Georgia Judge Issues Potentially Unconstitutional Gag Order in 'Cop City' Trial
The trial of the first of 61 defendants starts today, but the judge has seemingly forbidden any of the defendants or their attorneys from discussing the case.
Censorship
He Wants To Label Food 'Low FODMAP.' The Government Won't Let Him.
Lots of Americans have an intolerance to FODMAPs—the sugars prevalent in garlic, onion, and many other foods.
Trump Gag Order Raises Unsettled Constitutional Questions
A D.C. Circuit judge says the government’s defense of the order gives short shrift to "the First Amendment’s vigorous protection of political speech."
Free Speech Advocates Are Often Hypocrites. This Doesn't Make the Cause Less Important.
When people from historically privileged groups are facing censorship, that doesn't mean people in historically marginalized groups are actually being empowered.
How The Simpsons Strangled Itself Into Irrelevance
The once-subversive show now traffics in the clichés it used to mock so effectively.
Salman Rushdie: 'Literature Is Powerful, Writers Are Fragile'
"If we can't trust ourselves as a culture to accommodate ideas we don't like," the novelist said at the Library of Congress, "then our ideas lose their value as well, because they become authoritarian."
'A Tyranny of the Minority': Why This College Dropout Wants To Cancel Cancel Culture
"Being a true free speech champion does require that you defend speech that even you disagree with," says libertarian Rikki Schlott.
These Public Officials Blocked Critics on Social Media. Was That Constitutional?
The Supreme Court considers whether and when banishing irksome constituents violates the First Amendment.
The Bipartisan Urge To Control Online Speech
Democrats and Republicans are united in thinking their political agendas trump the First Amendment.
SCOTUS Will Decide When the Government's Social Media Meddling Violates the First Amendment
The justices agreed to consider whether the Biden administration's efforts to suppress online "misinformation" were unconstitutional.
The Latest Trump Gag Order Is Relatively Narrow but Still Raises Constitutional Questions
A federal judge barred the former president from "publicly targeting" witnesses, prosecutors, or court personnel.
Supreme Court Will Hear This Texas Woman's Challenge to a Politically Motivated Arrest
Sylvia Gonzalez, an anti-establishment politician, spent a day in jail for allegedly concealing a petition that she organized.
California Quietly Repeals Restrictions on Doctors' COVID-19 Advice
Several federal judges had expressed skepticism about the constitutionality of penalizing physicians for departing from a government-defined "consensus."
Court Denies Preliminary Injunction in Case Alleging Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment of Doctoral Student
"Plaintiff cannot likely show that her rejection of Dr Greeson's alleged conduct was the basis for her asserted adverse educational action (i.e., failure of the Qualifying Exam)—Plaintiff appears to have failed the Qualifying Exam every which way."
Federal Prison Censors Reason Issue About How Federal Prison Employed Serial Rapists
The issue was rejected because it "jeopardizes the good order and security of the institution."
Aella: Is Porn Too Pervasive?
The former OnlyFans star and outspoken libertarian defender of sex workers considers the acceleration of government crackdowns on online porn, the sexual revolution, and sex work.
Is There Too Much Porn?
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook at 1 p.m. Eastern this Thursday for a discussion with Aella about the escalating government crackdown on online porn, the sexual revolution, and sex work.
Defenders of the Florida and Texas Social Media Laws Contradict Themselves
If Facebook et al. are pushing a "radical leftist narrative," why don’t they have a constitutional right to do that?
New Net Neutrality Rules Could Threaten Popular Services
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has initiated a new rulemaking that would enact what are largely the same net neutrality rules tried back in 2016.
Bahrain's Dictatorship Gets More Biden Administration Help
The U.S.-Bahraini security pact is the first step towards a future U.S.-Saudi “mega-deal.” Critics say it violates the U.S. Constitution and aids torturers.
A Former Twitter Executive's Highly Selective Concern About 'Coercive Influences' on Social Media
Yoel Roth worries about government meddling in content moderation, except when Democrats target "misinformation."
