Richmond Journal of Law and Technology

The first exclusively online law review.

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Virtual Infidelity: Is Cheating with an AI Girlfriend Considered Adultery?

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On November 28, 2025

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Virtual Infidelity: Is Cheating with an AI Girlfriend Considered Adultery?

By: Carolyn Potts

Her, a film about a man who falls in love with a virtual assistant, was released in 2013.[1] When the movie came out, virtual affairs may have seemed like science fiction, but now, twelve years later, “virtual infidelity” has become a harsh reality for a growing number of couples. For many people, Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is seen as a tool to answer questions or to manage tasks, but for some, it provides a sense of romantic companionship. Platforms generating AI girlfriends are experiencing a massive growth in popularity, with millions of users.[2] While most of these searches are initiated by young single men, many users engaging in relationships with AI chatbots are married to real life people.[3] The recent rise in AI love affairs begs the question, how do these virtual relationships factor in to divorce cases?

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How Would Drones Piloted by A.I. Affect Our Fourth Amendment Rights?

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On November 28, 2025

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How Would Drones Piloted by A.I. Affect Our Fourth Amendment Rights?

By: Joseph Coyle

In January 2025, drone manufacturer Red Cat announced a partnership with Palladyne AI to integrate Palladyne Pilot AI software into Red Cat’s Black Widow drones.[1] These drones are designed to be able to identify, prioritize, and track targets with little to no human direction.[2] Red Cat first unveiled the Black Widow drone in 2024.[3] These drones are already in use in the United States Military.[4] The Black Widow drone is fitted with a GPS system, camera, electro-optical sensors, infrared sensors, and has a flight time of over forty-five minutes.[5]

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Labubu vs. Lafufu: Pop Mart’s Battle for IP Protection and the Tech Behind Authenticity Verification

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On November 28, 2025

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Labubu vs. Lafufu: Pop Mart’s Battle for IP Protection and the Tech Behind Authenticity Verification

By: Anneliese McInnis

Labubus, the grinning, wide-eyed plush dolls, have grown exponentially in popularity among young Americans, capturing their hearts and wallets. The collectible doll generally retails for $20 to $30, but rarer figures sell for thousands; the most expensive Labubu sold for $150,000 at an auction in Beijing.[1] Pop Mart has capitalized on their popularity by introducing the viral “blind-box” model that fuels suspense in customers eager to find out which Labubu doll they will unwrap.[2] This unique model, however, has made the company susceptible to counterfeit products on the market copying the plush dolls’ distinct features.[3]

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International Crackdown on the Illegal Streaming of Sporting Events

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On November 12, 2025

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International Crackdown on the Illegal Streaming of Sporting Events

By: Jack Brestel

What Happened?

Streameast, the world’s largest illegal sports streaming platform, was shut down September 3, 2025 by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global antipiracy group.[1] The website had 80 domains and received over 1.6 billion visits in the last year.[2] Streameast provided access to NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, boxing, MMA, motorsports, and various professional soccer matches.[3] ACE is a coalition of over 50 global media and entertainment organizations, including Amazon, Apple TV+, Netflix, and Paramount, that operate alongside law enforcement, including Europol and the U.S. Department of Justice, to reduce online piracy of copyrighted material.[4] In this case, two men in Egypt were arrested on suspicion of copyright infringement with authorities seizing laptops and smartphones believed to have helped operate the piracy websites as well as links to a shell company in the United Arab Emirates that allegedly conspired to launder over 6 million dollars.[5]

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Smart Contracts: What are they, and how do they integrate into contract law and a business’s toolkit?

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On November 12, 2025

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Smart Contracts: What are they, and how do they integrate into contract law and a business’s toolkit?

