TikTok's Opponents Want Chinese-style Censorship in America
Instead of freeing Americans from censorship, the TikTok bill would tighten the U.S. government's control over social media.
Free Speech
Lawsuit Against Society for Creative Anachronism Thrown Out Because It's Untimely
and also because private clubs generally have broad discretion in interpreting their internal rules.
FIRE Highlights the Blatant Hypocrisy of State Officials Who Decry Government Meddling With Social Media
Even as they attack the Biden administration's crusade against "misinformation," Missouri and Louisiana defend legal restrictions on content moderation.
Lawsuit Hobbles Utah's Plan To Mandate Age Verification Online
"Laws like this don't solve the problems they try to address but only make them worse," says a Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression attorney.
Guernica Cancels an Inconvenient Essay (UPDATED)
An "uncompromising" journal cancels an essay for failing to say the right things.
Revenge Porn Dispute Can't Be Completely Sealed
The Fifth Circuit leaves room for possible retroactive pseudonymization of the case, however, though it doesn't decide for certain whether such retroactive pseudonymization is proper.
No Constitutional Violation in Mental Health Investigation Following Professor's Claim to Police About "Electronic Device[s]" Found in Her "Private Parts"
Part of the facts in an interesting recent case, dealing with plaintiff's claims that the police retaliated against her for exercising her First Amendment rights to report crime.
Telling Officials "You Will Live to Regret This" Wasn't Punishable Threat or "Intimidat[ion]"
when in context the statement just expressed "an intention to file a complaint against the conduct of government officials."
Your Local DMV May Have No Sense of Humor
Censorship of 2,872 Pennsylvania license plates raises free speech questions.
Dear Government: Stop Trying To Make TikTok Bans Happen
A new bill would ban TikTok and give the president power to declare other social media apps off limits.
Nate Silver: Libertarians Are the Real Liberals
"People are not in politics for truth-seeking reasons," argues the data journalist and author of On The Edge: The Art of Risking Everything.
#TheyLied Libel Case, Stemming from Allegations of "Mental and Physical Abuse[]" by Fellow High School Student, Can Go Forward
The culture of public accusation and shaming, in high school (and stemming from a relationship that apparently happened when the accuser and accused were sophomores).
Town Says Burger Joint's Mural Can't Show Any Burgers
Salina, Kansas, restaurant owner Steve Howard argues in a new lawsuit that the city's sign regulations violate the First Amendment.
"Freedom of Expression in Generative AI—A Snapshot of Content Policies"
A new report from the Future of Free Speech project (a collaboration between Vanderbilt University and Justitia).
New York Times Staffers Bullied a Conservative Writer
The Chick-fil-A story heard 'round the world.
Texas Sues Pornhub for Failing to Check IDs
A federal judge in an ongoing case called the porn age-check scheme unconstitutional. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton doesn't seem to care.
Supreme Court Looks Poised To Gut Restrictive Social Media Laws
The First Amendment restricts governments, not private platforms, and respects editorial rights.
Texas and Florida Say the First Amendment Must Be Sacrificed to Save It
Supreme Court arguments about two social media laws highlight a dangerous conflation of state and private action.
Most Justices Seem Skeptical of the Florida and Texas Social Media Laws
The Supreme Court seems inclined to recognize that content moderation is protected by the First Amendment.
Poll: Almost a Third of Americans Say the First Amendment Goes 'Too Far'
The survey also found that two-thirds of respondents believe that America is on the "wrong track" when it comes to free speech.
Requiring Public High School Student to Perform Monologue by Classmate May Be Unconstitutional Speech Compulsion
The monologue was sexually themed, but it's not clear to what extent the court's rationale might extend to situations where a student objects to the monologue for other reasons.
Netflix Wins Lawsuit Over 13 Reasons Why, on Statute of Limitations Grounds
The plaintiffs claimed that 15-year-old Bella Herndon committed suicide because of the film.
Supreme Court Seems Likely to Strike Down Florida and Texas Social Media Laws
The laws violate the First Amendment because they require social media sites to abjure most content moderation, and platform speech they disapprove of.
Texas and Florida Want the Supreme Court To Bless Their Unconstitutional Social Media Laws
Both states are trying to force tech companies to platform certain sorts of speech.
Free Speech Unmuted: Book Bans—or Are They?
I'm delighted to announce this new video/audio podcast series by Prof. Jane Bambauer (Florida) and me, and its first episode.
States Try To Strip Sex From Literature in Libraries, Schools
These aren't outright bans. But they still can chill free speech and academic freedom.
"The Coddling of the American Mind" Movie
This is the film based on the bestselling book by FIRE's Greg Lukianoff and Prof. Jonathan Haidt (NYU).
Fourth Circuit on One-Sided Pseudonymity in Sexual Assault Cases
The decision allows such pseudonymity when the defendant has already been found (by default judgment) to have committed the assault, but Judge Wilkinson's concurrence argues that, absent this unusual factor, one-sided pseudonymity should be frowned on.
