Brent Skorup
Legal Fellow
Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute
Brent Skorup
Legal Fellow
Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute
Brent Skorup is a legal fellow in the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies.
Before joining Cato, he was a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at the George Mason University. His research areas include free speech, technology law, Fourth Amendment protections, regulation, and property law. Skorup has published pieces in economics and law journals and in popular media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg Law, Reuters, and Wired. He’s appeared as a TV and radio interview guest for news outlets like C‑SPAN, NPR, CBS News, ABC News, and CNBC Asia.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, a dissenting opinion at the Illinois Supreme Court, and the ALI’s Restatement of the Law of Property have cited his legal research and he has testified as a technology and legal expert in legislative hearings in several states. Skorup has been appointed to several federal and state advisory bodies and he is currently a member of the Texas Advanced Air Mobility Advisory Committee.
Skorup has a BA in economics from Wheaton College and a law degree from the George Mason University School of Law, where he was articles editor for the Civil Rights Law Journal. He was a legal clerk at the FCC’s wireless bureau and Office of General Counsel and at the Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Contributions
Tech Roundup Episode 20 – Drone Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment
In this Tech Roundup episode, we delve into the rapid adoption of drone technology by law enforcement entities and the legal and policy implications of this trend.
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Developments on Drones, Air Rights, and Takings
Brent Skorup
With the rapid progress of drone technology, legal claims to low-altitude airspace raise novel questions about the application of property law and constitutional protections.
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How Do Regulations Affect Delivery Drones?
In this Fourth Branch video, Brent Skorup explains the limits of drone operation under the current regulatory framework.
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Tech Roundup Episode 17 – Governor Doug Ducey on Tech Policy and Innovation
Governor Ducey joined Brent Skorup and Adam Thierer to discuss initiatives aimed at boosting innovation Arizona has launched during his time in office.
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Deep Dive Episode 211 – Section 230, Common Law, and Free Speech
Kristian Stout and Brent Skorup joined Adam Thierer to debate how lawmakers and courts should approach Section 230 issues, political speech, and free speech online.
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Section 230, Common Law, and Free Speech
Kristian Stout and Brent Skorup joined Adam Thierer to debate how lawmakers and courts should approach Section 230 issues, political speech, and free speech online.
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Deep Dive Episode 198 – Eyes to The Sky: Privacy, Property, Innovation, and Commerce in The Age Of The Drone
The editor and two of the co-authors of a new book joined us for a panel discussion of key legal and policy issues in “The Age of the Drone.”
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Can Social Media Companies Censor Lawmakers’ Accounts?
Brent Skorup
“If courts progress down this path, social media companies may one day be severely limited in moderating lawmakers’ social media accounts.”
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The Growing Legal Controversy About Drone Trespass
Brent Skorup
Can homeowners prevent drones from flying above their property? Is a drone that does so trespassing?
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Deep Dive Episode 174 – Legal Issues for Commercial Drones: Privacy, Property Rights, and Federalism
Experts debate the issues of privacy, property rights, and federalism that have been raised the proliferation of commercial drones.
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New FAA Drone Rules: A Step in the Right Direction
Brent Skorup
The FAA’s new commercial drone regulations are cautious and incremental, but represent a major improvement by routinizing long-distance commercial drone operations.
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Deep Dive Episode 153 – Reboot Conversations: The Future of Drone Policy
An expert panel discusses the future of drone policy in a Lincoln Network Reboot Conversation co-sponsored by the Regulatory Transparency Project.
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Tech Roundup Episode 12 – Airspace and Drone Regulations
Brent Skorup discusses the current state of drone technology and the history of airspace and drone regulations in the United States.
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Washington or the States: Who Has the Authority to Regulate Commercial Drone Flights?
Commercial drone services are evolving rapidly but who regulates how and where they operate? The Federal Aviation Administration is authorized to oversee “navigable airspace.” On the other hand, drones fly low to the ground which would implicate property rights, which are governed by state laws. How might these regulatory issues be assessed and resolved, and how could they affect the future of drone technology and usage?
Brent Skorup is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
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Explainer Episode 13 – COVID-19 Contact-Tracing and Data Privacy
In this episode, Jennifer Huddleston and Brent Skorup discuss how contact-tracing might work here, what privacy concerns it might involve, and what it means for data privacy going forward.
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Tech Roundup Episode 9 – COVID-19 and the Internet: A Conversation with Ajit Pai
In this episode, Ajit Pai joins Adam Theirer and Brent Skorup to discuss the principles driving the Federal Communications Commission in recent years, the “Keep Americans Connected” pledge, and how things have changed for the FCC in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Tech Roundup Episode 4 – The Future of Drone Policy: A Discussion with Sen. Mike Lee
In this episode, Adam Thierer and Brent Skorup speak with Senator Mike Lee on the current state of drone regulation. The senator speaks to his proposal for a cooperative, federal solution to regulatory holdup in drone technology innovation.
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Deep Dive Episode 34 – Net Neutrality and Federalism
Justin “Gus” Hurwitz (University of Nebraska College of Law), Brent Skorup (Mercatus Center), and Geoffrey A. Manne (International Center for Law & Economics) discuss questions surrounding recent state efforts to enforce net neutrality principles after the FCC’s decision in 2017 to eliminate common carrier regulations.
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Emerging Technology in Transportation
On Friday, May 18, 2018, the Regulatory Transparency Project and Capitol Hill Chapter of the Federalist Society co-sponsored a panel discussion on emerging technology legislation. Experts explored drone delivery, autonomous vehicles, flight sharing, and more.
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Deep Dive Episode 15 – Exploring Net Neutrality and the Implications of Repeal
Brent Skorup (Mercatus Center) discusses the history of the net neutrality movement, the 2015 rules, the First Amendment issues at stake, and the effect of repealing the rules.
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