fans, I feel extraordinarily confident in saying the ref sucks.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Even if they win
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Reposted by Jim Speta
Zoomer Antimillenarian @surcomplicated.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
I have to say, removing a usurper king's name from a building really is a great way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our founding.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
That's 1000 policy mistakes. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/t...
nytimes.com
Elon Musk Becomes the World’s First Trillionaire
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
This is incredibly important, if you (actually) care about opening the academy and academic discourse to all kinds of voices and viewpoints.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Turns out this administration's toxic view of masculinity is also terrible for men economically.
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Reposted by Jim Speta
Heidi Kitrosser @heidikitrosser.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Link to text of Trump administration's proposed government-wide NDA agreement. Link to submit comments about it in thread below. Also, very briefly, this appears wildly unconstitutional to me. A sweeping prior restraint on essentially whatever the admin. decides 1/x urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Berin Szoka: bsky.app/profile/beri...
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler: www.brookings.edu/articles/bey...
brookings.edu
Beyond Kimmel, the FCC controversy exposes a larger struggle over free speech | Brookings
Tom Wheeler outlines FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr’s recent actions and warns of how they could extend authoritarian control.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
A coalition of first amendment scholars: www.freepress.net/news/leading...
freepress.net
Leading First Amendment Scholars and Litigators Call on FCC to End Unlawful ‘Jawboning’ and Censorship Campaign
Chairman Carr mistakenly believes he has power to shake down media companies, censor broadcasters and punish newsrooms that won’t twist their coverage to placate an erratic and image-obsessed Trump.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Cato Institute is against it (although they think public interest is more manipulable than I do (though I agree we should reform the law): www.cato.org/blog/fccs-pu...
cato.org
FCC’s Punitive Review of ABC-Disney's Broadcast Licenses Shows Need to Protect Free Expression
It is past time for Congress to strip the FCC of its censorial powers.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Stuart Benjamin writes here: reason.com/volokh/2025/...
reason.com
The FCC Chair’s Unprecedented, and Constitutionally Problematic, Response to Jimmy Kimmel
And Trump's much more extreme one. [EV writes: I bumped this post from yesterday, because it struck me as especially timely and substantively valuable.]
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
With apologies for repetition, I explain some reasons here: www.yalejreg.com/nc/the-fcc-l...
yalejreg.com
The FCC Lacks Authority to Punish Broadcasters for Their Viewpoints, by James B. Speta - Yale Journal on Regulation
Introduction Does the federal government have the power to punish broadcasters, by exercising its power over their licenses to use the airwaves, for speech the government does not like, including spee...
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
This ridiculous document, "FCC Reminds Broadcasters of their Public Interest Obligations," includes falsities about technology, economics, and law. The "public interest" never gave the FCC the asserted authority over content and viewpoints. It should just be ignored. docs.fcc.gov/public/attac...
docs.fcc.gov
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Champions! Dynasty!! Just excellence. dailynorthwestern.com/2026/05/24/s...
dailynorthwestern.com
Rapid Recap: Northwestern 14, North Carolina 11
For the first time in three years, the Wildcats are back on top. Northwestern defeated North Carolina 14-11 in the NCAA National Championship game in front of a Martin Stadium lacrosse record 8,316 at...
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
That suit is not just blue. It's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/s...
nytimes.com
In Italy, Princess Catherine Puts Her Wardrobe to Work
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Need a Matt Damon guest hit!
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Jeane Kirkpatrick was the speaker and honorary degree recipient for my undergraduate class. (Don't do the math.) This was the response. aadl.org/node/245710
aadl.org
1988 Alternative Graduation Address | Ann Arbor District Library
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
They hate that she calls bullshit and helps everyone see it.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
💯. You (*I*) meet someone who is “from the physics department,” and you later find out from NPR that she’s running the team of hundreds of astrophysicists from across the world who helped “hear” black holes for the very first time.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Deep down, it’s because they know she’s cleaning their clock, and history will confirm it. They are terrible lawyers and judges, and she’s not.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Of course, even if the FCC does have Comm Act authority over then internet (and I think it does), there isn’t any AI statute yet. Congress fiddles while Rome burns. 3/3
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
If the FCC doesn’t have authority to regulate the internet (whether that is a major question or not), then the White House certainly! cannot just decide what AI models can be marketed. Come on. 2/
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Can we please be serious about how law works? The @nytimes.com does not say whether the review would be mandatory, but it seems like it. No (NO!) statutory authority exists for such a process. None. The Prez can’t just decide it’s a good idea. 1/ www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/t...
nytimes.com
White House Considers Vetting A.I. Models Before They Are Released
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Let me not be indirect. Some (ahem Northern libs) like to think racism is just the South, and that’s just not true. Working on that is exactly the same thing as working on real democracy.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Well, yes, but regrettably it’s not just the South, and we are not going to get to workable liberal democracy unless we recognize the need for reinforcing liberal democracy everywhere.
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Jim Speta @jspeta.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
More in this letter from many scholars and lawyers (which somehow I missed when it was being circulated), including my colleagues @heidikitrosser.bsky.social and @gowder.io publicknowledge.org/wp-content/u...
publicknowledge.org
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