Court Allows U.S. Prosecution for American's North Korea Speech About Cryptocurrency
A decision in the case of Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith, denying his motion to dismiss.
Free Speech
The Supreme Court's Next Big Free Speech Showdown
May public schools punish students for off-campus social media posts?
Legislator Free to Block Users from Her Campaign-Focused Twitter Account
So the Eighth Circuit held yesterday, distinguishing the @RealDonaldTrump case on the grounds that the Trump account was used for much more official activity.
Can California Employee Be Fired for Attending the Jan. 6 Protest at the Capitol?
California statutes suggest the answer may be no, so long as the firing is based on the political activity, and not on criminal conduct.
May N.Y. Businesses Fire Employees for Using Parler and Gab?
Colleen Oefelein was fired by the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency, and the incident illustrates the vagueness of New York law on this point.
Sedition Cases Against Capitol Rioters 'Will Bear Fruit Very Soon,' Says FBI
Plus: Senators call impeachment trial unconstitutional, Biden cancels private prison contracts, Apple sued over Telegram, and more...
Public Has Right "to See What Is Going Into the Sausage Factory [of Litigation], Even if a Particular Sausage Is Never Made"
Federal court holds that documents accompanying motions are presumptively accessible even if the case settles before the court decides the motion.
Tennessee Cops Arrest Man For Posting Photoshopped Picture of Men Urinating on Dead Officer's Grave
"The only people who broke the law here were the police officers and TBI agents who participated in this flagrantly unconstitutional arrest."
Pretrial Release Condition: Can't Speak About "the [Capitol] Protest or the Matters Related to the United States Government"
And can't "participate in any protests, rallies or demonstrations."
Might Federal Preemption of Speech-Protective State Laws Violate the First Amendment?
And, if so, what does this mean for 47 U.S.C. § 230?
Judge Warns Business Litigants (Including Facebook) About Excessive Sealing Requests
"These allegations stand at the heart of plaintiffs' claims, and sealing them would make this litigation virtually incomprehensible to the public."
Glenn Greenwald: 'Journalists Are Authoritarians'
What went wrong at the outlet he co-founded, what's wrong with the ACLU, and what might go wrong in the Biden administration
Do Critics of Police Have the First Amendment Procedural Protections That Nazis Get?
The Ohio S. Ct. will take up the question, in the Cincinnati prior restraint case in which we filed an amicus brief.
"On That Premise This Land Was Created, and on That Premise It Has Grown to Greatness"
"The greater the importance of safeguarding the community from incitements to the overthrow of our institutions by force ..., the more imperative is the need to preserve inviolate the constitutional rights of free speech ... to maintain the opportunity for free political discussion, to the end that government may be responsive to the will of the people and that changes, if desired, may be obtained by peaceful means."
Presidential Free Speech and the Congressional Impeachment Power
The First Amendment should not be a viable defense in an impeachment trial
My USA Today Op Ed on Josh Hawley, Freedom of Speech, and Threats to Liberty From Left and Right
Both Hawley's "national conservatism" and similar ideas prevalent in many quarters on the left threaten free speech and liberty more generally.
"The First Amendment Is Interpreted by the Courts, not Tech Companies"
A nice line, though said in a narrow context (whether Facebook's decision not to remove comments from a government agency's page is relevant to whether the government agency could delete them).
"The Law School Acknowledges That the Racial and Gender References on the Examination Were Deeply Offensive"
A controversy at the University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School (not to be confused with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).
Don't Let the Capitol Riot Become a 9/11-Style Excuse for Authoritarianism
Frightening events create openings for attacks on civil liberties.
Impeaching Trump for his Role in Inciting the Attack on the Capitol Doesn't Violate "Established Free Speech Rights"
A rejoinder to Josh Blackman and Seth Tillman.
No, AOC, It's Not the Government's Job to 'Rein in Our Media'
The First Amendment doesn't come with an exception for "disinformation."
Is the Great Deplatforming of 2021 an Assault on Free Speech?
No, says Techdirt's Mike Masnick, but it is cause for expanding Section 230 and building a more decentralized internet.
Prosecuting Trump for Incitement Would Set a Dangerous Precedent
Unlike the cancellation of Josh Hawley’s book, such criminal charges pose a real threat to freedom of speech.
How To Respond to the Great Deplatforming of 2021
We need an open digital commons, where individuals maintain ownership of their own identities and where speech is highly resistant to political pressure.
Did Trump Engage in 'Insurrection or Rebellion' Against the Constitution?
The impeachment article against the president cites a little-discussed section of the 14th Amendment.
DERBY-PIE Trademark Owner Can't Stop Newspaper from Discussing Other Derby Pies
An interesting illustration of the "non-trademark use" doctrine.
Millions of Users Are Flooding Encrypted Apps After Social Media Purges
Plus: Supreme Court declines more election challenges, Lisa Montgomery gets temporary stay of execution, and more...
"Trump Was Kicked Off Twitter. Who's Next?"
"We should be wary of corporate power over political speech."
Antifa Demands Powell's Stop Selling Andy Ngo's Book, Forces Store To Close Early
"This book will not be on our store shelves, and we will not promote it. That said, it will remain in our online catalogue."
The First Amendment Doesn't Protect Trump Against Impeachment for his Role in Inciting the Assault on the Capitol
High government officials don't have a First Amendment right to be protected from firing based on their political views. That applies to presidents facing impeachment no less than other officials.
Did Trump Commit a Crime When He Riled Up His Supporters Before They Rioted?
Under federal law, incitement to riot does not include "advocacy of ideas" or "expression of belief" unless it endorses violence, which Trump did not do.
FCC Won't Fulfill Trump Order for 'Regulations to Clarify' Section 230
Plus: Trump concedes on reinstated Twitter account, Cabinet resignations keep coming, and more...
Don't Give the Capitol Rioters Power Over Tech and Policing Policy
Plus: National Association of Manufacturers calls on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, Trump's response to the riot, and more...
The Fracturing of Communist Cuba's Propaganda Machine
"When I started my blog," says journalist Yoani Sánchez, "it was like an exorcism of something that was inside of me."
Online Criticism of Retirement Community + Picketing Lead to Ohio Criminal "Harassment" Prosecution
We’ve filed an amicus brief supporting a motion to dismiss the charges.
The Case Against Julian Assange Is Also a Case Against a Free Press
Contrary to what the judge who blocked his extradition implied, the Espionage Act does not include an exception for "responsible" journalism.
