Columbine, Sandy Hook, Slender Man, and the Weaponization of Psychological Influence. Published on June 13, 2025. Revised June 14, 2025. Revised on July 5, 2025. I remember watching the news on April 20, 1999, transfixed and horrified. Live images of students fleeing Columbine High School, SWAT teams in formation, and confused reporters trying to explain…

Why the Personhood debate may be critical to the debate over cognitive autonomy. Published June 12, 2025. What happens when your body is expendable, but your memories live on? In Bong Joon-ho’s 2025 sci-fi satire Mickey 17, Robert Pattinson plays a man whose body is cloned and reprinted after each death—a human copy used for…

Published June 12, 2025. DOJ Justice Manual § 1-21.000 (2024 Update) This newly issued section of the DOJ’s internal litigation guidance: Instructs DOJ litigators and divisions to notify the Office of the Associate Attorney General in any case involving the application of constitutional provisions to residents of U.S. territories. The purpose is to ensure that…

In an era where technology can listen, store, and transmit our voices—often without our consent—understanding the concept of an “aural transfer” is crucial. Especially for those subjected to detention, surveillance, or even coercive tactics, the law’s definition of voice transmission has real implications for privacy, due process, and dignity. 📚 What Is an “Aural Transfer”?…

By Sally Vazquez-Castellanos, Esq. | Perspectives: Innovation, Technology and the Law. Published on June 9, 2025. Revised on June 9, 2025 at approximately 7:00 p.m. Revised on August 13, 2025 at 9:00 P.M. Revised on August 14, 2025 at 4:56 a.m. Revised 8:04 a.m. Imagine stepping into a privacy or compliance role at a theme…

To send someone a gift is to express this recognition tangibly. It’s a symbolic act that communicates: I thought of you. I value you. I want to offer something of myself—whether time, effort, or care. The act of giving is often less about the object and more about the intention: affection, apology, celebration, or memory.…

I am issuing this public notice to formally document and denounce a pattern of online conduct that is unlawful, unethical, and deeply harmful. Please be advised that subjecting anyone, including attorneys, to targeted exploitation through digital platforms—potentially including coordinated manipulation, surveillance, harassment, and identity interference are subject to criminal prosecution and penalties under the law.…

I’ve never used a dating app—not out of unfamiliarity, but out of fear. The fear of being misrepresented, surveilled, or worse—becoming the target of violence. Ironically, I became the subject of violence and identity theft anyway. That experience has only deepened my concern about the promises and perils of digital intimacy in an era of…

The term “coon” is a deeply offensive racial slur in the United States, historically used to demean and dehumanize Black people. Its origin and evolution are rooted in 19th-century American culture, particularly in the context of slavery and systemic racism. Etymology and Historical Development: Summary: The term “coon” originated from the word “raccoon” but was…

A shadow ban (also called stealth banning, ghost banning, or comment ghosting) is a form of platform moderation in which a user’s content or activity is silently suppressed—without any notification to the user. The person can continue to post, comment, or interact as usual, but their content is made less visible (or entirely invisible) to…

Let me state this as directly as possible: I am exhausted—and outraged—by the continued use of technology to violate my privacy, trespass into my personal life, and subject me to communications and innuendo that are inappropriate, abusive, and degrading. No one has the right to weaponize digital systems, media channels, or connected devices to surveil,…