Lisa Macpherson

Follow along as @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague @mrose.ink tracks the insights from the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Terrorism hearing on AI and copyright

Courts Agree: AI Training Ruled As Fair Use in Bartz v. Anthropic and Kadrey v. Meta Two recent landmark trials on AI found that AI training on copyrighted works is fair use — but the details aren't so cut and dry.

And @nickgarcia.bsky.social dissects two recent court cases in his post, "Courts Agree: AI Training Ruled As Fair Use in Bartz v. Anthropic and Kadrey v. Meta” 3/3

publicknowledge.org/courts-agree...

The Fatal Failures of the Copyright Office’s Report on AI At long last, the Copyright Office released its third report on fair use and AI — but their analysis contained serious missteps.

Offering two recent @publicknowledge.bsky.social posts that are relevant to the topic.

First, colleague @mrose.ink assesses the recent Copyright Office report on AI and copyright in her post, “The Fatal Failures of the Copyright Office’s Report on AI" ... 2/3

publicknowledge.org/the-fatal-fa...

TIME CHANGE: Too Big to Prosecute?: Examining the AI Industry’s Mass Ingestion of Copyrighted Works for AI Training | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Today (and new time of 12pm): Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism hearing, "Too Big to Prosecute?: Examining the AI Industry’s Mass Ingestion of Copyrighted Works for AI Training." 1/3

www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-ac...

The Fatal Failures of the Copyright Office’s Report on AI At long last, the Copyright Office released its third report on fair use and AI — but their analysis contained serious missteps.

The Copyright Office finally released its long-awaited third installment on AI and fair use. But while the top-line conclusions were generally on point, the reasoning in their analysis misses the mark. The latest from @mrose.ink:

publicknowledge.org/the-fatal-fa...

Why the FTC’s Click-to-Cancel Rule Deserved Better Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.

The FTC's proposed "click-to-cancel" rule would have been a great move for consumer protection. But when it came time to defend the measure in court, the Commission dropped the ball completely. Read the latest from @bergmayer.net:

publicknowledge.org/why-click-to...

Courts Agree: AI Training Ruled As Fair Use in Bartz v. Anthropic and Kadrey v. Meta Two recent landmark trials on AI found that AI training on copyrighted works is fair use — but the details aren't so cut and dry.

Last week, federal judges released two landmark decisions on artificial intelligence — both finding that AI training on copyrighted works is a protected fair use. Read the breakdown from @nickgarcia.bsky.social on what these rulings mean as well as their limitations at the link below:

Public Knowledge Opposes Senate Budget Bill Risking Nation’s Wi-Fi Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.

The Senate just passed its budget bill, including efforts to auction off public spectrum. Under this text, the FCC could be forced to sell off as much as half of the currently unlicensed spectrum in the 6 GHz band -- which could lead to slower Wi-Fi. publicknowledge.org/public-knowl...

To be clear, this AI moratorium language that was struck from the Senate budget bill had NOTHING to do with AI development or innovation. Rather, it was an attempt to prevent states from regulating *anything* that could be perceived as touching an AI system at the state level.

As predicted, the FTC issued a consent order requiring ad agencies not “boycott” online publishers. But it ignores far more likely impacts of the merger on competition. My @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague @elisephillips.bsky.social and I break it down.

publicknowledge.org/update-the-f...

Typically, wonderfully spicy (and accurate) take on the “Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes” (PRO CODES) Act from @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague @mrose.ink Can't think of a less accurately named act. #DontPaywallTheLaw

Public Knowledge Applauds Bill To Open Up App Stores Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.

Thanks to @amyklobuchar.com, Marsha Blackburn, & @blumenthal.senate.gov for reintroducing the Open App Markets Act to reduce gatekeeper power and realize the promise of true competition in the app economy. 🎉 Great step toward market fairness! publicknowledge.org/public-knowl...

A Policy Primer for Free Expression and Content Moderation, Part III: Safeguarding Users This third post of a four-part blog series focuses on policy interventions designed to enhance free expression and content moderation on digital platforms.

These may well be means of competition for platforms (most product features are, regardless of industry), but as in other industries they may also represent a path to product liability for platforms. Read more here publicknowledge.org/safeguarding...

