Jim Speta
@jspeta.bsky.social
Law Prof, Northwestern. Former Co-Prez Law Schools Global League. Internet Policy, Ad Law, Torts, Antitrust, etc. Lawyer, past and present. Int'l Programs, former Vice Dean, Interim Dean, etc.
Regents suspend classes at Center for Intellectual Freedom so they can review its curriculum. Credit to the student journalists who did not use the word “ironic.” dailyiowan.com/2026/07/29/c...
Center for Intellectual Freedom classes on hold
This is an installment in a multipart series The Iowa Board of Regents voted Wednesday to pause all courses offered through the University of Iowa’s Center for Intellectual Freedom, citing the need to...
dailyiowan.com
If you care about concentration, don't be mad he did it, be mad that the current antitrust ecosystem means it wasn't a waste of his time. www.chicagobusiness.com/transportati...
chicagobusiness.com
No true Chicagoan would take this gate promotion. My mom would spin in her grave.
These are in fact great bagels. Yet they are still bagels. Go get Filipino pastries or something. blockclubchicago.org/2026/06/24/g...
Get A Taste Of NYC At H&H Bagels' 1st Chicago Store
The famous bagel chain opens 6 a.m. Thursday in Fulton Market. The first 250 customers will get a tote bag and gift card.
blockclubchicago.org
Watching Egypt / NZ, and like all American casual soccer fans, I feel extraordinarily confident in saying the ref sucks.
I have to say, removing a usurper king's name from a building really is a great way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our founding.
This is incredibly important, if you (actually) care about opening the academy and academic discourse to all kinds of voices and viewpoints.
Michael Smith@msmith750.bsky.social · 2mo agoMy addition: This is awful news for those who write who aren't in the academy. I was able to share my work and hurl myself into conversations as a lawyer because of what I was able to do with SSRN. Professors have other outlets and networks. Those who are hoping to join them one day often do not.
Turns out this administration's toxic view of masculinity is also terrible for men economically.
Justin Wolfers@justinwolfers.bsky.social · 2mo agoFor all the talk of hard hats and jobs for big boofy blokes, women have claimed 6 out of 7 jobs created since Trump's return. Let's explore why job growth is tilting so hard to women, and what this means for our economics and politics. Read & watch→ newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-pink-c...
Link to text of Trump administration's proposed government-wide NDA agreement. Link to submit comments about it in thread below. Also, very briefly, this appears wildly unconstitutional to me. A sweeping prior restraint on essentially whatever the admin. decides 1/x urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
This ridiculous document, "FCC Reminds Broadcasters of their Public Interest Obligations," includes falsities about technology, economics, and law. The "public interest" never gave the FCC the asserted authority over content and viewpoints. It should just be ignored. docs.fcc.gov/public/attac...
docs.fcc.gov
Champions! Dynasty!! Just excellence. dailynorthwestern.com/2026/05/24/s...
Rapid Recap: Northwestern 14, North Carolina 11
For the first time in three years, the Wildcats are back on top. Northwestern defeated North Carolina 14-11 in the NCAA National Championship game in front of a Martin Stadium lacrosse record 8,316 at...
dailynorthwestern.com
That suit is not just blue. It's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/s...
In Italy, Princess Catherine Puts Her Wardrobe to Work
nytimes.com
Deep down, it’s because they know she’s cleaning their clock, and history will confirm it. They are terrible lawyers and judges, and she’s not.
Bill@bill-of-lefts.bsky.social · 3mo agoThey have created this entire mythology around Justice Jackson being stupid, where her stupidity is refusing to accept the ascendant conservative legal norms
Can we please be serious about how law works? The @nytimes.com does not say whether the review would be mandatory, but it seems like it. No (NO!) statutory authority exists for such a process. None. The Prez can’t just decide it’s a good idea. 1/ www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/t...
White House Considers Vetting A.I. Models Before They Are Released
nytimes.com
Well, yes, but regrettably it’s not just the South, and we are not going to get to workable liberal democracy unless we recognize the need for reinforcing liberal democracy everywhere.
