Cybercrime
JURI 5584 / 7584 · Fall 2025
Tue/Thu 3–4:15 pm · Room I
One-on-One Learning Hours: Thu 10:30–11:30am · Room 304
Group Learning Hours: Fri 11am–12pm · Room 304
Technological innovation can alter the commission, definition, and conception of crime. Computers, social media, and the internet have sometimes made existing criminal activity harder to detect or easier to commit. Digital technologies have also created new phenomena that challenge longstanding views about the permissibility and punishment of human behavior. This course will address topics such as digital privacy, free speech, terrorism, cybersecurity, image-based sexual abuse, stalking, harassment, doxing, and identity theft. It will examine questions of constitutional law, federal and state laws regulating online activity, and proposed legislation that would criminalize different forms of digital abuse.
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Your legal education should be as affordable as possible. To accompany this course, I’ve written a free digital book, Cybercrime Scenarios, with Samuel Won. The remaining readings are from James Grimmelmann’s Internet Law: Cases & Problems (15th ed.) or are linked for free in the syllabus. Although Professor Grimmelmann’s digital casebook is accessible for free, he and the publisher suggest that students pay $30 to download the PDF, based on the idea that it’s fair to ask you to pay about $1 per class session for which the materials are used. The money also helps to keep these materials affordable for other students in the future. We’ll be using content from these materials for roughly 25 class hours, so please consider paying at least $25.
Readings from Professor Grimmelmann’s casebook are marked by the acronym “GIL” and the page range. The scenarios in the syllabus are all found in Cybercrime Scenarios. For online materials (i.e., materials on the internet, not in the casebook), please review the entire piece unless I parenthetically note a specific page range. I’ve offered optional materials on certain class days. They’re truly optional, but they provide some perspective or background that I find interesting or helpful.
Given that this course focuses extensively on abuse and violence, I caution that some of these materials might disturb at least some of you. Professor Grimmelmann includes warnings before some distressing readings, but this course will constantly challenge us to confront painful topics in ways that I can’t always predict in advance. I want you to be in the right headspace when engaging with them. I’d encourage you to take breaks and walks during and after your class prep, and some of you might also wish to take advantage of UGA’s Health & Wellness resources occasionally throughout the semester. Please take care of yourselves and let me know if there’s anything I can ever do to help.
This syllabus is a general plan for our course, but we might have to deviate from it. If so, I will announce those changes as we go, giving you as much notice as possible.
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1. The Internet’s Own Boy
To replace a canceled class later in the semester, please watch the documentary and review the materials before class on August 19.
Lawrence Lessig, Laws That Choke Creativity, Ted (2007)
Catherine Bracy, The Limits of Aaron’s Law, BraceLand (2013)
2. Situating Cybercrime
August 19
Frank H. Easterbrook, Cyberspace and the Law of the Horse, University of Chicago Legal Forum (1996) (207–08)
Neal Katyal, Criminal Law in Cyberspace, University of Pennsylvania Law Review (2001)
Lawrence Lessig, Code 2.0 (2006) (GIL 46–50)
Julie E. Cohen, Law for the Platform Economy, U.C. Davis Law Review (2017) (191–199)
Danielle Keats Citron, Cyber Civil Rights, Boston University Law Review (2009) (62–67)
Optional
Julian Dibbell, A Rape in Cyberspace, The Village Voice (1993)
Jennifer L. Mnookin, Virtual(ly) Law: The Emergence of Law in LambdaMOO, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (1996)
3. Cyberspace as a “Place”
August 21
John Perry Barlow, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace (1996) (GIL 57–59)
Orin S. Kerr, The Problem of Perspective in Internet Law, Georgetown Law Journal (2003) (GIL 60–62)
David R. Johnson & David Post, Law and Borders: The Rise of Law in Cyberspace, Stanford Law Review (1996) (GIL 62–64)
