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55 Colum. J.L. & Soc. Probs. [i] (2021-2022)

handle is hein.journals/collsp55 and id is 1 raw text is: COLUMBIA JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS Volume 55 Number 1 Fall 2021 Copyright C 2022 by the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems, Inc. Is This Video Real? The Principal Mischief of Deepfakes and How the Lanham Act Can Address It...............................................1 This Note argues that the false association cause of action under Section 43(a)(1)(A) of the Lanham Act is well-suited for addressing problems posed by deepfakes, and outlines for practitioners the mechanics of such a cause of action. A deepfake, which is a portmanteau of deep learning and fake, is a digitally manipulated, often highly realistic video that substitutes the likeness of one person with that of another. Due to the way they deceive their viewers, deepfakes pose a threat to privacy, democracy, and individual reputations. Existing scholarship has focused on defamation, privacy tort, copyright, regulatory, and criminal approaches to the problems raised by deepfakes. These legal approaches may at times be successful at penalizing the creators of pernicious deepfakes, but they are not based on a theory of consumer confusion, which this Note argues is the principal mischief posed by deepfakes. Further, since deepfakes are often uploaded anonymously and the only effective remedy is against website owners, certain of these approaches are frustrated by the Communications Decency Act's immunization of website owners from liability for torts with a publication element. Hence, this Note proposes that the law of false association, which is principally concerned with consumer confusion, is best suited for addressing deepfakes. Importantly, a Lanham Act cause of action would allow victims of deepfakes to sue website owners under a theory of contributory infringement, because the Communications Decency Act does not immunize website owners from intellectual property claims. License & Registration: Addressing New York's Police Misconduct.................................57 In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, protesters flooded the streets demanding reform. States across the country responded with legislative action. Within weeks, New York State repealed Civil Rights Law § 50-a, which shielded disclosures of police misconduct records. The subsequent release of records showed the profound lack of accountability of police officers in the state. This Note argues that New York should enact a police licensing requirement to curb misconduct through uniform behavioral standards for all law enforcement officers, which would pull disciplinary power away from local departments, and prevent fired officers from regaining employment at other departments-problems that the existing remedies like internal affairs actions, civil suits, and criminal prosecutions fail to address. Licensing creates stronger accountability because an independent state licensing commission would have the power to suspend or revoke licenses for violating professional standards. Currently, all states certify that officers meet certain standards prior to employment, and 46 states allow for revocation of these certifications. Certification boards vary state-to-state, however, in their scope of authority and permitted grounds for decertification. New York State only permits decertification of officers who are first fired from their departments. This process suffers from reliance on local department action. Examining the NYPD demonstrates how even the most well-resourced departments fail to adequately address officer misconduct when disciplinary decisions are made at the local level. Police licensing shifts authority to the state, following many other professions that already require licensing (lawyers, doctors, barbers, taxi drivers, etc.).

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