Free Speech
The Antisemitism Awareness Act Will Make It Illegal To Criticize Israel on Campus
The protesters deserve criticism—but Congress is the real threat.
Supreme Court Won't Stop Texas Porn Law From Taking Effect
"We will continue to fight for the right to access the internet without intrusive government oversight," says the group challenging the law.
Weaponized Bananas
Plus: Ceasefire negotiations, Chinese regulators, American crime, and more...
"Plaintiff Threatened the District Staff's Jobs, Reputation, Careers, and Legal Liability—Not Their Physical Safety"
Tenth Circuit upholds preliminary injunction in favor of volunteer football coach, high school founder, and school district critic.
For Peaceful Campus Protests, Colleges Need Free Speech Principles
Even vile speech is protected, but violence and other rights violations are not.
Journalism Is Not a Crime, Even When It Offends the Government
Julian Assange and Priscilla Villarreal were both arrested for publishing information that government officials wanted to conceal.
Illinois Won't Let Him Do His Job Filing Paperwork—Unless He Gets a Private Detective License
David Knott helps clients retrieve unclaimed property from the government. The state has made it considerably harder for him to do that.
Free Speech Unmuted: Free Speech on Campus
The latest video podcast episode from Prof. Jane Bambauer and me.
"If He Did Not Want to Be Called a 'Rioter,' Plaintiff Should Not Have Admitted … to 'Participation in … [a] Riot'"
Plus, the significance of omitting "IDK."
Should Free Speech Pessimists Look to Europe?
Calls from the left and right to mimic European speech laws bring the U.S. to a crossroads between robust First Amendment protections and rising regulation.
Alleged "QAnon John"'s Libel Lawsuit Against Anti-Defamation League Can Go Forward
The court held that the ADL's claims were factual assertions, and not just opinions; whether they are false assertions, and whether plaintiff is a limited-purpose public figure (who would therefore have to show knowing or reckless falsehood) remains to be decided.
Journalist Has No First Amendment Right to Publish Police Chief's Home Address,
even when he got the address through a public records request, and is trying to use it to show the chief lives far from town. The court concluded that the chief's "exact street address is not a matter of public concern" and therefore, under the circumstances, wasn't constitutionally protected.
Bipartisan Legislation Would Let the Government Create Speech-Chilling 'Antisemitism Monitors'
The bill would allow the Education Department to effectively force colleges to suppress a wide range of protected speech.
Backpage: A Blueprint for Squelching Speech
How the Backpage prosecution helped create a playbook for suppressing online speech, debanking disfavored groups, and using "conspiracy" charges to imprison the government's targets
Americans Favor Freedom of the Press, Sort Of
Half the country says suppressing “false information” is more important than press freedom.
No Pseudonymity in Title IX Wrongful-Discipline Lawsuits, Holds Seventh Circuit
The decision departs from what most courts have done in such Title IX cases—but tracks what most courts do in the many other cases where disclosing a plaintiff’s name might damage the plaintiff’s reputation and professional prospects.
Court Upholds #TheyLied Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Award Against Student Who Accused Professor of Sexual Assault,
but throws out a similar award against another professor who backed the student's allegations. (A jury had concluded the student's allegations were false and defamatory.)
A Texas Reporter Busted for Asking Questions Asks SCOTUS To Reject the Criminalization of Journalism
Priscilla Villarreal is appealing a 5th Circuit decision that dismissed her First Amendment lawsuit against Laredo police and prosecutors.
Alabama Bill Would Criminalize Librarians Who Allow 'Material Harmful to Minors'
The bill also attempts to ban drag performances at public libraries.
The FBI Was Monitoring Student Protests Against Ben Shapiro
A newly-obtained intelligence memo shows that the feds took a keen interest in Trump-era campus speech controversies.
School's Out
Plus: Campus echoes of Occupy Wall Street, Trump's presidential immunity claims, plans to undo the Fed's independence, and more...
California's New Social Media Law Invites Expensive Lawsuits
Instead of trusting parents to manage their families, lawmakers from both parties prefer to empower the Nanny State.
Australia Tries To Censor the World
Local hostility to free speech may become a global problem.
Texas Public Colleges Crack Down on Peaceful Anti-Israel Protests
In March, Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order demanding that colleges crack down on antisemitic speech.
Judge Acquits Backpage Co-Founder Michael Lacey on Most Counts
The court found insufficient evidence to sustain 53 of 84 remaining counts against Lacey.
Nina Jankowicz, Disinformation Czar, Is Back in Action
The American Sunlight Project contends that researchers are being silenced by their critics.
Ford Fischer: Why You Should Surveil the State
The News2Share cofounder is revolutionizing news coverage.
Worst 4/20 Ever
Plus: A listener asks the editors to steel man the case for the Jones Act, an antiquated law that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters.
"Last Week, a … [UC Berkeley] Professor Confronted a Muslim Student During a Dinner for Graduating Law Students"
From NBC, what strikes me as a misleading characterization of Professor Catherine Fisk's confronting a student who pulled out a microphone to orate at a dinner organized at the professor's (and Dean Erwin Chemerinsky's) house.
Pennsylvania Court Lets Suit Over Removal of Columbus Statue Go Forward
Such a removal by the city from city property wouldn't violate the First Amendment, but that doesn't preclude claims that the removal violated other legal rules.
