Free Speech
House Passes 'Anti Sex-Trafficking' Bill Opposed by Both DOJ and Trafficking Survivors
The bill makes "promoting prostitution" a federal crime, holds websites legally liable for user-posted content, and lets states retroactively prosecute offenders.
R.I. Proposal to Tax Violent Video Games
But such a content-based tax would violate the First Amendment.
Justice Kennedy Takes Aim at Public Sector Unions in Janus Oral Arguments
"It seems to me your argument doesn't have much weight."
Stossel: The Stosscars!
John Stossel picks the best and worst political performances of the year.
My Podcast Debate on Mandatory Union Fees and the First Amendment
The National Constitution Center invited Alicia Hickok and me to debate Janus; Ms. Hickok wrote an amicus brief supporting Janus, and I signed an amicus brief supporting the AFSCME.
School Chief Threatens to Punish Student Protesters Who Skip Classes by…Banning Them from Attending Classes
He'd also like everyone to trim their hair so it doesn't touch their ears.
'Crisis Actors,' Conspiracy Theories, and the Fear of Social Media
Yes, kooky rumors can spread quickly online. In this case, the angry reactions to those rumors may be spreading even faster.
Don't Feed the Russian Troll Hysteria
The "information warfare" described in Friday's indictment is not an existential threat to American democracy.
The Two Sides of Collective Bargaining: A Way of Looking at the First Amendment Question in Janus
The government always compels taxpayers to fund the management side of management-labor bargaining in public workplaces. Given this, why should there be a First Amendment problem with compelled funding (through agency fees as well as taxes) of both sides?
Is It OK To Punch a Nazi? We Asked Berkeley Students
A year after fiery political protests erupted on campus, we visited to find out when students think it's OK to respond to words with violence.
Feds Announce Indictments of Russian Nationals for Attempting to Influence American Elections
Thirteen individuals and three companies accused of conspiracy against the U.S., wire fraud, and identity theft.
3 Supreme Court Cases to Watch This Month
Here are the SCOTUS cases to watch in February.
Child Custody, Religion, and Children's Reactions to a Parent's Religious Demands
"The change in the child's relationship with the father based on the child's fear of his displeasure if she were not a 'true Muslim,' and her belief that he threatened to abscond with her to Morocco, also contributed to the change in circumstances warranting modification" of the custody arrangement.
First Amendment Case Brought by Immigration Checkpoint Protesters/Monitors Can Go Forward
So holds the Ninth Circuit, in a case in which the Scott & Cyan Banister First Amendment Clinic, which I run, filed an amicus brief.
Taylor Swift Decision: Copiers Gonna Copy, Copy, Copy
And that's not copyright infringement, if they only copy short phrases, especially ones that were themselves largely copied from others.
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Wired Thinks Free Speech Has Been Tried and Failed
The ancient authoritarian imperative to restrict speech shows up in a new guise.
Whatever Happened to Michael Mann's Defamation Suit (2018 edition)
It's been over a year since a petition for rehearing en banc was filed and the D.C. Court of Appeals has yet to act.
New Jersey Cop Fired for Having Once Appeared in Fetish Films
Meanwhile, drunk driving and vehicular assault by officers are not firing offenses in Hudson County.
Someone Trying to Vanish My Post About Someone Trying to Vanish Another Post
In March, I wrote about a forged court order that someone was using to try to get Google to de-index online criticism of a New Britain, Conn. community activist (and volunteer city commissioner); now, someone has asked Google to de-index my post, plus a TechDirt post on the same subject.
John Perry Barlow, The Thomas Jefferson of Cyberspace, R.I.P.
Co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Grateful Dead lyricist, helped create the notion of "cyberspace" as realm of unprecedented liberty.
California Court Upholds First Amendment Right Not to Bake Cake for Same-Sex Wedding
This is a trial court decision, and an appeal seems likely.
Wooster Activists' Demands: Expel a Racist Student, More Diversity Training, Less Money for Ultimate Frisbee
Men's Ultimate Frisbee received $15,747.78. "Brothers of Diversity received $984."