Examples from current cases include ineffective parental controls, ineffective parental notifications, barriers that make it more difficult for users to delete and/or deactivate their accounts than to create them, and platform-created filters that allow users to manipulate their appearance. 5/6

Instead, our product liability theory holds that some harms can be caused by product design features that are rooted in the platforms’ ad-based business model and the need to sustain user attention - but have nothing to do with particular content or content curation. 4/6

Importantly, we do *not* include algorithmic serving or amplification of user content in our definition of product design under this theory. We agree these refer to content liability and are protected by both #Section230 and 1A. 3/6

Our product liability theory at @publicknowledge.bsky.social holds that platforms’ design features – separate and distinct from the nature of the content they serve to users, or how they serve it – can create harms, and that platforms should be liable for the harms their design features cause. 2/6

A very interesting thesis, but it fails to differentiate - as some judges have begun to do - between "algorithmic curation" and product design features that have nothing to do with serving content. We wrote about this, too. 1/6

Is Internet Content Too Engaging? www.lawfaremedia.org/article/is-i...

I know a little something about advertising - and the FTC's premise that ad agencies "boycott" tech platforms "by refusing to place their clients’ advertisements on them" is BS. The FTC uses “boycott” like they use “censorship” - as a cudgel to further the Trump administration’s goals. More here 🧵

What They're Saying: The AI Law Moratorium

Opposition to the 10-year moratorium on state laws regulating AI keeps growing.

To keep you up-to-date with the lawmakers, leaders, and advocacy groups speaking out, we’re launching NoAILawBan.org. Visit for a quick guide to who’s opposing the AI law ban.

The Rise of Big Washington Hair We may not all agree on politics, but one thing that could unite us all? The return of big, Washington hair.

“This isn’t your traditional Washington doyenne’s helmet-like bob…It’s touchable and time-consuming. It flows like disinformation.”

Brilliant essay from Mattie Kahn.

www.townandcountrymag.com/style/beauty...

A Comment on the Comment Call: Dissecting the FTC’s Inquiry Into Content Moderation I looked into moderation of the lab leak hypothesis. The truth will shock you.

The FTC had a comment call to investigate whether content moderation might constitute an unfair / deceptive business practice, & whether platforms might be engaging in anticompetitive acts.

It inspired me to look at moderation of the lab leak hypothesis…

open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...

How big is the market for rigorous reporting on misinformation? This new newsletter will be an Indicator "It's just politically expedient in this climate [for platforms] to lay low. And so this manifests in record levels of digital scams, AI slop everywhere, and entire chatbots dedicated to fringe conspi...

"...the CEOs of the big platforms have given up....whether it’s Zuck throwing fact-checkers under the bus or Altman deciding he wants a cut of the impersonation industry, CEOs have decided they're no longer interested in reducing the prevalence of disinformation."

www.niemanlab.org/2025/05/how-...

What Does Research Tell Us About Technology Platform “Censorship”? | TechPolicy.Press Public Knowledge policy director Lisa Macpherson shares insights from a review of eight years of research on political content moderation.

Public Knowledge Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social writes for @techpolicypress.bsky.social that nearly a decade's worth of research indicates that not only do tech platforms advantage right-wing content, but social media moderation disproportionately silences marginalized voices instead:

The Conservative Political Playbook Driving the FTC Platform Censorship Inquiry | TechPolicy.Press Public Knowledge policy director Lisa Macpherson outlines how the FTC could use its authority to enhance content moderation and safeguard online speech.

Public Knowledge Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social joins @techpolicypress.bsky.social to review the history behind the FTC’s request on tech "censorship," & suggests ways the agency could use its authority to actually improve content moderation and ensure free speech on platforms:

Breaking Up is Hard to Do (But Do it Anyway) The path forward to curbing Google's dominance across digital markets may mean spinning off some of its most well-known products.

What if Google Chrome were no longer owned by Google? In the wake of the ruling in US v. Google, this could become a reality — and should, in order to effectively curb their monopoly power in the search and digital advertising markets. Read the latest from Policy Counsel @elisephillips.bsky.social:

You won’t find these on the shelf. Newspapers print an AI-generated reading list with fake books. Ah, summer. The perfect time to get lost in a romantasy — or finally pick up Proust or Middlemarch. The Chicago Sun-Times, the city's second-biggest newspaper, recommended some summer books to its re...

Unfortunately, AI slop isn't just online. Original reporting by @404media.co: "many of the books on the reading list [produced by King Features, a subsidiary of Hearst] either do not exist or were written by other authors than the ones they are attributed to."

www.niemanlab.org/2025/05/you-...

I appreciate you

Group FTC Letter on Digital Ownership Public Knowledge joined 16 other public interest, consumer rights, and library groups in a letter urging Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson to protect consumers in the digital marketpla...

🚨 Today, Public Knowledge joined 16 other public interest, consumer rights, & library groups in urging FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson to protect consumers in the digital marketplace by establishing clear ground rules for digital ownership and sales of goods.

🧵1/ Near the end of the 118th Congress, we introduced a framework to evaluate legislation addressing AI-generated digital replicas. Since then, momentum has grown — fast. And last week, Congress passed the first-ever law on the issue: the #TAKEITDOWNAct.