Alan Elrod@aselrod.bsky.social · last yr.My view is that the American South never fully took to liberal democracy. And I think we have to reckon with that to face the moment we’re now in. I wrote about it for @thebulwark.bsky.social www.thebulwark.com/p/liberal-de...
No legal authority for this. None. www.yalejreg.com/nc/the-fcc-l...
The FCC Lacks Authority to Punish Broadcasters for Their Viewpoints, by James B. Speta - Yale Journal on Regulation
Introduction Does the federal government have the power to punish broadcasters, by exercising its power over their licenses to use the airwaves, for speech the government does not like, including spee...
yalejreg.com
Brian Stelter@brianstelter.bsky.social · 3mo agoBreaking: The Trump-aligned FCC is planning to file paperwork as early as this afternoon that will challenge Disney's eight licenses for its eight ABC stations. The early-renewal move would be a major escalation by Brendan Carr and would be widely seen as retaliation over Jimmy Kimmel cnn.it/41XdjH1
An outstanding third game. And Emma Hayes seems to have the team on schedule. So great. USA 3-0 Japan (Apr 17, 2026) Final Score - ESPN
These numbers are scary. 60% of student visas applicants from India are rejected? Denial rates were 64 percent in Africa and 41 percent in Asia. However, less than 10 percent of European applicants didn’t get a visa. Dumb, racist, and bad for America. www.chronicle.com/newsletter/l...
Student-Visa Denials Are Up
One in three applicants was refused a visa in 2025, new data show.
chronicle.com
Hard to imagine this going through (though perhaps not as hard as in other times), but the various market definition issues would be incredibly fun. One interesting Chicago-centric illustration is how to treat Southwest. www.reuters.com/business/uni...
United-American mega deal could raise fares and face antitrust roadblock
A potential deal between United Airlines and American Airlines would create an industry behemoth and invite extraordinary scrutiny from regulators, labor unions and consumer advocates, all wary of hi...
reuters.com
Tell me you practiced law *before becoming an academic,* without telling me you practiced law.
Michael Smith@msmith750.bsky.social · 5mo agoDoes it count as service to spend a half hour using paperclips, scissors, a staple remover, and all my ingenuity to unjam the stapler in the law school's printing room that's been unusable for two months?
The US was sort of founded on the idea that “divine right” was bullshit, yes? www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/u...
Hegseth Invokes Divine Purpose to Justify Military Might
nytimes.com
Almost a surprise there is no order that we all watch.
Jim Speta@jspeta.bsky.social · 5mo agoNow the FCC will take away broadcast licenses if stations show any college football game at the same time as the Army Navy game?? (sec. 2b) Not on my bingo card, even in this crazed time for media law. Naturally, the FCC has no authority to do so. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Now the FCC will take away broadcast licenses if stations show any college football game at the same time as the Army Navy game?? (sec. 2b) Not on my bingo card, even in this crazed time for media law. Naturally, the FCC has no authority to do so. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Preserving America's Game
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose.
whitehouse.gov
Stuck in an hours-long security line at the airport? It’s because Senate Republicans blocked Democrats’ bill to fund DHS agencies that don’t conduct immigration enforcement, like TSA. That’s how dead set they are on allowing ICE to keep terrorizing communities with impunity. Remember this.
Here's what I said about this meritless letter to the American Lawyer. First, the letter does not specify the alleged agreement. Second, the agreement, if any, cannot be per se, like the no poach agreements. Third, there is no possibility that the Mansfield ... www.law.com/americanlawy...
'It’s a Bullying Move That Might Work' — Antitrust Experts on FTC Mansfield Letters | Law.com
While the antitrust claims in recent FTC letters to law firms are meritless, according to experts, the administration’s willingness to use the trade regulator to achieve political goals could influenc...
law.com
Jim Speta@jspeta.bsky.social · 6mo agoThe FTC Chair comes for Diversity Lab and law firms participating in Mansfield Certification. The Chair's letter suggests collusion, but wouldn't survive a motion to dismiss in any court. news.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw...
The FTC Chair comes for Diversity Lab and law firms participating in Mansfield Certification. The Chair's letter suggests collusion, but wouldn't survive a motion to dismiss in any court. news.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw...
Bloomberg Industry Group : Page Not Found
news.bloomberglaw.com
