Hannah BW
@hbwhbwhbw.bsky.social
public law, science, technology | Microsoft visiting professor @ Princeton
Pinned
Hannah BW
@hbwhbwhbw.bsky.social
· Mar 18
I wrote a new paper, coming soon to a journal near you! _Information Law Pluralism_ is an attempt to give more nuance, texture, and clarity to debates about transparency and its role in regulation. comments welcome, still a WIP.
Information Law Pluralism
Information-intensive activities are reshaping political, social, and economic institutions. As they respond to these shifts, legislators and regulators are emb
papers.ssrn.com
Super happy that this paper is forthcoming in the Indiana Law Journal!
cancel culture is when you publish a bestselling book that gets excerpted in major newspapers and magazines and reviewed in others. many people do not like the book, but don’t be fooled: this is not evidence of diversity of opinion. true expressive freedom means never having to say you’re sorry
In this version of cancel culture, a professor is FORCED to finish his career at Harvard in relative peace: "It took a few years, but the furor around The Unheavenly City did subside. Banfield made his way back to Harvard in 1975 and finished his career there in relative peace."
Cancel Culture Goes Back At Least 50 Years
Edward C. Banfield questioned liberal claims about cities’ problems. Leftists and elites drove him from his academic perch.
theamericanenterprise.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:24 PM
cancel culture is when you publish a bestselling book that gets excerpted in major newspapers and magazines and reviewed in others. many people do not like the book, but don’t be fooled: this is not evidence of diversity of opinion. true expressive freedom means never having to say you’re sorry
I’m eager to see what the order says. Early leak suggested it was going to direct DoJ to seek to enjoin any state AI legislation on dormant commerce clause grounds. OTOH this seems like a great admission that the imperial First Amendment wouldn’t go far enough to undo all AI regulation… so, yay?
They should have worked this part into the headline:
Trump Promises Executive Order to Block State A.I. Regulations www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/u...
Trump Promises Executive Order to Block State A.I. Regulations www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/u...
December 8, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I’m eager to see what the order says. Early leak suggested it was going to direct DoJ to seek to enjoin any state AI legislation on dormant commerce clause grounds. OTOH this seems like a great admission that the imperial First Amendment wouldn’t go far enough to undo all AI regulation… so, yay?
“Librarian’s dividend” is a great phrase. we talk a lot about how LLMs eviscerate expertise and knowledge, perhaps not enough about how they may reinvigorate demand for experts who actually know wtf they’re talking about. 1/2
I used this as a framing example in a recent talk I gave about the "librarian's dividend" which is my probably-far-too-positive spin on this absolute garbage fire -- that at least maybe we're forced into more appreciation and value for the people and institutions who help us evaluate information.
December 5, 2025 at 11:17 PM
“Librarian’s dividend” is a great phrase. we talk a lot about how LLMs eviscerate expertise and knowledge, perhaps not enough about how they may reinvigorate demand for experts who actually know wtf they’re talking about. 1/2
I believe we call this “wishcasting”?
That explains it: All of these SCOTUS decisions aggrandizing the President are actually a stealth campaign to empower and reinvigorate Congress. Yeah, that must be it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
Opinion | Actually, the Supreme Court Has a Plan
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:34 PM
I believe we call this “wishcasting”?
present me has questions about why past me felt it necessary to cite so many hearings. too hard to bluebook!
December 4, 2025 at 7:59 PM
present me has questions about why past me felt it necessary to cite so many hearings. too hard to bluebook!
the LPE conference schedule just dropped and it’s 🔥🔥🔥🔥
December 4, 2025 at 7:16 PM
the LPE conference schedule just dropped and it’s 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Excited to read this. I think legal scholars who work on press freedom and the First Amendment are going to need to really grapple with the tension between the ideals of a free press and the doctrinal impediments to reforms that would help realize those ideals
Safeguarding our democracy requires a robust, fully funded public media system, a broader view of the First Amendment that advances citizens’ “right to know,” and a regulatory apparatus shielded from commercial *and* state pressures.
Read the report 👇
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Read the report 👇
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
The Political Economy of the US Media System: Excavating the Roots of the Present Crisis - Roosevelt Institute
Bilal Baydoun, Shahrzad Shams, and Victor Pickard trace the roots of the US media crisis to decades of deregulation and commercial capture, outlining how consolidation, news deserts, and platform domi...
rooseveltinstitute.org
December 4, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Excited to read this. I think legal scholars who work on press freedom and the First Amendment are going to need to really grapple with the tension between the ideals of a free press and the doctrinal impediments to reforms that would help realize those ideals
someone is wrong on the internet about something I care about and know a lot about and I’m not wading into it. please clap
December 4, 2025 at 1:37 PM
someone is wrong on the internet about something I care about and know a lot about and I’m not wading into it. please clap
Reposted by Hannah BW
I have a piece in the current issue of the New York Review of Books on the anti-trans agenda and the dangers it poses for the rights of cis women. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
The Anti-Trans Playbook | Paisley Currah
The current crusade against trans people imperils not just their rights but the survival of the legal doctrine built to protect all women from discrimination.
www.nybooks.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:24 PM
I have a piece in the current issue of the New York Review of Books on the anti-trans agenda and the dangers it poses for the rights of cis women. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Reposted by Hannah BW
And that movement’s most influential social victory, the decoupling of ideas about biology from ideas about how women ought to be, is precisely the achievement under threat today
December 3, 2025 at 6:25 PM
And that movement’s most influential social victory, the decoupling of ideas about biology from ideas about how women ought to be, is precisely the achievement under threat today
looking at the jumble of papers that faculty leave to university archives makes me feel much better about the mess that is my office.
