Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers?
An interesting conversation I had with UMass law professor (and associate dean) Shaun Spencer, organized by the UMass Law Federalist Society.
Free Speech
Montana Becomes Latest State To Protect Free Speech With the FORUM Act
Now 14 states have legislation explicitly protecting free speech on campus.
Can Schools Punish Kids for Off-Campus Snapchats?
"The notion that a school can discipline a student for that kind of...non-harassing expression is contrary to our First Amendment tradition."
Court Refuses to Seal Case That Plaintiff Wanted to Hide from Potential Employers
Unsurprisingly, the court also refuses to order private caselaw repositories and search engines to hide the information.
Florida's 'Anti-Rioting' Bill Gives the Government New Powers That Have Nothing to Do With Riots
Among other things, it calls for online censorship to shield identities of public officials and lets the governor control city police budgets.
Pharma Co. Demands Preliminary Injunction to Take Down Anesthesiology Journal Articles
Pacira Biosciences' redacted brief supporting the motion for the preliminary injunction is now available—but it says nothing about the First Amendment, or about how the injunction could escape the prior restraint doctrine.
Conservatives Embrace Their Own 'Wokeness' With Attacks on Private Businesses
Remember when Republicans believed private businesses had a right to exercise free speech?
Pharma Co. Suing American Society of Anesthesiologists, Seeking Removal of Criticisms in Anesthesiology Journal + Retraction
Pacira Biosciences, Inc. is suing over allegedly "false and misleading statements made about EXPAREL, a pain medication drug."
Threat of Frivolous but Reputation-Damaging Lawsuit Can Be Criminal Extortion,
if it's used as an attempt to get a settlement, the Ninth Circuit rules .
When Everything Is 'Systemic Racism,' People Will Tune Out the Term
Leveling that grave accusation at every aspect of American life will produce disengagement, alienation, and reaction.
University of Oklahoma Diversity Training Forces Students and Faculty To Affirm the School's Political Views
The mandatory online training requires users to select the “right” speech before they finish.
Georgetown Law Prof. Lama Abu Odeh on the "Progressoriat" and "Georgetown's Cultural Revolution"
"Terror and dread fill academic workers, professors, and staff alike, and it is everywhere."
Can Places of Public Accommodation Exclude People Based on Their Politics?
It all depends on where you are.
Some Thoughts on Google v. Oracle, from Prof. Rebecca Tushnet (Harvard)
"Categories, microworks, and market circularity."
Ex-Rep. Katie Hill's Revenge Porn Lawsuit Against Daily Mail (UK) Dismissed
"Defendant has established that the images are a matter of public concern, as they speak to Plaintiff's character and qualifications for her position as a Congresswoman, allegedly depicting an extramarital sexual relationship with a paid campaign staff member, the use of illegal drugs by a sitting Congresswoman, and a tattoo similar to the symbols formerly used by white supremacists."
Backpage Judge Accused of Bias Will Remain on Case
Plus: Effort to decriminalize psychedelics gains traction in California, crony capitalism at its worst, and more...
University Trying to Block Distribution of Faculty Senate Meeting Video Excerpts Using Copyright Law
An interesting controversy involving Portland State University.
MSU Conference on Freedom of Speech and Intellectual Diversity on Campus
A free online conference sponsored by the LeFrak Forum on Science, Reason, and Modern Democracy at Michigan State University.
"The People Have Every Right to Look Over Our Shoulder and Review the Documents Before the Court"
"This is beyond the pale. The indiscriminate use of the confidentiality stamp alone warrants the denial of the entirety of the motions."
A Professor Pushed Back Against 'White Fragility' Training. The College Investigated Her for 9 Months.
The chaos at Lake Washington Institute of Technology is by no means an isolated occurrence.
Some Rhetoric from the Rotenberg v. Politico Complaint
Gripes about publishers getting "private commercial benefit" from "hate speech, propaganda, and statements that seek to destabilize American democracy"; argument that "[t]he public figure doctrine emerged in an era prior to the Internet advertising model that rewards news organizations for the ongoing display of defamatory content."
The Legal Complexities in Rotenberg v. Politico—#1332 Might Surprise You!
Remember: Lawyers’ true superpower is the power to turn all questions into questions about procedure.
When Is It Tortious to Report on Someone's Positive COVID Result?
A privacy controversy in a lawsuit by privacy advocate Marc Rotenberg (formerly of EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center).
Ninth Circuit Lets #TheyLied Suit Against Lawyer Lisa Bloom Go Forward
The lawsuit was brought by casino developer Steve Wynn, over a press release put out by Bloom related to a sexual harassment claim that Bloom's firm brought on behalf of a dancer.
Free Speech Under Threat from E.U. Campaign Against 'Terrorist Content'
Civil liberties advocates warn that the legislation threatens activism, journalism, and satire.
Amicus Brief in the Student Speech Case
"In Tinker, this Court held that "[i]t can hardly be argued that … students … shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." Yet [the school district] argues that students shed much of their freedom of speech even outside the schoolhouse gate, so long as their off-campus speech is reasonably expected to reach campus."
Journal of Free Speech Law Pre-Call For Papers: Student Speech and Associational Privacy,
in light of the Supreme Court's forthcoming Mahanoy and Americans For Prosperity cases.
Cops Tried To Force a Man To Delete a Video of Them Beating a Suspect. They Got Qualified Immunity.
The officers knowingly violated the First Amendment, said the court. But that doesn't matter.
Pronouns in the University Classroom & the First Amendment
A federal appellate court lets a professor's First Amendment claim go forward, in an opinion that powerfully protects faculty academic freedom more broadly.
Senator Elizabeth Warren Channels Her Inner Trump
Threatening government action to stop "snotty tweets" is not a good look.
NYPD Must Release Body-Cam Footage of Fatal Shooting of Woman,
but with "blurring images of [Susan] Muller's body and blood spatter."