By: Skylar Shafer

The legal world is coming to terms with a digital revolution, with several key advancements in areas such as transformers for language models (ChatGPT) and blockchain (cybersecurity and cryptocurrency). One byproduct of these advancements has been the introduction of smart contracts, particularly correlated with the introduction of blockchain. Smart contracts are self-executing pieces of software that automatically and autonomously implement contractual terms on a peer-to-peer and immutable basis, when certain conditions are met.[1] To simplify this definition, smart contracts are fully digital contracts, secured through blockchain technology, that automatically enact clauses of a contract based on digital inputs. For example, a smart contract could verify the transit of goods from one place to another using digital inputs such as GPS or official online documents, and then automatically making payment and fulfilling a contract based on the completion of those conditions. [2]

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U.S. Business Practices Oppose Effective Crackdown on “Spoofing” Scams

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On November 10, 2025

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U.S. Business Practices Oppose Effective Crackdown on “Spoofing” Scams

By: Ian Lipka

 

In 2020, Indian national Hitesh Madhubhai Patel was sentenced to twenty years in prison and almost $9 million in restitution for crimes relating to online and telephone scams he owned and organized.[1] Patel funded and ran India-based call centers that defrauded U.S. victims out of somewhere between $25 million and $65 million from 2013-2016.[2] While Patel’s conviction was certainly a victory for the Justice Department, the issue of online and telephone scams has dramatically increased since Patel’s sentencing five years ago. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) concluded that U.S. victims lost $16.6 billion in 2024 from online and telephone scams—compared to just shy of $4 billion in 2020.

Citizens are fraudulently deprived of their money now more than ever. And while criminal prosecutions are effective in their own right, the international nature of these scams makes it extremely difficult for countries to stifle them.[4] Most scammers operate overseas and are therefore often beyond the jurisdiction of the victim nation.[5]

Almost four out of every five adults in the U.S. view online/telephone attacks as a major national problem.[6] Countermeasures are needed, but solving the issue of international scamming is not so simple. The problem may be better addressed by tackling the contributing smaller issues gradually. One such issue primed for change is known as “spoofing.”

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You Got a Snap! How Snapchat Became a Child Predator’s Playground and How AI Can Help

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On October 8, 2025

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You Got a Snap! How Snapchat Became a Child Predator’s Playground and How AI Can Help

By: Jessica Huynh

Since its launch in September 2011, Snapchat has skyrocketed to dominance as a leading social media platform.[1] Currently, Snapchat has 453 million daily users worldwide, with U.S. teenagers ranking it the second most important social media network of their generation.[2] The app allows users to share photos, videos, and messages known as “snaps” with friends.[3] What differentiates Snapchat from other social media platforms is its unique feature that makes snaps disappear after the recipient opens the snap.[4] Snapchat transformed social media by redefining message deletion, turning it from a drawback into a key feature.[5] While this key feature has allowed for more candid conversations, it has also presented new dangers: the increased creation and distribution of child pornography.

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The Genius Act and The Rise of Federally Regulated Cryptocurrency

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On October 6, 2025

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The Genius Act and The Rise of Federally Regulated Cryptocurrency

By: Kira Johnson

I.           Overview

On July 18, 2025, President Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, known as the GENIUS Act (the “Act”), into law.[1] Now, federal and state regulators are tasked with creating the rulemaking necessary to implement the Act, including capital requirements and risk management policies.[2] The GENIUS Act will become effective on the earlier of two dates: (1) eighteen months after the date of enactment or (2) 120 days after a primary federal payment stablecoin regulator issues final implementing regulations.[3]

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Gifford v. Sheil: Can an Influencer Own an Aesthetic?

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On September 28, 2025

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Gifford v. Sheil: Can an Influencer Own an Aesthetic?

By: Shoham Lewin

As an increasing number of companies use social media influencers as part of their marketing strategy, the influencer industry is valued at approximately $250 billion.[1] Within this multi-billion dollar industry, influencers compete for lucrative brand deals, each using their aesthetic to distinguish themselves.[2] A recent case out of Texas has raised the question of whether these creators legally own their social media aesthetic and, consequently, whether they can utilize intellectual property law to stop other creators from using that same aesthetic.[3]

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