December 3, 2025 at 2:50 PM
looking at the jumble of papers that faculty leave to university archives makes me feel much better about the mess that is my office.
seriously considering driving to Philly to stock up on Gold Rush apples
Gold Rush Rush - North Star Orchard
Place your orders for Gold Rush apples and varietal cider now for the 2025 crop! (Learn more about this amazing apple by clicking on the 1 or all 3 tabs below) In the case of a crop loss, we will fill...
northstarorchard.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:55 PM
seriously considering driving to Philly to stock up on Gold Rush apples
Reposted by Hannah BW
The instructor determines that, not me! it’s not my class. It’s not my assignment. It’s not my discipline. It’s not my university. I have no idea what the rubric for the assignment is. If someone were Monday morning quarterbacking my syllabus like this I’d be outraged.
December 1, 2025 at 2:59 PM
The instructor determines that, not me! it’s not my class. It’s not my assignment. It’s not my discipline. It’s not my university. I have no idea what the rubric for the assignment is. If someone were Monday morning quarterbacking my syllabus like this I’d be outraged.
I guess my hottest take today is that you cannot just avoid the culture wars if you simply ensure that you have airtight pedagogy
exactly. plus, the nature of the claim isn’t limited to this assignment or any written assignment. it’s also a nightmare for classroom environment. students use viewpoint to disrupt class discussion all the time. bless that with 1A doctrine and poof, a heckler’s veto.
December 1, 2025 at 2:51 PM
I guess my hottest take today is that you cannot just avoid the culture wars if you simply ensure that you have airtight pedagogy
Reposted by Hannah BW
you could lawyer your way to a passing grade for that OU essay i guess (and i would be sympathetic if the prof had done that just to move on) but it's very clearly not a good-faith interpretation of the assignment and academics is dependent on that
December 1, 2025 at 2:45 PM
you could lawyer your way to a passing grade for that OU essay i guess (and i would be sympathetic if the prof had done that just to move on) but it's very clearly not a good-faith interpretation of the assignment and academics is dependent on that
sometimes I ask my First Amendment students whether requiring them to complete the final exam in order to pass ”compels speech“ in violation of the Constitution. the answer is no, but the lesson here 👇 is that you can get a lot of mileage out of complaining even if your complaints lack any merit.
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
December 1, 2025 at 2:56 AM
sometimes I ask my First Amendment students whether requiring them to complete the final exam in order to pass ”compels speech“ in violation of the Constitution. the answer is no, but the lesson here 👇 is that you can get a lot of mileage out of complaining even if your complaints lack any merit.
It finally happened—my mom and I are walking our dogs in mismatched blundstones
November 30, 2025 at 1:29 PM
It finally happened—my mom and I are walking our dogs in mismatched blundstones
6’1”
punks in the beerlight
thunder road
see no evil
pretty pimpin’
punks in the beerlight
thunder road
see no evil
pretty pimpin’
the best ever death metal band in denton
radio free europe
windfall
here come the rome plows
6’1”
radio free europe
windfall
here come the rome plows
6’1”
Top 5 Side 1, Track 1s
November 27, 2025 at 2:00 AM
6’1”
punks in the beerlight
thunder road
see no evil
pretty pimpin’
punks in the beerlight
thunder road
see no evil
pretty pimpin’
me when my mother (my OWN MOTHER!!) casually admits she used ChatGPT to draw up a lease
a cartoon character from king of the hill is riding a bike .
ALT: a cartoon character from king of the hill is riding a bike .
media.tenor.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:36 PM
me when my mother (my OWN MOTHER!!) casually admits she used ChatGPT to draw up a lease
bring back graphs like this
November 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
bring back graphs like this
one of my favorite things about NJ Transit is that the conductors are always wishing each other happy birthday over the PA system
November 24, 2025 at 12:59 PM
one of my favorite things about NJ Transit is that the conductors are always wishing each other happy birthday over the PA system
everyone knows that the government has a compelling interest in preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption. what this *gestures wildly* presupposes is, maybe it doesn’t?
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 7:34 PM
everyone knows that the government has a compelling interest in preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption. what this *gestures wildly* presupposes is, maybe it doesn’t?
the more I write down why I think I’d be good at this job the more I think I’d actually be really good at this job
November 20, 2025 at 7:28 PM
the more I write down why I think I’d be good at this job the more I think I’d actually be really good at this job