Mary Anne Franks, Unwilling Avatars: Idealism and Discrimination in Cyberspace, Columbia Journal of Gender & Law (2011) (GIL 65–68)
State v. Decker (Minn. 2018) (GIL 68–70)
Robles v. Domino’s Pizza (9th Cir. 2019) (GIL 71–73)
Optional
Mark A. Lemley, Place and Cyberspace, California Law Review (2003)
Julie E. Cohen, Cyberspace as/and Space, Columbia Law Review (2007)
4. Jurisdiction
August 26
U.S. Department of Justice, Prosecuting Computer Crimes (2010) (113–20)
United States v. Auernheimer (3rd Cir. 2014) (GIL 108–13)
United States v. Yücel (S.D.N.Y. 2015) (GIL 113–15)
In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation (N.D. Cal. 2016 & 2018) (GIL 115–17) (skim)
5. Cybercrime Scenarios #1
August 28
WhatsUp Scenario
Peachy Scenario
6. Digital “Speech”
September 2
U.S. Constitution, First Amendment (GIL 123–24)
Texas v. Johnson (1989) (GIL 127)
Bland v. Roberts (E.D. Va. 2012) (GIL 127–29)
Bland v. Roberts (4th Cir. 2013) (GIL 129–30)
303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023) (GIL 137–39)
Elizabeth Kirley & Marilyn McMahon, How the Law Responds When Emoji Are the Weapon of Choice, The Conversation (2017)
Sarah Jeong, The Internet of Garbage (2015) (32–34)
Optional
Robert C. Post, Encryption Source Code and the First Amendment, Berkeley Technology Law Journal (2000)
7. Threats & Extortion
September 4
danah boyd, It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens (2014) (GIL 139–41)
Counterman v. Colorado (2015) (GIL 143–45)
Erik Nielson & Andrea L. Dennis, Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America (2019) (15–19)
United States v. Hobgood (8th Cir. 2017)
Benjamin Wittes, Cody M. Poplin, Quinta Jurecic & Clara Spera, Sextortion: The Problem and Solutions, Lawfare (2016)
Online Safety Modernization Act (skim Title I)
Optional
United States v. Alkhabaz (6th Cir. 1997)
No class on September 9
8. Incitement & Lies
September 11
Commonwealth v. Carter (Mass. 2019) (GIL 145–48)
United States v. Alvarez (2012) (GIL 149–50)
Caroline Sinders, That Time the Internet Sent a SWAT Team to My Mom’s House, Narratively (2014)
Online Safety Modernization Act (skim Title II)
9. Voyeurism & Impersonation
September 16
Restatement (Second) of Torts: Privacy (GIL 361–62)
42 PA Cons. Stat. § 8316 (GIL 362–63)
Bill Rankin, There Ought to Be a Law, but There Isn’t: Upskirting Not a Crime in Ga., Atlanta Journal-Constitution (2018)
People v. Golb (N.Y. 2014) (GIL 363–65)
Golb v. Attorney General of the State of New York (2d. Cir. 2017) (GIL 365–67)
Robert Chesney & Danielle Citron, Deep Fakes: A Looming Crisis for National Security, Democracy and Privacy?, Lawfare (2018)
Dave McNary, SAG-AFTRA Commends Gov. Andrew Cuomo for Signing Law Banning ‘Deep Fake’ Videos, Variety (2020)
Optional
Nick Bilton, Fake News Is About to Get Even Scarier, Vanity Fair (2017)
To Make a Deepfake, Scientific American (2020)
Can You Spot the DeepFake Video?, MIT (2020)
10. Harassment & Stalking
September 18
Snyder v. Phelps (2011) (GIL 154–57) (skim)
Lebo v. State (Tex. Ct. App. 2015) (GIL 157–59)
United States v. Osinger (9th Cir. 2014) (Watford, J., concurring) (23–32)
United States v. Cope (6th Cir. 2001)
Kentucky Approves Bill to Make ‘Doxing’ Illegal After Covington Student’s Online Backlash, NBC News (2019)
Online Safety Modernization Act (skim Title III)
Optional
John Oliver, Online Harassment: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO (2015)
11. Minors & Bullying
September 23
Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton (2025) (GIL 165–74)
State v. Bishop (N.C. 2016) (GIL 174–76)
Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021) (GIL 176–78)
12. Sex & Nudity
September 25
Sexually Explicit Speech (GIL 163–65)
Clare McGlynn & Erika Rackley, Not ‘Revenge Porn,’ but Abuse: Let’s Call It Image-Based Sexual Abuse, Inherently Human (2016)
State v. Austin (GIL 367–74)
TAKE IT DOWN Act (GIL 375–77)
Sarah Jeong, Revenge Porn Is Bad. Criminalizing It Is Worse, Wired (2013)
Optional
Nicholas Kristof, The Children of Pornhub, New York Times (2020)
Emily Bazelon, The Price of a Stolen Childhood, New York Times Magazine (2013)
13. Cybercrime Scenarios #2
September 30
Noodle Scenario (question (b) only)
BayRan Scenario (question (b) only)
MySpice Scenario (question (b) only)
Nudes Scenario (question (b) only)
14. The Cleaners
Watch the documentary and do the PBS quiz before class on October 7.
