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Internet & Social Media Law Blog

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Soulbound Tokens: Moving Away from the Hyper-Financialization of Digital Assets

Earlier this year, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, in cooperation with economist Glen Meyl and researcher Puja Ohlhaver, published a research paper on soulbound tokens (SBTs). SBTs are publicly visible, non-transferrable (but possibly revocable by the issuer) digital assets representing “commitments, credentials, and affiliations.” Buterin et al. have said that such…

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News of Note for the Internet-Minded (7/6/22) – Quantum Leaps, VR Tools and Cryptocurrency Tumult

From advancements in quantum teleportation to the possibility of intelligent digital twins and claims that Google’s AI is sentient, this week’s News of Note has sci-fi appeal, and more. Google offers more proof that traditional algorithms are no match for a quantum computer. (John Timmer, Ars Technica) Physicists at Delft…

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Regulators Zero In on AI

As previously discussed, financial services regulators are increasingly focused on how businesses use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in underwriting and pricing consumer finance products. Although algorithms provide opportunities for financial services companies to offer innovative products that expand access to credit, some regulators have expressed concern that…

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New York Legislature Passes Moratorium on Crypto Mining Operations

On June 2, 2022, the New York Legislature passed a bill, S6486D, that would place a two-year moratorium on certain new cryptocurrency mining operations at fossil fuel energy plants in New York. The bill would also limit circumstances in which mining operations currently operating at plants in New York would…

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Protecting Your Digital Identity in the Metaverse

Who are you, really? Identity can be hard to define. In the real world, we don different (often overlapping) masks depending on the situation—family, work, public service or private play. Online, the distance between the “real you” and these masks is often more pronounced. We adopt pseudonyms, handles, avatars and…

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California Governor Issues Executive Order Aimed at the Regulation of Blockchain and Crypto Assets

On May 4, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-9-22 to create a coordinated state regulatory approach for cryptocurrency and blockchain, with the further aim of harmonizing the state’s laws with those (potentially) enacted at a federal level. Another goal of the Order is to determine the usage…

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News of Note for the Internet-Minded (5/27/22) – Ransomware Attacks, Crypto Crashes and Genetic NFTs

In this week’s News of Note, ransomware continues to ravage institutions—including a 157-year-old college and the government of Costa Rica—AI learns to accurately predict a patient’s race based on their medical images, cryptocurrency crashes, and more. Threat intelligence research firm AdvIntel claims that the Conti ransomware organization has splintered into…

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Best Practices and Brand Exclusives: NFTs and Community Building in the Metaverse

We’ve written extensively on the still somewhat recent arrival of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as both a potential revenue stream, caveat-filled investment destination and pop culture marker of the moment. Back in 2018, we wrote about the Los Angeles Dodgers giving away digital bobbleheads to fans, who could redeem a private…

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Land of the NFT: Use Cases in Real Estate

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are changing how we think about asset ownership in the real world and in the digital world. NFTs—unique digital tokens stored on a blockchain ledger that represent ownership of an asset, either real or virtual—have gained significant popularity in realms such as art, gaming and entertainment, as…