The FCBA Emerging Issues in Technology Committee will sponsor a CLE on Thursday, February 29 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET entitled SCOTUS Takes Up Content Moderation & Big Tech Deals with the Digital Markets Act.  This program will be held virtually via the Zoom platform.

The FCBA will apply for 2.0 hours of MCLE credit from the VA Bar.  This program has not yet been approved.

FCBA no longer offers CA MCLE credit to attendees.  If you wish to obtain CA credit, you must apply for it on your own.  FCBA will, however, provide a generic certificate of attendance that may be used.  Please click here for more information on the CA Bar Standards for MCLE Activity Approval and Requirements.

Online registration is closed.  Please contact Elina Gross at elina@fcba.org if you would like to register.

AGENDA

12:00 – 12:10 p.m.          Introduction and Welcoming Remarks

 12:10 – 1:05 p.m.            SCOTUS Takes Up Content Moderation

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument on February 26, 2024 in NetChoice, et al. v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice, et al., cases testing the constitutionality of laws enacted in Florida and Texas that prescribe certain content moderation practices on online platforms and require those platforms to provide individualized explanations to users affected by their content moderation actions.  The Court is faced with a circuit split on this question – the Eleventh Circuit found that provisions in the Florida law violate platforms’ First Amendment rights while the Fifth Circuit upheld the Texas law and rejected the Eleventh Circuit’s constitutional analysis.  These cases have drawn scores of amicus briefs and the Court’s decision is expected to shape aspects of how the First Amendment is applied in the digital age.  Our panel of experts will discuss the issues from both sides, including whether large social media companies should be considered common carriers, and will read the tea leaves left by the Justices’ questions at oral argument.  The panel also will address the possible implications of the Court’s decision.

Moderator:
Jonathan Cohen, Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP

Panelists:
Ester Murdukhayeva, Deputy Solicitor General, New York State Office of the Attorney General
Chris Marchese, Director of Litigation, NetChoice Litigation Center
Blake Reid, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Telecom and Platforms Initiative at the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology & Entrepreneurship, Colorado Law
Gabe Rottman, Director of the Technology and Press Freedom Project, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

1:05 – 2:00 p.m.              Big Tech Deals with the Digital Markets Act

 In our second panel, we will shift to a discussion of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, under which six companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft) have been designated as gatekeepers with durable market positions in digital sectors.  As the compliance date of March 6, 2024 for them nears, companies are beginning to release their plans for compliance.  Panelists will cover how gatekeepers have already responded, compliance burdens, future enforcement, and potential implications for the U.S. market.

Moderator:
Joan Stewart, Partner, Wiley Rein

Panelists:
Astri Kimball Van Dyke, Director of Competition Policy, Google
Marie-Myrtille Marichal, Director of Brussels Office of Lysios Public Affairs and EU telecom and competition law expert
Mark MacCarthy, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Communication, Culture, & Technology Program; Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution; Nonresident Fellow at the Institute for Technology Law and Policy at Georgetown Law
Robert Klotz, Partner, Steptoe (Brussels)

Cost: $135.00 for Private Sector Members; $95.00 for Non-Profit 501c3 Members; $50.00 for Government/Academic/Transitional/Retired Members; No charge for Law Student Members; $205.00 for Non-Memb