Michael Karanicolas
@karanicolas.bsky.social
470 followers 320 following 740 posts
Palmer Chair in Law and Public Policy at Dalhousie Law. Formerly @ UCLA and Yale. All things tech and democracy. Dachshund enthusiast.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
karanicolas.bsky.social
This is what happened at UCLA. They couldn't allege discrimination based on race, due to the pesky fact that large numbers of the encampment protesters were Jewish, so they created "pro-Zionist" as its own protected class.

To me, that sounds like it's based on political belief, but what do I know.
illdottore.bsky.social
My read on this is that as schools found themselves pressured to investigate Jewish students for antisemitism, there was a scramble to come up with other forms of discrimination charges, incl “Veteran status” and adumbrating “pro-occupation American Jews” under “Israeli” as a nationality group.
karanicolas.bsky.social
Really wild how these concepts are being reframed across the board: they strip protections from religious and racial minorities while creating new rules to protect ICE agents and IDF soldiers. They crush DEI for historically disadvantaged groups while demanding it for Republicans.
illdottore.bsky.social
An underreported part of US campus repression post-2023 was the pivot to making “[IDF] military veteran” a protected class coterminous with “[pro-occupation Israeli/Jew]”. Students protesting the Gaza war were charged with *discrimination based on veteran status*. migrantinsider.com/p/scoop-appl...
SCOOP: Apple Quietly Made ICE Agents a Protected Class
Internal emails show tech giant used anti-hate-speech rules meant for minorities to block an app documenting immigration enforcement.
migrantinsider.com
karanicolas.bsky.social
Tell Trump to knock off the 51st state talk and we’ll summon them back home. Ball’s in your court.
rickweinmeyer.bsky.social
The only immigration problems the city of Chicago and state of Illinois are facing is the dangerous crisis of Canadian Geese along the running and biking trails.
karanicolas.bsky.social
Wtf. I came back to Canada explicitly because I wanted a Supreme Court with fancy santa robes. Why even be a law professor?
pwnallthethings.bsky.social
Tragic news from Canada where the Canadian Supreme Court has gone from the official dress on the left to the one on the right
Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in bright red wooly gowns, with a beige trim. It looks sort of like a Santa robe The Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in black gowns with a bright white kravat, and two thin red vertical lines on the side of the robe
karanicolas.bsky.social
All of the chaos that we've seen in the U.S. this year has happened in the context of a relatively stable economy. When this bubble inevitably pops things are going to go absolutely off the rails.
justinhendrix.bsky.social
"The hundreds of billions of dollars companies are investing in AI now account for an astonishing 40 per cent share of US GDP growth this year... In a way, then, America has become one big bet on AI."
America is now one big bet on AI
It’s seen as the magic fix for every threat to the US economy
www.ft.com
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
dwillner.bsky.social
So, the first part of this is plainly false, both historically and currently. I don’t think it’s a good thing in most cases…but it’s plainly the case that pressuring the people in charge of moderation to either ban (or not ban) people works *All The Time*. It is why people do it!
jay.bsky.team
Harassing the mods into banning someone has never worked. And harassing people in general has never changed their mind.
karanicolas.bsky.social
I am struck by the Privacy Commissioner's confidence that these technologies can be implemented in a privacy protective manner. Last year, the California Privacy Protection Agency reached the opposite conclusion.

What does he know that they don't?

digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcont...
"Currently, age verification systems are likely not sufficiently advanced to ensure accurate age verification while protecting privacy."
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
blank.org
Stipulating in advance that I probably agree with everyone’s critiques of Newson:

This is the way. Make it clear in advance that compliance has a price too.
governor.ca.gov
IF ANY CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY SIGNS THIS RADICAL AGREEMENT, THEY'LL LOSE BILLIONS IN STATE FUNDING — INCLUDING CAL GRANTS — INSTANTLY.

CALIFORNIA WILL NOT BANKROLL SCHOOLS THAT SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, RESEARCHERS, AND SURRENDER ACADEMIC FREEDOM.
New York Times: "Trump Administration Asks Colleges to Sign ‘Compact’ to Get Funding Preference."

The White House asked nine top universities to pledge support for President Trump’s agenda to help ensure access to research funding.
karanicolas.bsky.social
Sure why not.