Federal Judge Blocks California Online Age-Checking Law as Unconstitutional
Shielding children from “harm” shouldn’t come at the expense of speech protected by the First Amendment.
The 5th Circuit Agrees That Federal Officials Unconstitutionally 'Coerced' or 'Encouraged' Online Censorship
The appeals court narrowed a preliminary injunction against such meddling but confirmed the threat that it poses to freedom of speech.
Do the Proud Boys Deserve To Be in Prison Forever?
Plus: A listener question concerning porn verification laws.
In Scathing Rulings, Federal Courts Block Arkansas and Texas Age Verification Laws
Plus: Meta revises controversial "dangerous organizations" policy, a win against civil asset forfeiture in Detroit, and more...
Protecting Kids on Social Media Act Cloaks Attack on Privacy Behind Concern for Children
There are already people responsible for regulating children’s online activity: parents and guardians.
Don't Bring Back COVID Authoritarianism
People should be free to choose how cautious to be. Mask mandates, lockdowns, and closing schools won't stop the virus.
A Ruling Against a Man Arrested for a COVID-19 Joke Highlights the Influence of a Pernicious Analogy
A federal judge compared Waylon Bailey’s Facebook jest to "falsely shouting fire in a theatre."
Talking About Sex Online Shouldn't Be Illegal
Porn sites and other online spaces with adult content are fun; they’re also important sources of community and information.
The Washington Post Says Democracy Demands Less Freedom of Speech
The paper worries that "social media companies are receding from their role as watchdogs against political misinformation."
Jay Bhattacharya & John Vecchione: Biden's Social Media Meddling Was Illegal
Plaintiffs in Missouri v. Biden allege that federal pressure to remove and suppress COVID-19 material on Facebook and Twitter violates the First Amendment.
The Lab Leak Theory Still Counts as Misinformation in a New Study of COVID-19 Claims
A new study of COVID-19 narratives makes the very mistake it purports to correct.
Was Biden's Social Media Meddling Illegal?
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern for a live discussion with Jay Bhattacharya and John Vecchione about their legal case against the Biden administration.
Why Stripping Fox's Broadcast License Is a Terrible Idea
Plus: A listener inquires about the potential positive effects of ranked-choice voting reforms.
A Ham-Handed Bill Attacks the First Amendment in the Name of Protecting Minors From Online Harm
The Kids Online Safety Act imposes an amorphous "duty of care" that would compromise anonymous speech and restrict access to constitutionally protected content.
Online Privacy at Risk from Awful U.K. Internet Regulation Bill
The legislation is also terrible on free speech and poses global risks.
Jean Twenge and Elizabeth Nolan Brown: What Do Millennials Want?
A boomer, a Gen Xer, and a Millennial discuss the causes and conflicts of today's generational gaps.
Biden White House Pressured Facebook To Censor Lab Leak Posts
"Can someone quickly remind me why we were removing—rather than demoting/labeling—claims that Covid is man made," asked Meta's president for global affairs.
E.U. Law Threatens Free Speech, Online Groups Say
The E.U.’s Digital Services Act will encourage censorship around the world and even in the U.S.
Federal Officials Can Keep Pressing Tech Platforms To Remove Content for Now, Court Says
Plus: GOP candidate defends “limited role of government” in parental decisions for transgender kids, some common sense about Diet Coke and cancer, and more…
Some Critics of the Ruling Against Biden's Censorship by Proxy Have a Beef With the 1st Amendment Itself
"Disinformation" researchers alarmed by the injunction against government meddling with social media content admire legal regimes that allow broad speech restrictions.
Critics of the Ruling Against Biden's Anti-'Misinformation' Crusade See No Threat to Freedom of Speech
The response to the decision illustrates the alarming erosion of bipartisan support for the First Amendment.
The Courts vs. Misinformation Cops
Plus: A listener questions last week’s discussion of the Supreme Court's decision involving same-sex wedding websites and free expression.
Elite Journalists Love Big Brother
Prominent reporters and powerful officials know each other, share attitudes, and trust each other.
