Technology, Disruption, and Social Impact

Rapid innovation—whether it be in high-tech or biotech—creates legal issues unimagined just a few years ago. BCLT faculty co-directors are leading the examination of these emerging legal issues and have established themselves as the nation’s leading experts on the impact of technology on both society and individuals. They are researching a diverse range of topics, including government use of surveillance, regulation of internet platforms, forensic science in criminal prosecutions, technology regulations impacting the First Amendment, and the intersection of law and medicine. Students have access to 45 courses that explore technology’s impact on us all. Students also have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with these societal-impact issues by participating in innovative clinics like the Samuelson Law, Technology, & Public Policy Clinic.

“As technology has transformed more areas of life, technology law and policy has spun out in many directions beyond the copyright and speech issues that first preoccupied the field some two decades ago. Research by faculty and students now involves issues as disparate as the use of geolocation tracking bracelets on kids in the juvenile justice system to the provision of broadband during the pandemic. Part of the appeal of the field is the dazzling array of work that falls within it, and its constant evolution.”

- Catherine Crump Clinical Professor, BCLT Faculty Director, and Director of the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic

A Just Transition to Clean Energy Advanced Samuelson Clinic & Seminar Antitrust and Innovation Bioethics: From Nuremberg to Modern Times Business in Society Climate Change & Corporate Governance Reform Climate Change and the Law Computer Crime Law Copyright Law Criminal Procedure: Investigations Current Topics in National Security Law Cybersecurity Law and Policy Disruptive Technologies and Regulation Energy Law and Policy Environmental Health Law Through Film Environmental Justice and Advocacy in California Environmental Justice and Health Equity Environmental Justice: Race, Class and the Environment Environmental Justice in Practice Environmental Law and Policy Environmental Transactional Law Fire Science, Law, and Policy Gaming Law: Gambling, Fantasy Sports, Online Wagers Hate Speech, Disinformation, and Online Harassment: Regulation of and by Internet Platforms Information Privacy Law Intellectual Property Law International Environmental Law Law and Technology Writing Workshop National Security Law: A Practitioner’s Perspective Patent Law Pathways to Carbon Neutrality Regulated Digital Industries: Telecommunications Law & Policy for a Modern Era Renewable Energy Law and Policy Samuelson Clinic & Seminar Science and Regulatory Policy Secrecy: The Use and Abuse of Information Control in the Courts Social Enterprise Law Social Justice Issues in Entertainment and Media Law Space Law Sustainable Capitalism & ESG Technological Disruption and Social Justice for LL.M.s Technology for Lawyers Technology Law and Public Policy Seminar Trade Secret Law Trademark Law

Kenneth A. Bamberger

Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Law at Berkeley Law

Sonia Katyal

Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research

Catherine Crump

Director of the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic and Clinical Professor of Law

Peter S. Menell

Koret Professor of Law

Osagie K. Obasogie

Haas Distinguished Chair and Professor of Law at Berkeley Law with a joint appointment in the School of Public Health.

Andrea Roth

Professor of Law

Catherine Fisk

Barbara Nachtrieb Armstrong Professor of Law

Deirdre K. Mulligan

Professor in the School of Information and the School of Law

Jennifer M. Urban

Clinical Professor of Law and the Director of Policy Initiatives for the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic The 3rd Annual BTLJ-BCLT Race & Technology Law Symposium: Race Ex Machina: Confronting the Racialized Role of Technology in the Criminal Justice System Friday, November 18, 2022 As algorithmic decision-making and invasive surveillance technologies have become increasingly entangled with the U.S. criminal legal system, it has also become increasingly clear that these technologies and their applications often replicate and amplify existing racial disparities. Predictive policing, pretrial risk assessment, and algorithmic sentencing tools replicate racial bias, yet IP protections make examining and challenging their use difficult. Geofence warrants, facial recognition technology, and video surveillance are disproportionately used to target black and brown communities despite known reliability issues. Invasive applications and tools like ShotSpotter and Clearview AI are bought and deployed by law enforcement agencies with little oversight or attention paid to the harms they cause.

BTLJ-CMTL-BCLT Symposium | Race & Technology Law: Innovating Health Equity November 10, 2021 Among topics discussed, “Race & Access to Health Care Innovation” and “The Impact of Technological Trends on Racial Minorities in America.”

Cyber-hate: Defining and Combating Antisemitism and Hate Online February 4 and March 4, 2021 This symposium explored the phenomenon of cyber-hate. What are the key issues and manifestations? What are the appropriate responses to online hate? What are the frameworks available— legal, social, technological — and possible constraints to responding? How do we evaluate the success of various solutions? Co-sponsored by the Berkeley Institute’s Program on Jewish Law, Thought, and Identity and the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology.