Jacob Robinson

building @LawofCodeFM to help you understand the legal layer of tech

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

Should code ever lose First Amendment protections?

This podcast covers free speech and software, including cryptography, cryptocurrency and AI. It should be the internet's most comprehensive.

You'll hear from experts like @valkenburgh, @prestonjbyrne, @LazPieper, Sam Enzer, and Professors Eugene Volokh (@VolokhC) and @JaneYakowitz.

We trace the history of Cold War export controls through to the recent restrictions on Anthropic's AI models, and explain why the Supreme Court has never definitively answered the question above.

Timestamps:

0:00 Anthropic AI export controls
6:17 Intro
9:39 The First Amendment
10:38 @VolokhC on his free speech philosophy
13:42 Speech vs function
19:24 @valkenburgh interview
25:50 The Cold War, munitions list and Phil Zimmermann
29:57 The Bernstein case
34:53 Strict scrutiny
38:48 The Corley case
49:17 Sorrell, Stevens and where the Supreme Court is heading
53:25 @prestonjbyrne on the Supreme Court's AI case
57:23 Defense Distributed and 3D-printing
1:04:00 Where publication ends and conduct begins
1:15:20 Lowe v. SEC and the agency line
1:45:45 Compelled speech
2:04:17 @LazPieper on Sorrell and third-party liability
2:11:29 @prestonjbyrne on the GRANITE Act and foreign censorship

Thank you to the presenting sponsor of this episode, @altitude.

Nothing in this podcast is legal or investment advice.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

" Putting third parties (who are unable to determine when those promises and representations end) in jeopardy, really is not the right policy result."

@NYcryptolawyer on one of the many benefits of the Clarity Act, which hopefully we see move forward soon.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

What is the CLARITY Act?

How does it protect the 70 million Americans who hold crypto? What does it change about how projects operate?

This @LawofCodeFM podcast explains the history of U.S. digital asset regulation, why regulation-by-enforcement failed and what CLARITY solves, plus remaining steps for this to become law.

Featured: @NYcryptolawyer, @milesjennings, @SH_Brennan, @KyleBligen, @millercwl, Dugan Bliss and snippets from @BillHughesDC, @thatgerald.

By the end of this episode, I promise you'll be in the 99th percentile for understanding the CLARITY Act, regardless of whether you're a lawyer, builder or operator.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
4:46 Explaining market structure
6:05 @milesjennings on regulatory distortion
10:43 Predecessor bills (RFIA, FIT21)
13:35 Senate Banking markup takeaways @millercwl
15:46 SEC & CFTC
20:37 The Securities Act of 1933
23:07 The Howey Test
25:26 @NYcryptolawyer's Ineluctable Modality of Securities Law
28:51 SEC enforcement
32:32 Why SEC rulemaking isn't enough
37:36 Titles of CLARITY
40:00 Digital commodities
47:29 Howey principles @NYcryptolawyer
54:10 Promoters: originators
58:18 Promoters: related persons
1:04:13 Token taxonomy @milesjennings
1:11:02 Ancillary asset requirements
1:19:34 The certification process
1:28:32 Remaining hurdles for CLARITY
1:34:50 Stablecoin yield
1:38:45 Ethics @KyleBligen
1:45:50 Tax consequences @CryptoTaxGuyETH
1:48:54 Thanking people working on the bill, such as @SenLummis, @gillibrandny, @SenatorTimScott, @SenatorHagerty, @SenThomTillis, @MarkWarner, @SenRubenGallego, f , their staffs & many, many others.

Nothing in this podcast is legal or investment advice.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@kimmonismus If you're wondering how these type of bans would work legally, I spent over 100 hours and spoke to six First Amendment experts on free speech and code.

https://t.co/5vDeQ4Bjou

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

Should code ever lose First Amendment protections?

This podcast covers free speech and software, including cryptography, cryptocurrency and AI. It should be the internet's most comprehensive.

You'll hear from experts like @valkenburgh, @prestonjbyrne, @LazPieper, Sam Enzer, and Professors Eugene Volokh (@VolokhC) and @JaneYakowitz.

We trace the history of Cold War export controls through to the recent restrictions on Anthropic's AI models, and explain why the Supreme Court has never definitively answered the question above.

Timestamps:

0:00 Anthropic AI export controls
6:17 Intro
9:39 The First Amendment
10:38 @VolokhC on his free speech philosophy
13:42 Speech vs function
19:24 @valkenburgh interview
25:50 The Cold War, munitions list and Phil Zimmermann
29:57 The Bernstein case
34:53 Strict scrutiny
38:48 The Corley case
49:17 Sorrell, Stevens and where the Supreme Court is heading
53:25 @prestonjbyrne on the Supreme Court's AI case
57:23 Defense Distributed and 3D-printing
1:04:00 Where publication ends and conduct begins
1:15:20 Lowe v. SEC and the agency line
1:45:45 Compelled speech
2:04:17 @LazPieper on Sorrell and third-party liability
2:11:29 @prestonjbyrne on the GRANITE Act and foreign censorship

Thank you to the presenting sponsor of this episode, @altitude.

Nothing in this podcast is legal or investment advice.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@AlexanderGrieve can’t wait to see how he gets from Ogygia to MetLife

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@AlexanderGrieve No spoilers, haven’t seen it yet

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

" This shouldn't be a partisan issue."

@valkenburgh on why both Republicans and Democrats should want Clarity to pass. (this got me fired up)

"This is a bill that will protect consumers from bad cryptocurrency companies, that will regulate good cryptocurrency companies, and that will also ensure that we're not unjustly prosecuting software developers for things like money transmission."

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

Should code ever lose First Amendment protections?

This podcast covers free speech and software, including cryptography, cryptocurrency and AI. It should be the internet's most comprehensive.

You'll hear from experts like @valkenburgh, @prestonjbyrne, @LazPieper, Sam Enzer, and Professors Eugene Volokh (@VolokhC) and @JaneYakowitz.

We trace the history of Cold War export controls through to the recent restrictions on Anthropic's AI models, and explain why the Supreme Court has never definitively answered the question above.

Timestamps:

0:00 Anthropic AI export controls
6:17 Intro
9:39 The First Amendment
10:38 @VolokhC on his free speech philosophy
13:42 Speech vs function
19:24 @valkenburgh interview
25:50 The Cold War, munitions list and Phil Zimmermann
29:57 The Bernstein case
34:53 Strict scrutiny
38:48 The Corley case
49:17 Sorrell, Stevens and where the Supreme Court is heading
53:25 @prestonjbyrne on the Supreme Court's AI case
57:23 Defense Distributed and 3D-printing
1:04:00 Where publication ends and conduct begins
1:15:20 Lowe v. SEC and the agency line
1:45:45 Compelled speech
2:04:17 @LazPieper on Sorrell and third-party liability
2:11:29 @prestonjbyrne on the GRANITE Act and foreign censorship

Thank you to the presenting sponsor of this episode, @altitude.

Nothing in this podcast is legal or investment advice.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@0xshawnpang Facts

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@austincampbell @valkenburgh @davidzmorris @amandatums No notes 👏

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@LazPieper Couldn’t agree more.

Same with words like “emergency” and “terrorism.” Hard to overstate how dangerous that is.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@BMNRRetail @LawofCodeFM Appreciate you

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

What is the CLARITY Act?

How does it protect the 70 million Americans who hold crypto? What does it change about how projects operate?

This @LawofCodeFM podcast explains the history of U.S. digital asset regulation, why regulation-by-enforcement failed and what CLARITY solves, plus remaining steps for this to become law.

Featured: @NYcryptolawyer, @milesjennings, @SH_Brennan, @KyleBligen, @millercwl, Dugan Bliss and snippets from @BillHughesDC, @thatgerald.

