Rebecca Crootof
@crootof.bsky.social
I tend to write about #TechLaw, war (especially #WarTorts), and bizarre torts hypos. Nancy Litchfield Hicks Professor of Law at University of Richmond School of Law; recently the ELSI Visiting Scholar at DARPA.
Pinned
Rebecca Crootof
@crootof.bsky.social
· Sep 2
As many know, @bjard.bsky.social and I have been drafting a Technology Law coursebook for a few years. We've used it to teach classes at three institutions, including Yale Law School, and others have used chapters in their techlaw classes.
We're excited to share the current version more broadly!
We're excited to share the current version more broadly!
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
This is going to be the quintessential legal struggle of the so called “agentic” ai wave I think.
NEW: Google’s “Auto Browse” AI tool includes a warning that attributes responsibility to users for the bot’s actions.
“Use Gemini carefully and take control if needed,” reads a disclaimer on the demo version. “You are responsible for Gemini’s actions during tasks.”
www.wired.com/story/google...
“Use Gemini carefully and take control if needed,” reads a disclaimer on the demo version. “You are responsible for Gemini’s actions during tasks.”
www.wired.com/story/google...
Google’s New Chrome ‘Auto Browse’ Agent Attempts to Roam the Web Without You
Google’s latest addition to its Chrome browser puts generative AI behind the wheel and you in the passenger seat.
www.wired.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:26 PM
This is going to be the quintessential legal struggle of the so called “agentic” ai wave I think.
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
coming 🔜: How Tech Took Over, an article about how the tech industry became central to our legal and political order
January 28, 2026 at 6:35 PM
coming 🔜: How Tech Took Over, an article about how the tech industry became central to our legal and political order
Shoutout to @nicholson.bsky.social for freeing me from the tyranny of self-imposed standards for what constitutes being "professional" in my writing.
January 15, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Shoutout to @nicholson.bsky.social for freeing me from the tyranny of self-imposed standards for what constitutes being "professional" in my writing.
Taking suggestions for improving the wording of the text I'm considering including in future star footnotes (my own little adoption/reliance canary):
"I never used generative AI in drafting or editing this piece."
"I never used generative AI in drafting or editing this piece."
January 15, 2026 at 9:38 PM
Taking suggestions for improving the wording of the text I'm considering including in future star footnotes (my own little adoption/reliance canary):
"I never used generative AI in drafting or editing this piece."
"I never used generative AI in drafting or editing this piece."
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
January 15, 2026 at 1:47 PM
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
If you can substitute "hungry ghost trapped in a jar" for "AI" in a sentence it's probably a valid use case for LLMs. Take "I have a bunch of hungry ghosts in jars, they mainly write SQL queries for me". Sure. Reasonable use case.
"My girlfriend is a hungry ghost I trapped in a jar"? No. Deranged.
"My girlfriend is a hungry ghost I trapped in a jar"? No. Deranged.
August 13, 2025 at 12:56 AM
If you can substitute "hungry ghost trapped in a jar" for "AI" in a sentence it's probably a valid use case for LLMs. Take "I have a bunch of hungry ghosts in jars, they mainly write SQL queries for me". Sure. Reasonable use case.
"My girlfriend is a hungry ghost I trapped in a jar"? No. Deranged.
"My girlfriend is a hungry ghost I trapped in a jar"? No. Deranged.
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
Gift link to my piece with @oonahathaway.bsky.social on our slide to a nihilistic future. www.foreignaffairs.com/guest-pass/r...
A World Without Rules
The consequences of Trump’s assault on international law.
www.foreignaffairs.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Gift link to my piece with @oonahathaway.bsky.social on our slide to a nihilistic future. www.foreignaffairs.com/guest-pass/r...
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
Literally a publication for eight-year olds 40 years ago
January 4, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Literally a publication for eight-year olds 40 years ago
Includes fascinating implications that I've not seen discussed elsewhere.
I joined two great legal experts, @mikeschmitt.bsky.social @tessbridgeman.bsky.social, on this analysis
In this thread, I highlight 3 items you may not see covered in same way, if at all, elsewhere.
Panama 'precedent,' safeguards for Heads of State, Venezuelan nationals new legal protections in US
In this thread, I highlight 3 items you may not see covered in same way, if at all, elsewhere.
