Free Speech
Large Libel Models: An AI Company's Noting That Its Output "May [Be] Erroneous]" Doesn't Preclude Libel Liability
[An excerpt from my forthcoming article on "Large Libel Models? Liability for AI Outputs."]
This College President Knows the First Amendment Protects the Drag Show He Canceled. He Just Doesn't Care.
"I will not appear to condone the diminishment of any group at the expense of impertinent gestures toward another group for any reason, even when the law of the land appears to require it," he wrote.
Charter School Principal "Forced to Resign" Allegedly Because 6th-Grade Students Were Shown Michelangelo's David
[UPDATE: I've added excerpts from a Slate interview with the school's Board Chair, who ended up commenting on the story after all; his view is that the firing stemmed only from the failure to alert parents to the upcoming material.]
Congress Asks Is TikTok Really 'An Extension of' the Chinese Communist Party?
TikTok's CEO served as little more than a punching bag for lawmakers with a dizzying array of big tech grievances.
No Temporary Restraining Order Against Critic of Israeli Muslim Institution,
who allegedly accused it of being an agent of the Israeli government and "refer[red] to individuals associated with the Academy as pigs and use[d] porcine imagery to insult those individuals."
A Thursday Bonus Reason Roundtable! Live From Reason Weekend in California
Plus: did the editors sing Happy Birthday to Adam Smith?
A Thursday Bonus Reason Roundtable! Live From Reason Weekend in California
Plus: did the editors sing Happy Birthday to Adam Smith?
TikTok Is Too Popular To Ban
Plus: Police sue Afroman for using footage from raid, California bill could ban popular junk foods, and more...
Law Restricting Pharmacist Speech About Ivermectin and Hydroxycholoroquine Likely Violates the First Amendment
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the law.
Correction re: ChatGPT-4 Erroneously Reporting Supposed Crimes and Misconduct, Complete with Made-Up Quotes?
My Friday post erroneously stated that I got the bogus results from ChatGPT-4; it turns out they were from ChatGPT-3.5—but ChatGPT-4 does also yield similarly made-up results.
The Crusade Against 'Malinformation' Explicitly Targets Inconvenient Truths
The legal challenge to censorship by proxy highlights covert government manipulation of online speech.
Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Ban on Landlords' Inquiring About Prospective Tenants' Criminal History, But …
upholds the ban on landlords' taking adverse action based on that information.
Of Course, the Trump Indictment Is Political
Plus: A listener asks the editors if the nation is indeed unraveling or if she is just one of "The Olds" now.
Federal Appeals Court Stops the 'Stop WOKE Act'
The 11th Circuit panel refused to lift an injunction against the law.
Researchers Pressured Twitter To Treat COVID-19 Facts as 'Misinformation'
The latest Twitter Files shows a partnership between Stanford University researchers and government-funded organizations encouraged social media companies to police true information.
Large Libel Models: ChatGPT-3.5 Erroneously Reporting Supposed Felony Pleas, Complete with Made-Up Media Quotes?
[UPDATE: This article originally said this what ChatGPT-4 doing this, which was my error. But, as I note below in an UPDATE, ChatGPT-4 also erroneously reports supposed criminal convictions and sentences, complete with made-up quotes.]
Christopher Rufo Wants To Shut Down 'Activist' Academic Departments. Here's Why He's Wrong.
"Professors are not mouthpieces for the government," says FIRE's Joe Cohn. "For decades, the Supreme Court of the United States has defended professors' academic freedom from governmental intrusion."
America's Losing Its Free Speech Consensus
Americans shouldn't have to fight to the death to defend their foes' right to speak, but they should at least stop trying to censor, shame, shun and destroy each other.
The Supreme Court Tackles the First Amendment Right To Encourage Illegal Immigration
Understanding what’s at stake in United States v. Hansen
How Should Law Schools Handle Protests at Student Events?
It may be too late for Stanford Law School, but it's not too late for other institutions of higher learning.
A Florida Bill To Censor Professors Just Got Even Worse
The bill now bans a battery of poorly-defined "Critical Theory" concepts, and prevents schools from funding programs that promote "diversity, equity, and inclusion."
House Republicans Pass Bill To Prevent Federal Meddling in Online Speech
The bill is overbroad and could have unintended consequences.
Beauty Pageants Have First Amendment Right to Limit Contestants to "Natural Born Females": No Rehearing En Banc
The Ninth Circuit has just decided not to rehear this case, so the panel opinion remains the law.
Yes, There Are Libertarians During Bank Runs
Plus: The editors recommend the best books for sparking interest in free market principles.
N.Y. AG Appeals, to Defend Law Mandating Posting of "Hateful Conduct" Policies by Social Media Platforms (Including Us)
Volokh v. James going to the Second Circuit.
Journal of Free Speech Law: "Different Strokes for Different Folks: Academic Freedom, Civility,
and Educational Diversity Among Private Colleges and Universities," by Prof. James Weinstein (Arizona State).
Democrats Deride the Twitter Files Reporters as 'So-Called Journalists'
Members of Congress showed their true colors at a Thursday hearing.
Carroll v. Trump Libel Suit: Trump's Access Hollywood Tape Admissible, as Is
other women's testimony about Trump's alleged past sexual assaults.
Let Massholes Be Massholes, Says Bay State's High Court
Criticism of public officials doesn't have to be polite, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirmed.
NetChoice Seeks Injunction Against California's Disastrous Internet Law
The trade association says the overbroad and vague A.B. 2273 places unconstitutional burdens on speech.