By the end of this episode, I promise you'll be in the 99th percentile for understanding the CLARITY Act, regardless of whether you're a lawyer, builder or operator.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
4:46 Explaining market structure
6:05 @milesjennings on regulatory distortion
10:43 Predecessor bills (RFIA, FIT21)
13:35 Senate Banking markup takeaways @millercwl
15:46 SEC & CFTC
20:37 The Securities Act of 1933
23:07 The Howey Test
25:26 @NYcryptolawyer's Ineluctable Modality of Securities Law
28:51 SEC enforcement
32:32 Why SEC rulemaking isn't enough
37:36 Titles of CLARITY
40:00 Digital commodities
47:29 Howey principles @NYcryptolawyer
54:10 Promoters: originators
58:18 Promoters: related persons
1:04:13 Token taxonomy @milesjennings
1:11:02 Ancillary asset requirements
1:19:34 The certification process
1:28:32 Remaining hurdles for CLARITY
1:34:50 Stablecoin yield
1:38:45 Ethics @KyleBligen
1:45:50 Tax consequences @CryptoTaxGuyETH
1:48:54 Thanking people working on the bill, such as @SenLummis, @gillibrandny, @SenatorTimScott, @SenatorHagerty, @SenThomTillis, @MarkWarner, @SenRubenGallego, f , their staffs & many, many others.

Nothing in this podcast is legal or investment advice.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

Must-read insight for the latest on the Clarity Act by @banamlas in the below thread.

For anyone wondering what might be included in these long-debated "ethics" provisions, @KyleBligen explains it in less than two minutes here.

[Salman Banaei @banamlas]

We are in the thick of negotiations for Clarity. If we get this right, we'll have a framework or the foundation for a framework for digital assets in the U.S. During a time in live history where finance is among the planes for geopolitical competition it is important to create a durable framework for digital asset innovation and the incorporation of the this globally scalable financial technology into the regulatory perimeter.

It isn't a perfect bill - and the technology and markets are evolving too rapidly to get every issue right. But it is a step in the right direction. If it doesn't address every risk regulators and Congress can and must change course.

OK now that I've made my high level pitch, where is Clarity right now? After meetings with Members and staff this week alongside @BlockchainAssn leadership, staff, and BA members including @xethalis, there are four primary issues that will make or break this legislation. The gaps are mostly political, though important policy issues need to be resolved. -And we only have a few weeks, 3-6 weeks, to get 60 votes in the Senate to support the bill's passage.

1. Ethics. We are expecting GOP proposed ethics language this weekend or early next week based on negotiations between key GOP senators and the White House. This language intended to target the ethics and politics associated with crypto asset offerings and endorsements from political officials. Expect to see grant of power to state attorneys general to intervene in ethically questionable crypto activities from federal officials though details on this and more broadly as it relates to ethics are still being negotiated. Many but not all Dems are signaling that whatever comes from the GOP will be inadequate.

2. Blockchain developer protections. The bill contains a provision (Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act) that exempts blockchain developers from money transmitter laws. Key senators have indicated if law enforcement groups generally endorse the bill, then they can get to "yes." The record is mixed with @FLEOAORG this week giving a cautious endorsement.

Look for more endorsements or critiques of the bill from law enforcement and law enforcement groups. The question for these senators is whether the emerging net endorsement of the bill by these groups is sufficient.

3. Stablecoin yield. There was a compromise brokered between crypto firms /stablecoin issuers and the banks by the White House and Senators Tillis (R-NC) and Alsobrooks (D-MD) whereby idle balance rewards/incentives are prohibited but transaction based rewards are permitted.

The banks are trying to relitigate this point and may succeed in getting some senators to offer an amendment. The White House will push back and it is expected this effort will fail as it also does not have broad Dem or GOP support.

4. Conflicts of interest. Among the loose ends with this bill is the Ag Committee / @CFTC related provisions. This is the most policy-based (vs. political) fault line. Most prominent among these issues is that Democratic Senators want to see stronger conflicts of interest protections in vertically integrated crypto businesses.