Panama 'precedent,' safeguards for Heads of State, Venezuelan nationals new legal protections in US
International Law and the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement Operations in Venezuela
Experts survey the international law issues of Operation Absolute Resolve.
www.justsecurity.org
January 4, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Includes fascinating implications that I've not seen discussed elsewhere.
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
You can read my take on Trump's illegal invasion of Venezuela here: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
The Brazen Illegality of Trump’s Venezuela Operation
A scholar of international law on the implications of the U.S. arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.
www.newyorker.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:02 PM
You can read my take on Trump's illegal invasion of Venezuela here: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
Best thing I’ve read this morning, from a human rights lawyer in Mexico. Translation is in the ALT-text.
January 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Best thing I’ve read this morning, from a human rights lawyer in Mexico. Translation is in the ALT-text.
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
I feel like I haven’t even been properly lied to about the purposes of this war
January 3, 2026 at 9:13 AM
I feel like I haven’t even been properly lied to about the purposes of this war
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
The closest comparison for the Grok thing we can imagine right now is if cereal made a bunch of people ill and the news put a microphone in front of some cereal boxes at the grocery store and was like “well they didn’t admit guilt, not sure who else we can ask”
January 2, 2026 at 8:24 PM
The closest comparison for the Grok thing we can imagine right now is if cereal made a bunch of people ill and the news put a microphone in front of some cereal boxes at the grocery store and was like “well they didn’t admit guilt, not sure who else we can ask”
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
Betcha a shiny nickel this is because they told their LLM to redact all the initials used to identify minor victims and so it also redacted S.D.N.Y.
I have seen DOJ do some strange redactions before, but this is up there:
December 23, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Betcha a shiny nickel this is because they told their LLM to redact all the initials used to identify minor victims and so it also redacted S.D.N.Y.
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
Say what you want about law reviews and all their flaws, but law review editors won't let this slip for one second.
An interesting read featuring GSU's own @andrew.heiss.phd.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
An interesting read featuring GSU's own @andrew.heiss.phd.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
www.rollingstone.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Say what you want about law reviews and all their flaws, but law review editors won't let this slip for one second.
An interesting read featuring GSU's own @andrew.heiss.phd.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
An interesting read featuring GSU's own @andrew.heiss.phd.
www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Wrote an issue spotter with "Dan" and "his longtime boyfriend, Evan" to draw out arguments about a standard that creates different rules for "family members."
I'm only two exams in, but thus far, both students have assumed "Evan" is a woman.
The power of heteronormativity!
I'm only two exams in, but thus far, both students have assumed "Evan" is a woman.
The power of heteronormativity!
December 18, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Wrote an issue spotter with "Dan" and "his longtime boyfriend, Evan" to draw out arguments about a standard that creates different rules for "family members."
I'm only two exams in, but thus far, both students have assumed "Evan" is a woman.
The power of heteronormativity!
I'm only two exams in, but thus far, both students have assumed "Evan" is a woman.
The power of heteronormativity!
Chapter 8 is up!
We'll be taking a break for the holidays - expect Chapter 9 circa January 15!
We'll be taking a break for the holidays - expect Chapter 9 circa January 15!
Chapter 8 shifts from basic concepts to our methodology's second step: assess the regulatory regime. We introduce the permissive approach (the presumption against new regulation), its LPE implications, and the Industry Three-Step (a dance of permissive preservation).
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Technology Law Chapter 8: The Permissive Approach
<p>Based on years of experience teaching the subject, we have produced a first draft of a “Technology Law” coursebook. It teases out fundamental concepts, intro
papers.ssrn.com
December 16, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Chapter 8 is up!
We'll be taking a break for the holidays - expect Chapter 9 circa January 15!
We'll be taking a break for the holidays - expect Chapter 9 circa January 15!
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork
December 12, 2025 at 4:00 AM
I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
I'm super-excited about this free Tech Law coursebook from @crootof.bsky.social and @bjard.bsky.social being freely published, and not just because Ashkan Soltani and I have a journal article of ours reprinted in it! (See Chapter 7)
As many know, @bjard.bsky.social and I have been drafting a Technology Law coursebook for a few years. We've used it to teach classes at three institutions, including Yale Law School, and others have used chapters in their techlaw classes.
