Stossel: No Filming on Farms
Farm groups get politicians to pass laws against secret filming on farms.
Free Speech
Texas Court Rejects Once-Suspended Doctor's Lawsuit Over Reporting of the Suspension
Dr. Calvin Day had claimed that describing his suspension as based on "unprofessional conduct" was libelous. (He had also earlier sought to get dismissed criminal charges expunged, and tried to bind local news outlets to the expungement order.) He lost, and was ordered to pay over $80,000 in attorney's fees.
Activists Demand Firing of Feminist Grad Student for Criticizing the Transgender Movement
UC–Santa Barbara's Title IX office is "aware of this matter and actively engaged in a response."
Court Refuses to Issue Gag Order and Sealing Order in Sexual Harassment Suit Against YMCA of Pikes Peak
(Disclosure: I had filed an objection, on my own behalf, to the motion to seal.)
Another Study Finds Trigger Warnings Are Useless, or Even Harmful
A scientific consensus has emerged that trigger warnings just don't work—and student activists should stop demanding them.
"Once the Cat Is Out of the Bag, the Ball Game Is Over."
More than just a mixed metaphor -- it's a legal doctrine.
Backpage Prosecutors Want to Seize Assets First, Answer Questions Later
Aggressive asset forfeiture collides with First Amendment rights.
Donald Trump Doesn't Think 'the Mainstream Media Is Free Speech'
At his social media summit on Thursday, the president ranted incoherently about the media's "crooked," "dishonest," and "dangerous" speech.
The End of the Free Internet Is Near
The idea that the internet should enjoy minimal government oversight precisely because it was a technology that enabled open and free speech for everyone has been turned on its head.
Trump Is Hosting a Very Weird Social Media Summit at the White House
Plus: Air-launched rockets, the GOP becomes the party of Trump, and Pelosi feuds with AOC.
Google Told Employees to Delete Politically Incorrect Language From Code
"The cost of not doing this is the harm done to other Googlers every time they encounter these terms," says the company's diversity and inclusion team.
Limits of "Revenge Porn" Laws
An interesting D.C. trial court decision from last year, involving an image of nudity submitted as part of a court case.
Trump To Convene 'Social Media Summit' Over Accusations of Anti-Conservative Bias
The president invited Republican lawmakers as well as social media stars who claim that tech giants are suppressing free speech.
Two Lawsuits Argue That Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Blocking of Twitter Critics, Like Trump's, Violates the First Amendment
The New York congresswoman's use of Twitter seems similar to the president's in constitutionally relevant ways.
A Mural Quoting Trump at His Most Profane Is Protected Speech, Judge Rules
New Orleans can't use zoning regulations to decide what counts as artistic expression.
Man Sues Anti-Homosexuality Group for Libel, Loses, Unsuccessfully Tries to Seal Court Opinions
The plaintiff had pleaded guilty to, among other things, having sex with a minor (apparently when he was 21 and the minor was 15); the alleged libel stemmed from, among other things, reports of that crime.
New Orleans Mural Ordinance, Which Regulates "Works of Art," Is Unconstitutionally Vague
So a district court held today.
@RealDonaldTrump and Twitter: Public Forums and Private Architecture
Today’s decision fits awkwardly with a usual element of a designated public forum – that the government has created rules allowing for open discourse and is thus bound by those rules.
The Backlash Over The Little Mermaid Casting a Black Ariel Is Fake News
Few people who tweeted #NotMyAriel were actually upset about Halle Bailey portraying the mermaid princess.
2nd Circuit Agrees That Trump Cannot Constitutionally Block Critics on Twitter
The court says the "interactive space" created by his account is a public forum, meaning that the president's viewpoint discrimination violates the First Amendment.
Second Circuit: Unconstitutional for @RealDonaldTrump to Block Twitter Users Based on Viewpoint
The reasoning would apply to other politicians' accounts that are seen as "official" rather than personal, and to accounts that are run by government entities (such as school boards) rather than individual politicians.
An Iowa Man Wins His Free Speech Suit After Being Charged for a Facebook Rant Against a Cop
Jon Goldsmith was charged with third-degree harassment after calling Deputy Cory Dorsey a "stupid sum bitch" online.
Sealing Records of a Teacher's Prosecution for Sexual Conduct with Underage Students?
An interesting Massachusetts decision from a couple of months ago, upholding a trial court's refusal to seal under such circumstances.