I left meetings this week more confident than I did before that these issues can be resolved - at least at the policy level. There appears to be sufficient momentum to get this bill done, but a politically exposed Trump Administration provides political incentive and cover to deny the Administration a bill that, unfortunately, seen as a priority for the Administration.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@banamlas What a helpful update. Thank you.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@JSeyff nothing better than seeing humans work hard to accomplish what some thought impossible

[Will Cove @WillCove]

excellent

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@WillCove Ty for sharing Will

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@SMB_Attorney 1000%

And never settle until you’ve found that purpose

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

" Because software's eating the world, software no longer gets protection? That's not a permissible move according to the Supreme Court."

@valkenburgh explains why lower courts aren't allowed to invent new categories of lesser protected speech.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

Should code ever lose First Amendment protections?

This podcast covers free speech and software, including cryptography, cryptocurrency and AI. It should be the internet's most comprehensive.

You'll hear from experts like @valkenburgh, @prestonjbyrne, @LazPieper, Sam Enzer, and Professors Eugene Volokh (@VolokhC) and @JaneYakowitz.

We trace the history of Cold War export controls through to the recent restrictions on Anthropic's AI models, and explain why the Supreme Court has never definitively answered the question above.

Timestamps:

0:00 Anthropic AI export controls
6:17 Intro
9:39 The First Amendment
10:38 @VolokhC on his free speech philosophy
13:42 Speech vs function
19:24 @valkenburgh interview
25:50 The Cold War, munitions list and Phil Zimmermann
29:57 The Bernstein case
34:53 Strict scrutiny
38:48 The Corley case
49:17 Sorrell, Stevens and where the Supreme Court is heading
53:25 @prestonjbyrne on the Supreme Court's AI case
57:23 Defense Distributed and 3D-printing
1:04:00 Where publication ends and conduct begins
1:15:20 Lowe v. SEC and the agency line
1:45:45 Compelled speech
2:04:17 @LazPieper on Sorrell and third-party liability
2:11:29 @prestonjbyrne on the GRANITE Act and foreign censorship

Thank you to the presenting sponsor of this episode, @altitude.

Nothing in this podcast is legal or investment advice.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@Scaramucci No but this has nothing to do with crypto

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@EricForgy @prestonjbyrne Grateful for him

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

If you've seen @prestonjbyrne's hamsters, or posts about Ofcom and 4chan, but don't fully understand what's happening in the UK ...

He explains that situation in less than 3 minutes here:

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

Should code ever lose First Amendment protections?

This podcast covers free speech and software, including cryptography, cryptocurrency and AI. It should be the internet's most comprehensive.

You'll hear from experts like @valkenburgh, @prestonjbyrne, @LazPieper, Sam Enzer, and Professors Eugene Volokh (@VolokhC) and @JaneYakowitz.

We trace the history of Cold War export controls through to the recent restrictions on Anthropic's AI models, and explain why the Supreme Court has never definitively answered the question above.

Timestamps:

0:00 Anthropic AI export controls
6:17 Intro
9:39 The First Amendment
10:38 @VolokhC on his free speech philosophy
13:42 Speech vs function
19:24 @valkenburgh interview
25:50 The Cold War, munitions list and Phil Zimmermann
29:57 The Bernstein case
34:53 Strict scrutiny
38:48 The Corley case
49:17 Sorrell, Stevens and where the Supreme Court is heading
53:25 @prestonjbyrne on the Supreme Court's AI case
57:23 Defense Distributed and 3D-printing
1:04:00 Where publication ends and conduct begins
1:15:20 Lowe v. SEC and the agency line
1:45:45 Compelled speech
2:04:17 @LazPieper on Sorrell and third-party liability
2:11:29 @prestonjbyrne on the GRANITE Act and foreign censorship

Thank you to the presenting sponsor of this episode, @altitude.

Nothing in this podcast is legal or investment advice.

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@valkenburgh “open-weight models deter further AI capex” being a reason against them is flawed for so many reasons

[Jacob Robinson @JacobRobinsonJD]

@SellersCounsel tweet of the day haha