Censorship
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.
The Solution to Chinese Censorship Is Not Show Hearings
Government bullying won’t fix censorship caused by government bullying.
Barbie Banned in Vietnam!
The glitter-filled movie got involved in authoritarian geopolitics by allegedly displaying Chinese propaganda.
Journalists Outraged That a Judge Would Dare Limit Biden's Censorship Powers
Unfortunately, there is reason to doubt that the judge's decision will meaningfully constrain the feds.
'I Owe Freedom My Life': Jimmy Lai Is Imprisoned for Criticizing the Chinese Government
Lai's media company covered the Communist government's abuses when other Hong Kong media wouldn't.
What Will 303 Creative Mean for Social Media Regulation?
If you can't force a web designer to serve a gay wedding, can you force a web platform to serve a politician?
Lockdown Dissenters Were Muzzled in the U.K. as Well as the U.S.
Thin-skinned authoritarians of the world, unite!
A City Banned Pride Month–Themed Library Displays. Then It Threatened Employees Who Criticized the Decision.
After officials in Orem, Utah, banned “heritage month” displays in the public library, it threatened to discipline librarians who criticized the censorship.
How School Choice Can Mitigate Harmful Culture War Policies in Public Education
Current culture wars are just one more manifestation of the reality that public education routinely devolves into indoctrination and imposition of majoritarian ideology on dissenters. But school choice can help mitigate that problem.
Should Libertarians Be Noncombatants in the Pride Wars?
Plus: A listener question considers the pros and cons of the libertarian focus on political processes rather than political results.
YouTube Abandons Election Misinformation Policy That Censored Political Speech
"We find that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech."
The Surgeon General Exaggerates the Threat Social Media Poses to Kids
A new report calls for policy makers to take action when none is required.
Supreme Court Swats Down Attempts To Hold Twitter, Google Financially Liable for Terrorism
The narrow rulings concluded the platforms aren’t responsible for bad people using their communication services.
Twitter Caved to Censorship Requests From Turkey's Authoritarian Government
Plus: Flight attendants report dad as human trafficker, the suburbs are thriving, and more...
Jacob Siegel: 'Disinformation' Is the Hoax of the Century
From Russiagate to COVID discourse, elites in government and the media are trying to control and centralize free speech and open inquiry.
TikTok Goes From Silly to Serious
The Chinese app has become a magnet for every possible cultural concern.
Florida Bans Most Public School Instruction on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
What happened to the claim that this was just about protecting young children?
Graphic Novels Bear Brunt of New Library Wars Over Access to Books
One of America's richest art forms suffers for seeming realer than other literature. But the war against "graphic imagery" is really a war against certain truths.
The Media and Politicians Keep Trying To Censor Things That Turn Out To Be True
The COVID-19 lab leak theory was labeled "misinformation." Now it's the most plausible explanation.
Elon Musk Throttles Substack, Clashing With Twitter Files' Matt Taibbi
Plus: Dueling court decisions on an abortion drug, an update from Riley Gaines, and more...
5 Years After the Backpage Shutdown, Sex Workers—and Free Speech—Are Still Suffering
As former Backpage execs await their August trial, the shutdown is still worsening the lives it was supposed to improve.
Conservative Florida Lawmakers Want To Expand LGBT Censorship to Charter Schools
New bill makes a mockery of parents’ rights, school choice, and educational freedom.
Rand Paul Is Right: Banning TikTok Would Be Idiotic
Three reasons not to ban the popular social media app
Could the RESTRICT Act Criminalize the Use of VPNs?
Plus: States consider mandatory anti-porn filters, tariffs create baby formula shortages (again), and more...