Is Wrongful Search Engine Optimization a Tort?
An anonymous lawsuit claims that it's tortious to try to artificially boost the prominence of an embarrassing article.
"Prominent Pornography Researcher Frames Defamation Claims As Sexual Harassment, Prompting a Defamation Suit by Her Target"
An academic debate turns into professional and legal accusations.
Because Politicians Are for Sale, They Think Everyone Else Is Too
Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.) has proposed a dreadful bill that would give the government control of internet content. He thinks the only reason anyone could be opposed is because they've been bought off.
Prominent Pornography Researcher Frames Defamation Claims As Sexual Harassment, Prompting a Defamation Suit by Her Target
Nicole Prause and Donald Hilton, longtime opponents on the subject of pornography, are now facing off in court.
First Amendment Likely Bars Arizona's Withdrawal of Tax Benefits to Nike Over Betsy Ross Sneaker Controversy
The Supreme Court has held that the government generally may not terminate contracts with contractors based on their constitutionally protected speech; the same likely applies to financial incentives..
No Preliminary Injunction, No Pseudonymity, No Sealing in Internet Libel Case
That's what a New York trial court decision just posted online today held -- correctly, I think.
Rape Claims, Speech Restrictions, and Consent
Noted political publicist Trevor FitzGibbon (who had represented Julian Assange) sues whistleblower lawyer Jesselyn Radack (who had represented Edward Snowden) -- a second time.
Antifa Mob Viciously Assaults Journalist Andy Ngo at Portland Rally
Masked activists attacked the Quillette editor with fists and milkshakes, sending him to the emergency room.
Facing Legal Challenge, Washington Weed Regulators Lift Ban on Cannabusiness Signs at Seattle Hempfest
The state's Liquor and Cannabis Board changed its policy after Hempfest and two marijuana retailers challenged it on constitutional grounds.
First Amendment Limits Media Liability for Inducing Breach of Nondisclosure Agreement -- Now a Precedent in California
The Court of Appeal has ordered that the formerly nonprecedential decision, which I blogged about four weeks ago, will now be precedential.
When the Government Says You're Fake News
Countries across the world tackle political misinformation with authoritarian censorship.
Will Any Democratic Debater Acknowledge Math?
Early debates actually tell us a good deal about where political parties are heading.
Minnesota Supreme Court Holds That Nonmedia Speakers Are Fully Protected by First Amendment
Prior Minnesota precedents had said that some First Amendment protections against defamation liability applied only to media speakers.
The War on Backpage.com Is a War on Sex Workers
The government's latest moral crusade shields traffickers, empowers pimps, and undermines free speech online.
A Social Media Platform Has Banned Support of Trump
It's Ravelry, and it's not just a "knitting site."
Attempt to Vanish Newspaper Articles About Elected School District Trustee Lynette Boggs-Perez
Boggs-Perez is the recently elected trustee of the San-Antonio-area Judson Independent School District, and the requests aimed to deindex columns about her in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the San Antonio Express-News.
Sen. Ron Wyden: Conservatives Are 'Totally Wrong' About Political Neutrality Under Section 230
"Section 230 has nothing to do with neutrality. Nothing. Zip. There is absolutely no weight to that argument," Wyden says. He oughta know. He wrote the damn thing.
The Moral Scolds of the New Illiberal Right Are Coming For Your Internet
From Sohrab Ahmari to Josh Hawley, what the new right really wants is to squelch free expression.
Facebook Posts Lewdly Insulting Elected Official Are Criminally Punishable (at Least If They Relate to a Private Dispute)
Such speech, whether about elected officials or others, is punishable, the court held, if it "[does] not express social or political beliefs or constitute legitimate conduct" and "could only serve to harass, annoy or alarm the complainant."
Knitting Website Ravelry Bans All Pro-Trump Content
"Support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy."
Colorado Supreme Court Upholds a Decision That Forced a Teenager to Register As a Sex Offender for Swapping Nude Selfies
That result "may strike some as unfair," the court says, but it's what state law required at the time.
The Supreme Court Says Your Filthy Trademark Is Protected by the First Amendment
A 6-3 ruling says that the First Amendment protects brand names that are considered “immoral” or “scandalous.”
Facially Viewpoint-Based Statutes Are Unconstitutional Even if They Aren't "Substantially" Overbroad
So the majority held in today's decision about the exclusion of "immoral or scandalous" marks from trademark registration (the FUCT case).