Do You Have a First Amendment Right to Flip Off the Cops?
A lawsuit filed by the Indiana ACLU says yes.
No, President Trump, It's Not 'Treasonous' to Be Chill During the State of Union
"You have the other side, even on positive news, really positive news… they were like death, and un-American."
Want to Make an Untraceable Handgun at Home? Cody Wilson Can Help.
His Ghost Gunner and 3D printing are destroying the concept of gun control.
Harvard Commits to Ban on Single-Sex Organizations, But Will Allow 'Gender-Focused' Female Groups
Female groups are allowed to remain "gender focused," while male groups are penalized.
Excluding Anti-Gay Speaker From Open-to-the-Public Pride Festival Violated First Amendment
First Amendment principles that offensive speech is protected "are by no means new. Yet they are strangely absent from the papers submitted by [City of Syracuse defendants] in defense of their actions toward plaintiff James Deferio, a Christian evangelical who regularly proselytizes at the Central New York Pride Parade and Festival ...."
No Freedom From the Church of America
The religion this church administers is Americanism, a species of nationalism.
More on the Secret Speech Restriction in the Barley House Case
Can an American court punish a speaker for his speech, on the theory that he breached an agreement not to speak -- all the while keeping the speech-restrictive agreement secret?
Felons Who Want Their Voting Rights Back Are Getting Unconstitutionally Screwed, Says Judge
The state uses a panel of partisan officials with absolute discretion to determine who gets to vote again
New Free Speech History Podcast (First Episode: Ancient Athens)
It's by Jacob Mchangama, and presented by (among others) the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
Middlebury Activist Who Published List of Alleged Rapists May Have Violated Title IX
"I could really give a f**k about protecting the privacy of abusers."
Inserting People into Porn Movies: The First Amendment Textbook Problem (2005)
A prediction comes true, for better or worse ....
Poland's Holocaust Bill Is a Hate Speech Ban
The bill's backers say talking about Polish complicity in Nazi genocide is a form of group defamation.
Polish Bill Would Outlaw Statements That Accuse Poles of Complicity in Nazi Crimes
More censorship creep in Europe, which already forbids a wide range of claims about history.
Arizona Bar Accuses Libel Lawyers of Suing Fake Defendants
"There is no notary in Fulton County named Amanda Sparks.... The notarization by Amanda Sparks is a forgery.... Connie Hood and Jesse Wood are not real. Connie Hood and Jesse Wood were fabricated in order to obtain a stipulated order of permanent injunction removing criticism of Adam Lynd from the internet.... Howard Marks is not real.... Robert Smith is not real.... Damon Lentz is not real...."
No, Russians Bots Aren't Responsible for #ReleaseTheMemo
But partisan Democrats tried to use a fake news scare to quash it anyway.
Tomi Lahren Thinks Tons of Teens Really Are Eating Tide Pods, Blames Liberals
Parents aren't neglecting to keep their kids safe from laundry detergent. If anything, teens are overprotected.
Georgia's Campus Free Speech Bill Protects Some Students' Rights, May Threaten Others
State senator proposes mandatory minimums for repeat First Amendment violators.
Dianne Feinstein Ignores GOP Lawmakers, Blames #ReleaseTheMemo on Russians and Social Media Instead
Any excuse to try to censor the internet
Regulations Prevent Some People from Using Google Arts & Culture's Portrait-Matching Feature
Illinois and Texas think biometric identifiers are a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Government Will Protect Us From Bad Speech? That's the Fakest News of All.
When government officials suppress critics, they do so only to help themselves.
Your Social Media Post Does Not Have To Be Socially Useful
Critics of free speech use the same old arguments on new technologies.
The Limits of Textualism and the Union Agency Fee Case
I'm all for carefully reading the words of the Constitution, and applying the distinctions that it draws -- but we need to make sure we're understanding just what those distinctions are.
Our Largely Non-Libertarian Constitution
Many restrictions on liberty may be unwise and wrong -- but not unconstitutional.