You may rent the documentary for $2.99 and watch it whenever suits you best, or you may attend a screening of the documentary during our regular class session on October 2. The documentary is ~1:25 long, so we will end at 4:25pm.
The Cleaners (2018)
Delete or Ignore? Pretend You’re a Facebook Content Moderator, PBS (2018)
Truth Social Community Guidelines (GIL 203–05) (skim)
Evelyn Douek, Content Moderation as Systems Thinking, Harvard Law Review (2022) (528–34 & 539–56) (skim)
Thomas Kadri, Juridical Discourse for Platforms, Harvard Law Review Forum (2022) (169–85) (skim)
Brian Krebs, Deleted Facebook Cybercrime Groups Had 300,000 Members, Krebs on Security (2018)
Martin Evans, Facebook Accused of Introducing Extremists to One Another Through ‘Suggested Friends’ Feature, The Telegraph (2018) (pdf)
Optional
Matthew Prince, Why We Terminated the Daily Stormer, Cloudflare (2017)
Kendra Albert, Beyond Legal Talismans, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society (2016)
15. Platform Liability
October 7
Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh (2023) (GIL 207–14)
United States v. Keith (D. Mass. 2013) (GIL 219–21)
16. Platform Immunity
October 9
Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230 (GIL 221–22)
Zeran v. America Online (4th Cir. 1997) (GIL 223–29)
Jones v. Dirty World Entertainment Recordings (6th Cir. 2014) (GIL 229–39)
Doe v. MySpace (W.D. Tex. 2007) (GIL 239–42)
Optional
Sue Halpern, How Joe Biden Could Help Internet Companies Moderate Harmful Content, New Yorker (2020)
17. Reforming Platforms
October 14
Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) (GIL 242–43)
TAKE IT DOWN Act (GIL 243-45)
Gonzalez v. Google (9th Cir. 2021) (GIL 245–54)
Gonzalez v. Google (2023) (GIL 254–56)
Song Fi v. Google (N.D. Cal. 2015) (GIL 256–260)
Digital Services Act (GIL 260–63) (skim)
Section 230 Reform Problem (GIL 263)
Optional
Danielle Keats Citron & Mary Anne Franks, The Internet as a Speech Machine and Other Myths Confounding Section 230 Reform, University of Chicago Legal Forum (2020)
Daphne Keller, Build Your Own Intermediary Liability Law, Balkinization (2019)
18. Platform Rights
October 16
PETA v. Tabak (D.C. Cir. 2024) (GIL 264–70)
Cyber Promotions v. American Online (E.D. Pa. 1996) (GIL 271–75)
Moody v. Netchoice (2024) (GIL 282–94)
Optional
Daphne Keller, Who Do You Sue?, Hoover Institution (2019)
Wendy Chu, Twitter v. Sessions: Twitter’s First Amendment Lawsuit Against the Government Advances After Three Years in Court, Harvard Journal of Law & Technology: JOLT Digest (2017)
19. Can’t Look Away
Watch the documentary before class on October 23.
You may rent the documentary for $7 and watch it whenever suits you best, or you may attend a screening of the documentary in Room J at 2:40–3:55pm on October 21.
Can’t Look Away (2025)
Thomas Kadri, Networks of Empathy, Utah Law Review (2020) (1083–97)
20. Cybercrime Scenarios #3
October 23
Chatsnap Scenario
Modela Scenario
TukTuk Scenario
Z Scenario
21. Hacking
October 28
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (GIL 488–90)
Orin S. Kerr, Cybercrime’s Scope: Interpreting “Access” and “Authorization” in Computer Misuse Statutes, NYU Law Review (2003) (GIL 490–91)
United States v. Morris (2d Cir. 1991) (GIL 491–93)
United States v. Van Buren (2021) (GIL 493–98)
hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn (9th Cir. 2019) (GIL 498–503)
Dumbnet Scenario
Sarah Jeong, The Curious Case of the Fortnite Cheater, The Verge (2018) (pdf)
Optional
Tim Wu, Fixing the Worst Law in Technology, New Yorker (2013)
Ellen Nakashima & Greg Bensinger, Former Twitter Employees Charged with Spying for Saudi Arabia by Digging into the Accounts of Kingdom Critics, Washington Post (2019)
22. Corporate Espionage
October 30
Thyroff v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. (N.Y. 2007) (skim)
United States v. Aleynikov (GIL 757–60)
People v. Aleynikov (GIL 760–63)
Melissa Eddy & Nicole Perlroth, Cyber Attack Suspected in German Woman’s Death, New York Times (2020)
Ransomware Scenario
23. Device Searches
November 4
