Jay Bhattacharya on COVID, Social Media Censorship, and Trump vs. Biden
"It’s not like public health is infallible," the Stanford professor and Great Barrington Declaration author tells Reason's Nick Gillespie.
Censorship
The Stop Comstock Act Doesn't Go Far Enough
Upcoming legislation would repeal parts of the 1873 law that could be used to target abortion, but the Comstock Act's reach is much more broad than that.
President Biden Should Pardon D.M. Bennett
Issuing a posthumous pardon for Bennett would reaffirm our nation’s commitment to free expression and intellectual freedom.
Texas Public Library Can't Remove Books About 'Butts and Farts,' Federal Judge Says
The court ruled that it is unconstitutional for officials to remove library books with the "intent to deprive patrons of access to ideas with which they disagree."
'If They Can Control the Flow of Information, They Can Control You': BASEDPolitics Sues To Stop TikTok Ban
The plaintiffs hope to "help Republicans and conservatives see why this ban is inconsistent with the free speech values they say they care about."
Australian Censors Back Down, Highlighting the U.S. as a Free Speech Haven
Officials suspend efforts to force X to suppress the world’s access to video of a crime.
Report: E.U. Censorship Laws Mostly Suppress Legal Speech
European speech regulations reach way too far to muzzle perfectly acceptable content.
Vox Wants Progressives To Support Free Speech for the Wrong Reasons
Eric Levitz argues that the left should take a stand against censorship—for practical rather than principled reasons.
TikTok Asks Court To Declare Ban Unconstitutional
Congress is "silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate," the company argues.
Australia Tries To Censor the World
Local hostility to free speech may become a global problem.
Nina Jankowicz, Disinformation Czar, Is Back in Action
The American Sunlight Project contends that researchers are being silenced by their critics.
Worst 4/20 Ever
Plus: A listener asks the editors to steel man the case for the Jones Act, an antiquated law that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters.
China's Retribution
Plus: Homework liberation in Poland, Orthodox rabbi tells students to flee Columbia, toddler anarchy, and more...
If They Ban TikTok, Is Apple Next?
Banning companies for doing business with China is a bad path to start down.
Adult Entertainment Group Asks Supreme Court To Block Texas Age-Verification Law
"Profound irreparable harm flows from the Act's chilling of adults' access to protected sexual expression," the filing reads.
Social Media Platforms Have Property Rights Too
The push to regulate social media content infringes on rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.
Read the FCC's Crank Mail About Saturday Night Live
One viewer said it should be illegal to take the Lord's name in vain on TV—and that was one of the more coherent complaints.
Misinformation Watchdogs Keep Failing Upward
And they're still trying to censor speech on social media.
Why Did Harvard Fire Martin Kulldorff?
Martin Kulldorff talks about his dismissal from Harvard Medical School, persisting college vaccine mandates, and surviving COVID-era censorship on the latest episode of Just Asking Questions.
Turkey's Strongman Had a No Good, Very Bad Weekend
The Turkish opposition ran circles around President Recep Tayyib Erdogan's party in local elections. It could be the beginning of the end of his 20-year reign.
Defending Pornography on Feminist Grounds: A Q&A With Nadine Strossen
"There were many of us who opposed censoring pornography...precisely because of our commitment to feminist goals and principles," says the former ACLU chief.
Free Speech Is Under Attack in the U.S., but It's on the Ropes Elsewhere
“Even open democracies have implemented restrictive measures,” finds a global report.
The Supreme Court Should Reject Clandestine Government Censorship of Online Speech
The Biden administration’s social media meddling went far beyond "information" and "advice."
'Hamstringing the Government': A Viral Narrative Distorts Ketanji Brown Jackson's Understanding of Free Speech
If partisans have one thing in common, it's confirmation bias.
Supreme Court Says Officials Who Block Critics on Social Media Might Be Violating the First Amendment
The justices established guidelines for determining whether that is true in any particular case.
SCOTUS Ponders Whether the Biden Administration Coerced Social Media Platforms To Censor Speech
Several justices seemed concerned that an injunction would interfere with constitutionally permissible contacts.
The CCP Sucks. So Does Banning TikTok.
Plus: A listener asks about Republicans and Democrats monopolizing political power in the United States.
The New York Times Again Worries That Free Speech Endangers Democracy
The newspaper portrays the constitutional challenge to the government's social media meddling as a conspiracy by Donald Trump's supporters.
Banning TikTok Would Give the Feds Way Too Much Power
"It's a disturbing gift of unprecedented authority to President Biden and the Surveillance State," said Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.).
TikTok's Opponents Want Chinese-style Censorship in America
Instead of freeing Americans from censorship, the TikTok bill would tighten the U.S. government's control over social media.
FIRE Highlights the Blatant Hypocrisy of State Officials Who Decry Government Meddling With Social Media
Even as they attack the Biden administration's crusade against "misinformation," Missouri and Louisiana defend legal restrictions on content moderation.
Your Local DMV May Have No Sense of Humor
Censorship of 2,872 Pennsylvania license plates raises free speech questions.
Supreme Court Looks Poised To Gut Restrictive Social Media Laws
The First Amendment restricts governments, not private platforms, and respects editorial rights.
Texas and Florida Say the First Amendment Must Be Sacrificed to Save It
Supreme Court arguments about two social media laws highlight a dangerous conflation of state and private action.
Most Justices Seem Skeptical of the Florida and Texas Social Media Laws
The Supreme Court seems inclined to recognize that content moderation is protected by the First Amendment.
States Try To Strip Sex From Literature in Libraries, Schools
These aren't outright bans. But they still can chill free speech and academic freedom.
Shoshana Weissmann: Online Age Verification Rules Are Unconstitutional and Ineffective
"None of these laws prevent kids from viewing anything. They just prevent kids from posting," argues Shoshana Weissmann.
Was Amazon 'Free to Ignore' White House Demands That It Suppress Anti-Vaccine Books?
The Biden administration's interference with bookselling harks back to a 1963 Supreme Court case involving literature that Rhode Island deemed dangerous.
A Constitutionally Dubious California Bill Would Ban Possession of AI-Generated Child Pornography
The proposal seems to conflict with a Supreme Court ruling against laws that criminalize mere possession of obscene material.
Democratic Attorneys General Support Censorship
In an amicus brief filed in Murthy v. Missouri, they ignore basic tenets of First Amendment law in order to quash online speech they don't like.
James Kirchick: 'Abolish Speech Codes Entirely'
How identity politics and institutional cowardice have undermined the free speech on which our society relies.
Hong Kong Police Targeting Overseas Activists and Speech
Police have set bounties on 13 activists, some living in the U.S.
A Bad Year for Drag Queen Foes
New anti-drag laws were deemed unconstitutional in every state where they were challenged this year.
Social Media Censorship and The First Amendment
Stanford's Jay Bhattacharya debates St. John University's Kate Klonick on the federal government's role in social media censorship.
Social Media Censorship: Jay Bhattacharya vs. Kate Klonick
Stanford's Jay Bhattacharya debates St. John University's Kate Klonick on the federal government's role in social media censorship.
Infographic: Florida's Public School Book Bans
The Bluest Eyes and 13 Reasons Why top the list of controversial books in Florida.
