CNN's Mary Katharine Ham Loves Waffle House, Isn't So Sure About Twitter: Podcast
A conversation about social media, privacy, and the public-private, left-right free speech fight
Free Speech
Extra Twist in the Arkansas Prior Restraint Case
"A northwest Arkansas judge who ordered that attack ads critical of Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson be taken off the air this week reported receiving [over $12,500 of] income, through his wife, from the law firm of Goodson's husband."
Which Businesses (or Which Filter Manufacturers) Are Blocking Our Blog?
A customer reports that he was blocked from accessing us at a Nordstrom coffee shop; have you had similar experiences?
Arkansas Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order Against Allegedly Libelous Political Ad
The ad criticizes Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson; the TRO that she just got today is almost certainly an unconstitutional prior restraint.
Cops Have No Idea If Hate Crime Laws Stop Hate Crimes
..and other things I learned when I spoke at a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights briefing.
Libel and Antimatter
"[Defendant's] posts inspired viewers' comments, which read like a nerd's version of a fist fight." More substantively, "In this context, and considering the cutting-edge nature of [plaintiff's] research into antimatter's theoretical applications [which defendant was sharply criticizing], a reasonable reader would expect zealous debate."
Man Protests Police Department's Violation of Speech Rights, So Cops Arrest Him
Stamford, Connecticut, police chief objects to salty language on a sign. That's not a crime.
From Washington to Wisconsin, States Are Punishing Dissent
Faced with the possibility of fines or legal battles, many will choose not to speak at all.
'Working Washington' Calls for Prosecution of Amazon.com—for Amazon's Use of Ordinary Political Tactics
According to the group's theory, a vast range of political hardball is a crime.
Legal Group Sues University of Michigan Over Speech Code, Bias Response Team
"A bias response system has no place in America."
The Battle of Ideas Turns Coercive
Too many people (and governments) want to shut down and punish speech they disagree with.
"Gynecology … Is Obviously Far Removed from Music"
So concludes the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board, in rejecting rapper Dr. Dre's trademark claim against OB/GYN -- and OB/GYN-related writer and lecturer -- Draion M. Burch, who calls himself Dr. Drai.
Man Forbidden from Identifying Twitter Shaming Activist, Court Order Seems to Say
A First Amendment violation, I think, notwithstanding the court's concern about the anonymous Tweeter's privacy.
Europe's New Data Privacy Rules Will Make Facebook and Google More Powerful
The EU's GDPR should serve as a cautionary tale for Americans eager to reign in tech titans
A Male Professor Told a Female Professor a Stupid Joke. Now He Faces Disciplinary Charges.
"A horrifying and chilling example of political correctness."
When Do Changes to a Web Page Restart the Statute of Limitations?
The New Jersey Supreme Court answers.
Reporting on Lawsuit—but Not Mentioning It Was Settled—Is Not Libelous
So the New Jersey Supreme Court held this morning, in Petro-Lubricant Testing Laboratories, Inc. v. Adelman.
"Freedom of the Press" as the Equal Freedom of All to Using Printing Press Technology, from the 1820s to 1930
"Freedom of the press," as I've argued in earlier posts, was understood as protecting the freedom of all to use the printing press -- not just a freedom of the profession or industry that we might call "the press."
Chicago Mayor Pushes for Police Drone Surveillance of Public Gatherings
Rahm Emanuel wants to do the thing that critics of drone surveillance fear most.
'Freedom of the Press' and Non-Professional-Media Speakers: Why It Matters
Some judges in recent have years have reasoned that non-professional-media speakers have lesser First Amendment rights.
China Moves to Restrict Social Media Dissemination of 'Peppa Pig'—My Two-Year-Old's Favorite TV Show
The government fears that the popular children's cartoon has taken on a "subversive hue" and may "hamper positive societal morale."
Another "Just Shut Up" Order, This One Involving Anti-Vax Activists
One activist is ordered "not [to] post photographs videos, or information about [the other] to any internet site."
Westworld Season Two Is a Parable About Corporate Data Collection
The HBO series turns Facebook and Twitter into a theme park filled with sex, violence, and robots.
Evidence from Around the Framing: English Non-Newspaper Freedom-of-the-Press Cases
"Freedom of the press," as I've argued in earlier posts, was understood as protecting the freedom of all to use the printing press -- not just a freedom of the profession or industry that we might call "the press."
Is This Prom Dress an Act of Cultural Appropriation?
Social media can actually be pretty good at hosting heated conversations about racism and sexism.
Shouting Hellfire in a Crowded Theater
At the end of one Avengers screening, a man started yelling, "If you were to die tonight, would your passage to heaven be guaranteed?"
New York Politicians Want to Suppress Free Assembly Rights for Gun Rights Supporters
Brooklyn Council Member Justin Brannan crows via tweet that "we've successfully chased the @NRA underground in #Brooklyn."
Administrators at CUNY and Duke Aren't Going to Do Anything About Students Who Disrupted Events
Speakers' free speech rights threatened
Evidence from Around the Framing: The Freedom of the Press Covering Authors of Books and Pamphlets
More on why the freedom of the press wasn't seen as limited to "the press" in the sense of the institutional media, but extended to all who used the printing press.
Wisconsin Armslist Decision Undermines Web Site Protections Way Beyond Gun Sales
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals let a case against gun-sales advertising site Armslist go forward -- and in the process undermined 47 U.S.C. § 230 protection for a wide range of web sites.
Minn. Sup. Ct. to Decide: Do Ordinary Speakers Have Lesser First Amendment Rights Than Newspapers?
In 1980, the Minnesota Supreme Court said "yes"; yesterday, it agreed to hear a case that might lead it to reconsider.
The Nonredundant Free Press Clause
Some argue that the "freedom of the press" must give special rights to the press-as-industry, because otherwise it would be redundant of the "freedom of the speech" -- but in the Framing era, the two were complementary, not redundant.
How The Simpsons Fights Fake News: Podcast
Journalism prof Michael Socolow has three simple rules to up your social-media literacy.
Non-First-Amendment Objections to Anti-Libel Injunctions
A new section for the brief I blogged about last week, ultimately arguing that an injunction is improper in Sindi v. El-Moslimany -- but not because of the First Amendment.
Kid Sues Over First Amendment Right to Second Amendment Shirt
A Nevada school district unlawfully required a student not to wear a gun rights T-shirt, according to a First Amendment lawsuit filed today in federal court.
Freedom for the Press as an Industry, or for the Press as a Technology? From the Framing to Today
The Free Press Clause, my research led me to conclude, has long been understood as equally protecting all who speak using the means of mass communications -- not just professional journalists and the like.
Man's Joke Video of Dog Giving Nazi Salute Lands Him U.K. Hate Speech Fine
Court feels "menaced" by a pug.
Law Prohibiting 'Revenge Porn' Violates First Amendment, Says Texas Appeals Court
The state law targeted people who share erotic photographs of others without their consent.
She Posted Rap Lyrics to Remember a Dead Teen, So the U.K. Prosecuted Her for Hate Speech
Why all Americans should be thankful for the First Amendment
Do Ordinary Speakers Have Lesser First Amendment Rights Than Newspapers Do?
"Yes," the Minnesota Supreme Court said in 1980 -- now it's being asked to reconsider that.
Southern Poverty Law Center Scraps Its Anti-Muslim Hate List
But its illiberal tactics against liberal Muslim reformers remain extremely troubling.