U.S. Constitution, Fourth & Fifth Amendments (GIL 295–98)
Riley v. California (2014) (GIL 298–307)
United States v. Spencer (N.D. Cal. 2018) (GIL 308–11)
Carrie DeCell, Warrantless Border Searches: The Officer ‘Searched Through Every Email and Intimate Photos of My Wife,’ Just Security (2017)
Jacob Gershman, Judge Limits Phone Searches at U.S. Borders, Wall Street Journal (2019)
Optional
David D. Kirkpatrick & Azam Ahmed, Hacking a Prince, an Emir and a Journalist to Impress a Client, New York Times (2018)
24. Remote Searches
November 6
Rachel Levinson-Waldman, How the NYPD Became George Orwell’s Worst Nightmare, Salon (2015)
Desmond Upton Patton et al., Stop and Frisk Online: Theorizing Everyday Racism in Digital Policing in the Use of Social Media for Identification of Criminal Conduct and Associations, Social Media + Society (2017) (1–5)
United States v. Warshak (6th Cir. 2010) (GIL 311–16)
Carpenter v. United States (2018) (GIL 316–25)
Kate Knibbs, The Race to Preserve the DC Mob’s Digital Traces, Wired (2021)
Optional
John Bowers, Elaine Sedenberg & Jonathan Zittrain, Platform Accountability Through Digital “Poison” Cabinets (2021)
25. Electronic Communications
November 11
Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510 et seq. (GIL 325–29)
O’Brien v. O’Brien (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 5th 2005) (GIL 330–32)
Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701 et seq. (GIL 232–36)
Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp. (D.N.J. 2012) (GIL 236–40)
Optional
Facebook Inc. v. Superior Court (Cal. 2020) (Cuéllar, J., concurring (66–68) & Cantil-Sakauye, C.J., concurring (45–65))
Taylor Hatmaker, Microsoft Heads to Court to Fight Justice Department Gag Orders, TechCruch (2017)
Kristin Houser, Everything You Need to Know About the CLOUD Act, Futurism (2018)
26. Anonymity & Encryption
November 13
Eva Galperin, Internet Expert Debunks Cybersecurity Myths, Wired (2020)
Doe I v. Individuals, Whose True Names are Unknown (D. Conn. 2008) (GIL 344–52)
John Doe 21 Letter (2008) (skim)
Optional
Michael H. Keller & Gabriel J.X. Dance, The Internet Is Overrun With Images of Child Sexual Abuse. What Went Wrong?, New York Times (2019)
Amelia Nierenberg, Signal Downloads Are Way Up Since the Protests Began, New York Times (2020)
Alaa Elassar, The ACLU Created an App to Help People Record Police Misconduct, CNN (2020)
Sam Biddle, Police Surveilled George Floyd Protests With Help From Twitter-Affiliated Startup Dataminr, Intercept (2020)
Kashmir Hill, The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It, New York Times (2020)
Joseph Cox, How to Protest Without Sacrificing Your Digital Privacy, Vice (2020)
Jesse Marx, Police Used Smart Streetlight Footage to Investigate Protesters, Voice of San Diego (2020)
27. Cybercrime Scenarios #4
November 18
Fishlines Scenario
Nasal Scenario
Scraping Scenario
Doorway Scenario
Thomas E. Kadri, Platforms as Blackacres, UCLA Law Review (2022) (1218–22) (skim)
Thomas E. Kadri, Digital Gatekeepers, Texas Law Review (2021) (970–85) (skim)
Jeff Horwitz, Facebook Seeks Shutdown of NYU Research Project Into Political Ad Targeting, Wall Street Journal (2020) (skim)
James Risen, Reporters Face New Threats From the Governments They Cover, New York Times (2020) (skim)
Kendra Albert, Not A Crime: the CFAA and Respectability Politics, Tech Policy Press (2022) (skim)
Optional
Taylor Lorenz, Kellen Browning & Sheera Frenkel, TikTok Teens and K-Pop Stans Say They Sank Trump Rally, New York Times (2020)
28. Cybercrime & AI?
November 20
We can use this final session to discuss topics that interest you related to cybercrime and AI. More details to follow.
This class will also serve as our review session for the rest of the course, so please bring your questions!
December 4, 9am: Final Exam
For syllabus inspiration, I’d like to thank Kendra Albert, Hannah Bloch-Wehba, Evelyn Douek, Mary Anne Franks, James Grimmelmann, Orin Kerr, Ido Kilovaty, Martha Minow, and Natalia Pires de Vasconcelos, all of whose curricula helped me when shaping my own.