We're excited to share the current version more broadly!
We're excited to share the current version more broadly!
December 3, 2025 at 4:08 PM
I'm super-excited about this free Tech Law coursebook from @crootof.bsky.social and @bjard.bsky.social being freely published, and not just because Ashkan Soltani and I have a journal article of ours reprinted in it! (See Chapter 7)
Update:
Informed the school and asked for a follow-up.
Just learned it was deemed an "extremely serious breach."
Consequences TBD.
Informed the school and asked for a follow-up.
Just learned it was deemed an "extremely serious breach."
Consequences TBD.
Well. Guess it was just a matter of time.
Received a nice email from a PhD student, asking me to review their draft chapter, which relied heavily on my work and arguments. Par for the course.
Except I never wrote half of the articles they cited to, nor the quotations they attributed to me.
Received a nice email from a PhD student, asking me to review their draft chapter, which relied heavily on my work and arguments. Par for the course.
Except I never wrote half of the articles they cited to, nor the quotations they attributed to me.
December 2, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Update:
Informed the school and asked for a follow-up.
Just learned it was deemed an "extremely serious breach."
Consequences TBD.
Informed the school and asked for a follow-up.
Just learned it was deemed an "extremely serious breach."
Consequences TBD.
Chapter 7 is up!
Chapter 7 introduces @harrysurden.bsky.social's concept of structural rights - non-legal rights at risk of being undermined by new tech - and leans on work by W&B, Meg Leta Jones, and @bankston.bsky.social & Ashkan Soltani to think about them in the privacy context.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Technology Law Chapter 7: Structural Rights
Based on years of experience teaching the subject, we have produced a first draft of a “Technology Law” coursebook. It teases out fundamental concepts, introduc
papers.ssrn.com
December 2, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Chapter 7 is up!
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
Sort of noteworthy that in a field typically full of complex hypotheticals and heavy on fact-specific circumstances, I've really not seen any serious IHL/LOAC voices argue these strikes are anything but virtually certainly unlawful
November 29, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Sort of noteworthy that in a field typically full of complex hypotheticals and heavy on fact-specific circumstances, I've really not seen any serious IHL/LOAC voices argue these strikes are anything but virtually certainly unlawful
Reposted by Rebecca Crootof
Christmas is coming, and the Black Friday sales signal we’re in peak gift-buying season.
When you’re picking out gifts for friends and family this year, there’s a whole slew of tech products that are better to avoid. I put together a guide to help you through it.
When you’re picking out gifts for friends and family this year, there’s a whole slew of tech products that are better to avoid. I put together a guide to help you through it.
A tech critic’s guide to holiday gift-giving
Maybe your grandma doesn’t need that Alexa smart speaker
disconnect.blog
November 25, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Christmas is coming, and the Black Friday sales signal we’re in peak gift-buying season.
When you’re picking out gifts for friends and family this year, there’s a whole slew of tech products that are better to avoid. I put together a guide to help you through it.
When you’re picking out gifts for friends and family this year, there’s a whole slew of tech products that are better to avoid. I put together a guide to help you through it.
Well. Guess it was just a matter of time.
Received a nice email from a PhD student, asking me to review their draft chapter, which relied heavily on my work and arguments. Par for the course.
Except I never wrote half of the articles they cited to, nor the quotations they attributed to me.
Received a nice email from a PhD student, asking me to review their draft chapter, which relied heavily on my work and arguments. Par for the course.
Except I never wrote half of the articles they cited to, nor the quotations they attributed to me.
November 18, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Well. Guess it was just a matter of time.
Received a nice email from a PhD student, asking me to review their draft chapter, which relied heavily on my work and arguments. Par for the course.
Except I never wrote half of the articles they cited to, nor the quotations they attributed to me.
Received a nice email from a PhD student, asking me to review their draft chapter, which relied heavily on my work and arguments. Par for the course.
Except I never wrote half of the articles they cited to, nor the quotations they attributed to me.
Same.
Quote post with a song you can’t hear without thinking of a movie it was in
"Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf
"Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf
November 18, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Same.