Posting or Hosting Sex Ads Could Mean 25 Years in Federal Prison Under New Republican Proposal
A related measure would open digital platforms to liability for past crimes committed by users.
Free Speech
Trump vs. Weigel—Shudder, Giggle, or Both?: Podcast
Also on the Reason Podcast: Is abortion a good reason to vote for Roy Moore? Did Al Franken get a raw deal? Can the feds smother bitcoin?
The End of Free Speech
In 2017, the left eats its own and the right shows its true colors.
Atlanta Targets Good Samaritans Sharing Food with Homeless
Feed yourself in a public park. Feed the pigeons and the squirrels there, too. Whatever you do, though, don't share your food with a hungry person.
Justice Dept. Opposes Mandatory Union Dues for Public Employees, Reversing an Old Position
DOJ argues workers are being forced to subsidize political positions with which they may disagree.
Licensing Board Admits It Can't Silence Red Light Camera Critic
The Oregon engineering board fined Mats Järlström for exercising his First Amendment rights. Now, finally, it admits it's not allowed to do that.
You Don't Lose Your Right to Anonymity Just Because You Lost a Lawsuit
An appeals court defends anonymous speech.
Cops Brag That They Bullied a Woman Out of Town After a Neighbor Said She Sells Sex
An investigation would've taken months, so Larksville Police decided to skip that part.
Kentucky Top Court to Consider Shop's Refusal to Print Gay Pride T-Shirts
This is a clear-cut case of unconstitutional compelled speech with an easy verdict.
Hillbilly Hotties Win First Round in Bikini-Barista Battle
"Bikinis can convey the very type of political speech that lies at the core of the First Amendment," writes federal judge.
Supreme Court Today Mulls Whether Bakers Can Be Forced to Make Gay Wedding Cakes
Public accommodation laws clash with freedom of religion and compelled speech.
Who Owns Pepe the Frog? The Alt-Right vs. Cartoonist Matt Furie
A legal fight involving the alt-right, Trump voters, one of Washington, D.C.'s most powerful law firms, and the website 4chan is brewing.
Prohibited Pony Protest at Clinton Event Spurs Vermin Supreme Speech Suit
"No pony has ever attacked an American politician," the lawsuit notes.
Declining to Bake a Gay Wedding Cake Is Not the Same As Banning Gay Marriage
The point seems to elude The New York Times.
Antifa Wants 'Bleeding Heart Libertarian' Professor Fired. We're Not Exactly Sure Why.
He did make the mistake of having his picture taken with Milo Yiannopoulos.
Bitcoin Sends Elite Economists Into Glorious Fits of Confusion
Joseph Stiglitz is the George Costanza of economists: Every instinct he has, do the opposite.
Markets Deliver Social Justice Better Than Government Does
Elizabeth Nolan Brown argues in The New York Times that we can thank "feminism, but also free markets" for the ongoing purge of predatory men.
D.C. Metro Hit With First Amendment Suit For Refusing to Run Catholic Christmas Ad
What do the Catholic Church, the ACLU, PETA, and Milo Yiannopoulos have in common? None of them can buy ads on the D.C. subway.
Graduate Instructor Who Showed Gendered-Pronoun Debate to Class Is Basically Hitler, Says School
"It's dangerous to say that a topic is off the table just because it might be a little bit controversial," says the Wilfrid Laurier University student.
Arkansas Universities Want to Be Able to Fire Professors Who Aren't Collegial
General counsel for the university system tries to slip in long-condemned policy.
Ajit Pai: 'We Are Returning to the Original Classification of the Internet'
In a Fifth Column interview, FCC chair announces the beginning of the end of Title II regulatory classification of Internet companies, frets about the culture of free speech, and calls social-media regulation "a dangerous road to cross."
Twitter Cracking Down on Promoting Violence—With a Major Exception
The government is regularly excluded when we use the word "violence."
Here's What Happens When You Accuse Michael Moynihan of Being in Denial About NAMBLA Because Maybe He's Gay
A Fifth Column shoutfest with former Daily Caller opinion editor Rob Mariani, who was recently bounced for publishing Milo Yiannopoulos
The Spurious Move to Stifle Speech on Campus Because it is 'Dehumanizing'
It's another of a panoply of ways to silence opinions academics and students disagree with.
Should the Government Get to Define 'Native-American' Art? One Woman's Free Speech Fight.
Is the state violating Peggy Fontenot's First-Amendment rights?
Are You Allowed to Vote While Wearing a 'Don't Tread on Me' T-Shirt? SCOTUS Will Soon Decide
The Supreme Court agrees to hear the First Amendment case Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky.
Supreme Court to Weigh Rules for Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers in California
Crisis pregnancy centers in California say the state's "Reproductive FACT Act" violates their First Amendment rights.
Columbia Student Group Thinks Student Groups It Disagrees With Should Be Defunded
The Black Students' Organization thinks the College Republicans are peddling violent speech.
Government Protection From Russian Misinformation Would Be 'Cure' Far Worse Than Disease
Information-and, yes, misinformation-flows more easily and cheaply than ever, making access nearly universal. That's a good thing.
Students Against Free Speech, Political Correctness Run Amok, and Other Findings from Cato's New Survey
Students are split on whether the government should restrict hate speech.
Sen. Feinstein's Threat to 'Do Something' to Social Media Companies Is a Bigger Danger to Democracy Than Russia
Do not ignore the self-interest of elected officials in controlling online political messaging.
The Never-Ending Search for Foreign Subversives
Stop scapegoating Russia for America's divisions—and stop using Moscow as an excuse to call for restrictions on speech.
Social Media Executives Echo Politicians' Hysteria About 'Russian Disinformation'
If our democracy cannot survive another 43 hours of political videos on YouTube, it is already doomed.
Cleveland State Debates Free Speech Boundaries of Poster Promoting LGBTQ Suicide
Contrite university president offers a tepid defense of the First Amendment.
Bias Response Teams Thwarted in Their Goal of a Sensitive Campus by the First Amendment
How can you re-program the thinking of boorish college students when their free speech guarantees get in the way?
Columbia Law Professor: Letting a Right-Wing Activist Speak Is 'An Act of Violence'
Angry protesters shut down Tommy Robinson event.
The 'Politics of Division' Is 'Who We Are as a Country'
Trying to minimize those divisions isn't very democratic.
Politicians—Unsurprisingly—Want to Regulate Political Ads on Facebook
Russian panic is the excuse to try to control online speech.
Roy Moore Says Kneeling for the Anthem Is Illegal, and He's Totally Wrong
Libertarian-leaning Republicans who endorsed Moore should hang their heads in shame
'I Believe in the First Amendment,' Says FCC Chair, Rejecting Trump's Censorious Tweets
Ajit Pai notes that his agency has no authority to consider journalistic content in making license decisions.
Harvey Weinstein and the End of Open Secrets: Podcast
This week's show covers the Iran nuclear deal, threats to the First Amendment, the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and Trump's latest moves on health care.
Even If Trump's Threat Against NBC Isn't Serious, It's Still Destructive
Our norms are being eroded by "both sides" of the partisan battle.
Kmele Foster Gets Shouted Down by Black Lives Matter Activists After Pointing out That MLK Used Free Speech Protections—Wait, What?
This is your brain on campus activism
Why Trump's Threats Against Media Licenses Might Actually Violate the First Amendment
No, the president actually doesn't have the right to say whatever he wants.
