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Olivier Sylvain

@oliviersylvain.bsky.social
1.5K followers 317 following 28 posts

Professor, Fordham Law School globalreports.columbia.edu/books/re… papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAu…

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Reposted by Olivier Sylvain
Britt @desqatarian.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Just started bookshop.org/p/books/recl... by @oliviersylvain.bsky.social and even the intro has me hollering YES! I applaud the state AGs in the meta suit for the tremendous lifts, but we have so much more to do.
bookshop.org
Reclaiming the Internet: How Big Tech Took Control--And How We Can Take It Back
How the Internet lost its way--and how to fix it Recovering the Internet is an indictment of how Big Tech cloaks ruthless commercial exploitation in the language of free speech. Olivier Sylvain, a lea...
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Brokering Safety is really good. I'm grateful that I could get a chance to engage it so closely. Thanks @thomaskadri.bsky.social @chinmayisharma.bsky.social & @samadler.bsky.social for writing it.
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Thomas Kadri @thomaskadri.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Then, in “The One-Stop-Shop Is One Step in the Right Direction,” @oliviersylvain.bsky.social contends that our “timely and useful” proposal “would align legal responsibility with economic power” and “be an important step in the right direction.” www.californialawreview.org/online/one-s...
californialawreview.org
The One-Stop-Shop Is One Step in the Right Direction — California Law Review
‍Companies in the networked information economy collect personal data to provide their services. Businesses are also always keen to develop other ways to monetize this consumer information. A handful ...
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Fordham Law School @fordhamlawnyc.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
On the latest episode of NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money, Fordham Law Prof. Olivier Sylvain (@oliviersylvain.bsky.social) discusses his new book, "Reclaiming the Internet: How Big Tech Took Control—and How We Can Take It Back," & why he thinks a certain myth has given Big Tech too much power.
npr.org
Can the internet be reclaimed from Big Tech? : The Indicator from Planet Money
Why one former senior advisor of the FTC thinks a libertarian myth of the internet has given Big Tech too much power.Fact checking by Vito Emanuel.Your Next Listen — Why infinite scroll's inventor wan...
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Luiza Jarovsky, PhD @luizajarovsky.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
🚨 "Reclaiming the Internet: How Big Tech Took Control - and How We Can Take It Back" by @oliviersylvain.bsky.social is a MUST-READ for everyone interested in AI, and it's our 37th recommended book. Join the book club for free below.
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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
NOW: B52 bombers are literally in the air on their way to Iran and hundreds of thousands of Iranians are in the streets waving flags and surrounding bridges & power plants. Difficult to imagine this has any precedent in modern warfare. (🎥 Al Jazeera)
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Nadine Farid Johnson @nadinefj.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Curious about middleware? Wondering what I'm talking about? RSVP below for Friday's @knightcolumbia.org event on regulating social media, where experts including @oliviersylvain.bsky.social and @ethanz.bsky.social will hash it out. Join us in person (breakfast provided!) or online. Link below.
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
I'm happy to report that my book, Reclaiming the Internet (Columbia Global Reports), came out last week. globalreports.columbia.edu/books/reclai...
globalreports.columbia.edu
Reclaiming the Internet | Columbia Global Reports
How the Internet lost its way—and how to fix it
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
I look forward to the conversation with tech policy journalist Nancy Scola (@nancyscola.bsky.social). I'm also hopeful that DC friends will join.
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 11/03/2026
🗓️ THIS MONTH: On Friday 3/27, @knightcolumbia.org & @oliviersylvain.bsky.social will host a half-day event on the future of middleware. Speakers: @noupside.bsky.social, @daphnek.bsky.social, @ethanz.bsky.social, @lukehogg.bsky.social, @rreisman.bsky.social. RSVP: knightcolumbia.org/events/can-m...
knightcolumbia.org
Can Middleware Save Social Media?
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 25/02/2026
Tune in to: How Do Social Media Feeds Actually Work? a panel discussion w/ Knight Institute Sr. Policy Fellow @oliviersylvain.bsky.social, and C4D's Laura Edelson (@whiskeyocelot.bsky.social) and @yaeleisenstat.bsky.social. Thurs. Feb. 26, 1-2 pm. Streaming: www.youtube.com/@Cybersecuri...
youtube.com
Cybersecurity for Democracy
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Yaël Eisenstat @yaeleisenstat.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Tune in tomorrow! Looking forward to moderating this talk with @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social and @oliviersylvain.bsky.social.
Flyer describing panel that will be at 1pm Feb 26th on social media feeds. Speakers include Laura Edelson and Olivier Sylvain. Moderated by Yael Eisenstat.
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Very pleased that New York City will have an inaugural poet and such a fine one in the great Cornelius Eady. Poet Elizabeth Alexander of the Mamdani arts and culture transition committee doing good work: “Poets and artists…can say things that politicians can’t say.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/n...
nytimes.com
‘This Is Our Time’: Acclaimed Poet to Honor Mamdani With Inaugural Poem
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Rebekah Tromble @rebekahtromble.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
An excellent op-ed by @attorneynora.bsky.social laying out the Trump admin’s campaign of censorship. In her full report (www.freepress.net/download/cho...), she chronicles ~200 instances of attempted censorship this year. It’s incredibly important reading. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I Counted Trump’s Censorship Attempts. Here’s What I Found.
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Trump consolidating his influence over TikTok, a platform used by 170m Americans. If you doubt that this outcome serves American democracy or security, take it up with SCOTUS. www.axios.com/2025/12/18/t...
axios.com
Scoop: TikTok signs deal for sale of U.S. unit after years-long saga
The deal would end a years-long saga to force TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the company's U.S. operation.
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Jamal Greene @jamalgreene.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
NB: When I, a professor of law, profess that an act is unlawful, I am not doing it to inform the lawbreaker, but rather to inform you, the reader. So the question “what, like you think he cares?” is inapposite. The question is whether *you* care. I think you should, which is why I bother.
