Legal Frontiers in Digital Media 2026

Thursday, May 14th, 2026

Mission Bay Conference Center
1675 Owens Street
San Francisco, CA 94143

The Media Law Resource Center and the UC Berkeley Center for Law & Technology are proud to present the next in this series of conferences that explore emerging legal developments surrounding digital content in today’s multi-platform world. Since 2008, this event has led the global conversation about matters at the intersection of digital media, freedom of speech and law. This year’s conference will feature sessions running from approximately 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Registration fees include a hot lunch (sponsored by Microsoft) and an evening reception at 5:00 p.m. (sponsored by Google).

UC Berkeley School of Law has certified this program for 5.25 General Hours of California Continuing Legal Education credit. Note that UC Berkeley only certifies MCLE credit for the California bar. To verify reciprocity with your state, please check with your state’s bar.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Registration
9:30 am – 10:00 am

Opening Remarks
10:00 am – 10:10 am

How to Advise Clients on New AI Products
10:10 am – 11:10 am
As rapid advances in artificial intelligence exceed expectations and outpace predictions, how do lawyers help their clients stay ahead of legal risk? Our panel will discuss how to assist AI product development and what questions are essential to ask, from the acquisition and use of training data through to the real-world impact of new tools.
Speakers:
Kimberly Culp, Counsel, Fenwick (Moderator)
Karna Nisewaner, Former General Counsel, Cadence
Derek Slater, Cofounder, Proteus Strategies
Ashley Wilson, Senior Corporate Counsel, Microsoft

Fifteen Minute Break

The Future of Child Safety
11:25 am – 12:25 pm
Is there a world where concerns about online child safety are satisfied while online services remain open and vibrant? How can tech companies navigate a course to that future between high-stakes class actions and state AG lawsuits on the one hand, and an inconsistent web of age-based regulations on the other? What can we learn from the recent jury trials in California and New Mexico? Our panel will discuss how platforms are coping with the legal and PR issues and the implications for online free speech.
Speakers:
Adam Sieff, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine (Moderator)
Sophia Cope, Senior Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Eric Goldman, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law
Chris Marchese, Founder & Co-Director, NetChoice Litigation Center
Eli Tan, Technology Reporter, The New York Times

One-hour lunch break (Sponsored by Microsoft)

Intermediary Copyright Liability after Cox
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm
In one of the most consequential copyright decisions in years, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Fourth Circuit’s ruling in Cox v. Sony Music — and the implications are massive for secondary liability law. Professor Pamela Samuelson will unpack what the Court actually decided, why it matters, and how it will reshape the landscape of contributory infringement going forward, particularly with respect to liability for online infringement.
Presenter:
Professor Pamela Samuelson, Richard M. Sherman Distinguished Professor of Law, UC Berkeley Law

Chatbots, Product Liability, and the First Amendment
2:05 pm – 3:05 pm
There have been a wave of new product liability lawsuits alleging that interactions with AI chatbots have led to serious mental health injuries, including tragic self-harm cases involving minors. But are AI outputs a “product,” or “speech,” and what is the correct legal standard by which such alleged harms should be judged. Our panel will look at the circumstances of some of these cases and explore questions of legal liability, including whether AI-generated content is protected by the First Amendment.
Speakers:
Jonathan Blavin, Partner, Munger Tolles & Olson (Moderator)
Mackenzie D. Austin, Esq.
Tori Noble, Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Rebecca Ruiz, Senior Reporter, Mashable
Eugene Volokh, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Fifteen-minute snack break

A New Age of Global Teen Social Media Bans
3:20 pm – 4:20 pm
Australia’s Online Safety Amendment has kicked off a wave of regulation, with governments around the world considering banning teens from social media and other online services. But has Australia’s law been effective? Do such laws pose privacy and other risks? And how are tech companies responding?
Speakers:
Janneke Slöetjes, Counsel, Kennedy Van der Laan (Moderator)
Noah Bialos, Director of Regulatory and International Legal, Roblox
Tanvi Mehta Krensel, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Sunni Yuen, Director, Product Legal and Platform Compliance, Reddit

A Chat about EU Platform Liability & Regulation
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Our resident EU-whisperers will comment on, among other things, the recent CJEU Russmedia judgment, which may or may not make online platforms directly liable for privacy-violating UGC; the European Commission’s enforcement of the Digital Services Act, including a $140 million dollar fine on X for a number of technical DSA violations; and the increasing prevalence and sophistication of private enforcement of the DSA by individuals, NGOs and claim vehicles.
Speakers:
Remy Chavannes, Partner, Brinkhof
Daphne Keller, Director of Platform Regulation, Stanford Program in Law, Science, & Technology

Cocktail Reception to Follow (Sponsored by Google)

Questions? Contact us at digitallaw@medialaw.org.