I mean - he's not going to acknowledge his glaring hypocrisy, so I guess the only move left is for him to go all in on Saudi Arabia as a bastion of free speech.
karanicolas.bsky.social
Not sure who this matters to, but David Simon seems to have had a significant evolution in his perspective re: Israel's conduct towards the Palestinians:
Online post from David Simon a year ago decrying, in pretty salty terms, any accusation Israel is guilty of genocide or apartheid. Post from David Simon earlier today, announcing he was refusing speaking gigs in Israel as a result of his disgust at the present government's conduct.
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
kimkrawiec.bsky.social
“The point is not just that it’s good to be liked. I’m sure that helps, but I’ve seen people secure great jobs due to their accomplishments as scholars and scientists, even if they weren’t especially popular. Instead, the point is that it’s bad to be disliked — even by a small proportion of people.
Why Aren’t Professors Braver?
Fear and self-censorship in academe.
www.chronicle.com
karanicolas.bsky.social
We all knew this was coming, but it’s likely to have a cataclysmic impact on the judicial system, as video evidence will soon be effectively impossible to authenticate.
drewharwell.com
OpenAI employees are very excited about how well their new AI tool can create fake videos of people doing crimes and have definitely thought through all the implications of this
karanicolas.bsky.social
It's telling that the folks who decried cancel culture have no problem taking a gig where they're prohibited from making fun of the gov't or religion.

It was never about free speech. They're fine being silenced if the $$$ is right: just a bunch of entitled rich guys who can't accept accountability.
karanicolas.bsky.social
I'm not saying TikTok would have necessarily been a bastion of the resistance, but there's no question that having it taken over by one of the President's authoritarian cronies is a significant step backwards for American democracy.
evangreer.bsky.social
its hard to imagine a more embarrassing unforced error for the Dems than the "ban TikTok" fiasco.

Not only did they alienate youth voters, openly waffle on the First Amendment and let Trump claim to be the defender of "free speech," now they've literally handed the platform to Trump to control
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas
annabower.bsky.social
Omg. I’ve never seen anything like this in a judicial opinion:
Case 1:25-cv-10685-WGY Document 261
Filed 09/30/25
Page 1 of 161
Post card dated June 19, 2025
(On file in Chambers)
1 9/S UNE 2025
TRUMP HAS PARDONS
AND TANKS..
WHAT DO
You
HAVE?
Dear Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, Alone, I have nothing but my
sense of duty.
Together, We the People of the
United States -- you and me --have our magnificent Constitution.
Here's how that works out in a
specific case --
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS -- HARVARD FACULTY CHAPTER, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS AT NEW
YORK UNIVERSITY, RUTGERS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS-AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF TEACHERS, and
MIDDLE EAST STUDIES ASSOCIATION,
Plaintiffs,
)
CIVIL ACTION NO.
25-10685-WGY
v.
MARCO RUBIO, in his official capacity as Secretary of State, and the DEPARTMENT OF STATE, KRISTI NOEM, in her official
[1]
karanicolas.bsky.social
The only thing more predictable than Israel immediately repudiating this agreement is that the U.S. and Western powers will blame the Palestinians when it fails to gain traction.
theguardian.com
Netanyahu says he did not agree to Palestinian state as part of Trump Gaza plan, and IDF will remain ‘in most of the territory’ – Middle East crisis live
Netanyahu says he did not agree to Palestinian state as part of Trump Gaza plan, and IDF will remain ‘in most of the territory’ – Middle East crisis live
Israeli PM discussed his meeting with Donald Trump in a Telegram post, while a senior Hamas official has said the group is studying the proposals * What’s in Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza? In a video statement published on his Telegram channel discussing his visit to the US, Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF “will remain in most of the territory” as part of the plan drawn up with Trump, and that Israel did “absolutely not” agree to a Palestinian state. Netanyahu said: It was a historic visit. Instead of Hamas leading to our isolation, we turned the tables and isolated Hamas. Now the entire world, including the Arab and Muslim world, is pressuring Hamas to accept the conditions we set together with President Trump: to release all our abducted – both living and dead – while the IDF remains in most of the territory. Absolutely not, and it is not written in the agreement either. But one thing we did say: we are firmly opposed to a Palestinian state. President Trump also said this; he said he understands our position. He also declared at the UN that such a move would be a huge reward for terror and a danger to the state of Israel. And of course, we will not agree to it. “We can’t keep silent, nor look the other way, when confronted with so much devastation, with the bombing – even of hospitals, schools and places of refuge – or with so many deaths among the civilian population, or with the famine and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people – to what end?” Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Michael Karanicolas