During the 2020-2021 school year, the Tech Policy Lab was in the news with experts quoted in variety of articles on various subjects. Subject matter includes autonomous vehicles, data collection and surveillance, surprise charges, and liability tied to misinformation. Below are some highlights.

Uber, Autonomous Vehicles, Criminal Liability
September 17, 2020, Wired, Why Wasn’t Uber Charged in a Fatal Self-Driving Car Crash?
Accidents with self driving cars have helped question where negligence is present to help identify criminal liability. TPL Co-Director Ryan Calo explains how if a case were raised against a company, it would likely tell a more complicated story about how driverless cars work and what Uber did wrong, while also looking at popular opinion of technology.

Palantir, Surveillance, Social Responsibility
September 19, 2020, International Business Times, Palantir Listing May Shine Light on Secretive Big Data Firm
Palantir has shone the spotlight on data collection and surveillance with its applications analyzing many various internet records to create easier surveillance. Co-Director Ryan Calo has recommended they consider more about social impacts and currently stand out more as they work with groups that others have shied away from.

On-line charges, Subscriptions, Fairness
December 23, 2020, NBC News, Customers fight surprise charges as online subscriptions surge
Throughout the pandemic, subscription services have soared. Getting out of these subscriptions has become difficult. Co-Director Calo discusses what can make the terms deceptive.

NewsMax, Misinformation, Defamation, Libel
February 4, 2021, PolitiFact, A Newsmax host shut down MyPillow CEO’s Dominion conspiracy talk. Here’s the background
MyPillow CEO Michael McLindell appeared on NewsMax discussing possibilities of election fraud through Dominion voting machines, causing one of the news anchors to walk out. Co-Director Calo explains how disclaiming content can avoid lawsuits.