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
@techpolicypress.bsky.social asked me to comment on the White House's EO to block state AI laws. Shorter: its focus on interstate commerce, "truthful AI," & innovation are a flop. The President is not as powerful as he pretends. Enlisting DoJ & FTC won't help; they are bound by law.
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
@techpolicypress.bsky.social asked me to comment on the WH's EO on state AI laws. Shorter: its focus on interstate commerce, "truthful AI," & innovation are a flop. The Pres isn't as powerful as he pretends. Enlisting DoJ & FTC won't help; they are bound by law. www.techpolicy.press/why-trumps-a...
techpolicy.press
Why Trump’s AI EO Will be DOA in Court | TechPolicy.Press
Policymakers should not allow the happy-talk about innovation blind them to the ways in which AI companies may harm consumers, Olivier Sylvain writes.
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Megan Iorio @meganiorio.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
EPIC collaborated w/ @commonsensemedia.bsky.social, Cybersecurity for Democracy (@yaeleisenstat.bsky.social @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social) & Tech Justice Law Project on a brief telling the Ninth Circuit to deny Meta Section 230 protections for its allegedly addictive design. 11 legal scholars joined!
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EPIC @epic.org · 02/07/2025
EPIC led a coalition of legal scholars including @commonsensemedia.bsky.social, Cybersecurity for Democracy, and Tech Justice Law Project to file a Ninth Circuit amicus brief arguing against Meta’s use of Section 230 to shield itself from lawsuits. 🧵 #Meta #SocialMedia #Section230
epic.org
EPIC Leads Coalition of Tech Accountability Groups, Legal Scholars in Telling Ninth Circuit to Deny Meta Section 230 Protections for Alleged Addictive Design
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Julia Angwin @juliaangwin.com · 12/06/2025
I bring you a tiny bit of good news — courts are finally reining in Big Tech in significant ways. We could actually be on the cusp of a totally transformed tech landscape - after 30 years of total lack of constraints. My latest for @nytopinion.nytimes.com (gift link)
nytimes.com
Opinion | Big Tech Is Finally Losing
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Grateful for President Maud Mandel's strong, principled leadership of Williams College right now. cc: @oliviersylvain.bsky.social @rlevinsonwaldman.bsky.social @jaystanley.bsky.social @ethanz.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
U.S. college is first to decline federal science grants because of new DEI language
Williams College says NSF and NIH requirement related to discrimination “undermines” academic freedom
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
I'm thrilled that we're hosting such a great group of thinkers to talk about one of the defining issues of our day.
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Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
US states have stepped up to regulate consumer-facing online services where the federal government has been utterly silent, writes Olivier Sylvain (@oliviersylvain.bsky.social). The laws can be lumped into three categories: content moderation, data protection, and child online safety laws.
techpolicy.press
US States in the Vanguard: Social Media Policy Today | TechPolicy.Press
The states have stepped up to regulate consumer-facing online services where the federal government has been utterly silent, writes Olivier Sylvain.
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Just Security @justsecurity.org · 15/04/2025
Prof. @oliviersylvain.bsky.social explains how state laws on content moderation, data protection, & child online safety have proliferated. But while states step up to regulate social media where the federal government has been silent, big tech is not sitting idly by.
justsecurity.org
States in the Vanguard: Social Media Policy Today
The states have stepped up to regulate consumer-facing online services where the federal government has been utterly silent. But the tech companies are not sitting idly by.
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Today's post by brave Columbia public law scholars/friends shows how unhinged the admin's 3/13 Title VI demand letter is. This is how Columbia & others can/should fight back. balkin.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-ti.... I am proud to know these folks. Onward.
balkin.blogspot.com
Balkinization: A Title VI Demand Letter That Itself Violates Title VI (and the Constitution)
A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics
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Jamal Greene @jamalgreene.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Some of my Columbia Law School colleagues and I offer our thoughts on legal issues with the Administration's March 13, 2025 letter to our University's president, and its threat to academic freedom. balkin.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-ti...
balkin.blogspot.com
Balkinization: A Title VI Demand Letter That Itself Violates Title VI (and the Constitution)
A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 14/03/2025
Knight Institute Condemns Trump Administration’s Effort to “Subjugate Universities to Official Power.” knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
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Julia Angwin @juliaangwin.com · 16/02/2025
Government’s wins are often invisible: Systems that avoid plane crashes; alliances that avert war; surveillance that prevent pandemics. Government wins are often *the avoidance of loss.* So how do we tell the story of the destruction of government? The story of future losses *not* averted?
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Keeping this list up to date must feel like a fulltime job.
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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Trump is calling for ethnic cleansing—“clean out that whole thing” was his phrase!—but the NYT manages to make him sound like a humanitarian.
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Hard to hedge on this one. Best part of the segment: @steveinskeep.bsky.social googles and reads aloud the remarkable text for himself to see how far this President has actually gone.
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
So much to say/consider about this.
techpolicy.press
Transcript: Mark Zuckerberg Announces Major Changes to Meta's Content Moderation Policies and Operations | TechPolicy.Press
The Meta founder and CEO says "it's time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram."
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Olivier Sylvain @oliviersylvain.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
The FTC's Office of Technology, along with partners in the Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, have just post a couple blog posts over the past couple of days. All are fascinating and make plain the Commission is still on the beat, despite likely imminent leadership changes.
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