Christopher S. Yoo

The Unitary Executive: Presidential Power from Washington to Bush

This book is the first to undertake a detailed historical and legal examination of presidential power and the theory of the unitary executive. This theory, that the Constitution gives the president the power to remove and control all policy-making subordinates in the executive branch, has been the subject of heated debate since the Reagan years. To determine whether the Constitution creates a strongly unitary executive, Steven Calabresi and Christopher Yoo look at the actual practice of all forty-three presidential administrations, from George Washington to George W. Bush. They argue that all forty-three presidents have been committed proponents of the theory of the unitary executive, and they explore the meaning and implications of this finding.

The NEBULA Future Internet Architecture

The NEBULA Future Internet Architecture (FIA) project is focused on a future network that enables the vision of cloud computing [8,12] to be realized. With computation and storage moving to data centers, networking to these data centers must be several orders of magnitude more resilient for some applications to trust cloud computing and enable their move to the cloud.

A brief overview of the NEBULA future internet architecture

Nebula is a proposal for a Future Internet Architecture. It is based on the assumptions that: (1) cloud computing will comprise an increasing fraction of the application workload offered to an Internet, and (2) that access to cloud computing resources will demand new architectural features from a network. Features that we have identified include dependability, security, flexibility and extensibility, the entirety of which constitute resilience. Nebula provides resilient networking services using ultrareliable routers, an extensible control plane and use of multiple paths upon which arbitrary policies may be enforced. We report on a prototype system, Zodiac, that incorporates these latter two features.

Modularity Theory and Internet Regulation

Modularity is often cited as one of the foundations for the Internet’s success. Unfortunately, academic discussions about modularity appearing in the literature on Internet policy are undertheorized. The persistence of nonmodular architectures for some technologies underscores the need for some theoretical basis for determining when modularity is the preferred approach. Even when modularity is desirable, theory must provide some basis for making key design decisions, such as the number of modules, the location of the interfaces between the modules, and the information included in those interfaces. The literature on innovation indicates that modules should be determined by the nature of task interdependencies and the variety inherent in the external environment. Moreover, modularity designs interfaces to ensure that modules operate independently, with all information about processes that adjacent modules should not take into account being hidden within the module. These insights in turn offer a number of important implications. They mark a return to a more technological vision of vertical integration that deviates from the transaction-cost oriented vision that now dominates the literature. They also reveal how modularity necessarily limits the functionality of any particular architecture. In addition, although the independence fostered by modularity remains one of its primary virtues, it can also create coordination problems in which actors operating within each module optimize based on local conditions in ways that can lead to suboptimal outcomes for the system as a whole. Lastly, like any design hierarchy, modular systems can resist technological change. These insights shed new light on unbundling of telecommunications networks, network neutrality, calls for open APIs, and clean-slate redesign proposals.

Toward a closer integration of law and computer science

Seeking better integration of the insights from the fields of law and technology.

Network Neutrality and Competition Policy: A Complex Relationship

The claim that guaranteeing interoperability and nondiscrimination would benefit consumers has undisputed intuitive appeal. The fact that interoperability has represented the historical norm may lead some to put the burden of persuasion on those who would move away from that architecture. However, a close examination of the economic tradeoffs underlying network neutrality reveals a number of countervailing considerations that may not be readily apparent at first blush. Not only does network neutrality risk reducing consumer choice in content and applications, it raises the even more significant danger of stifling the development of further competition in the last mile by forestalling the continued emergence of new broadband technologies. Although such an admonition would be well taken under any circumstances, it carries particular force in dynamic industries like broadband that are undergoing rapid technological and marketplace changes.

Is the Internet a maturing market

T Wo conceRns domInAte the current debates over U.S. Internet policy. The first is the relatively low level of U.S. broadband adoption. Although the U.S. once ranked 4th among industrialized nations in the percentage of residents subscribing to broadband, it has currently slipped into 15th place. Concerns that the U.S. may be losing its leadership position in this key industry have spurred a series of governmental initiatives to address the problem. The stimulus package enacted during the initial days of the Obama administration dedicated

Wireless Networks: Technological Challenges and Policy Implications

7.2 billion for new investments in broadband infrastructure. It also required the Federal Communications Commission to prepare a national broadband plan, which the agency released to much fanfare this past March. The plan is designed not just to ensure that broadband is available and affordable to all Americans, but also to devise ways to address the fact that a surprising number of households are not subscribing to broadband even when it is available. The second is the debate over network neutrality. Network providers are experimenting with a variety of new business arrangements. Some are offering specialized services that guarantee higher levels of quality of service to those willing to pay for it. Others are entering into strategic partnerships that allocate more bandwidth to certain sources and applications. Interestingly, management literature exists suggesting that both developments may simply reflect the ways the nature of competition and innovation can be expected to evolve as markets mature. If applicable to the Internet, this literature has the potential to provide new insights into how to craft broadband policy and what steps business managers might take to prepare for the future.

Towards a differentiated products theory of copyright

Since June 2012, mobile wireless has emerged as the largest and fast growing medium for broadband service. At the same time, mobile wireless networks have proven considerably more difficult to manage than wireline networks. The primary causes are the rapid growth in demand for wireless bandwidth and the greater susceptibility of wireless networks to poor quality of service because of the omnidirectional propagation of wireless signals, bad handoffs, local congestion, and the susceptibility to complex interference patterns caused by multipath propagation. Moreover, the central inference underlying the primary form of congestion management is not valid for wireless networks. As a result, wireless networks adopt different approaches to error correction and congestion management than do wireline networks, which results in significantly heavier network management in ways that violate the Internet’s commitment to the absence of per-flow state and its supposed adherence to the absence of prioritization.In addition, mobile networks put significant pressure on the routing architecture by requiring the use of Internet gateways for 3G networks, accelerating the pace with which the routing architecture changes, fragmenting the compactness of the address space, and relying on a mobile IP solution that depends on a home agent to serve as a proxy in the core of the network. Proposed solutions, such as the identity/locator split, represent significant deviations from the universal address architecture around which the current architecture is designed. These considerations support the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to subject wireless broadband to a less restrictive version of its rule against unreasonable discrimination in its Open Internet Order.

Wireless Network Neutrality: Technological Challenges and Policy Implications

This innovative and insightful book, written by some of the leading academics in the field, advances research frontiers on intellectual property and copyright issues. Topics addressed include: peer-to-peer music file sharing, optimal fair use standards, the benefits of copyright collectives, copyright and market entry, alternatives to copyright, the impact of copyright on knowledge production, the proper balance between copyright and competition law, and the application of systematic principles to issues that arise at the periphery of intellectual property law – all with an eye toward economics.