She Was Jailed for Basic Journalism. A Federal Court Isn't Sure if That's Unconstitutional.
Priscilla Villarreal's case will be heard again tomorrow at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. She has attracted some unlikely supporters.
Free Speech
MIT's Free Speech Problem
Daryl Morey raises concerns about the lack of free expression at his alma mater.
Good Batch of Recent Submissions to Journal of Free Speech Law -- but We're Looking for More
And we can publish them much more quickly than most major law reviews would.
Project Veritas, Exposer of Secrets, Successfully Seals Its Own, Gets Injunction Against Disclosure
"Respondent voluntarily resigned his position with Petitioner and allegedly embarked on a career as an adult film actor and standup comedian."
Judge Rules DeSantis Violated First Amendment by Ousting Reform Prosecutor but Declines To Reinstate Him
"In short, the controlling motivations for the suspension were the interest in bringing down a reform prosecutor," the judge wrote.
A Federal Judge Says the DOJ's Sex Offender Registration Rules Violate Due Process by Requiring the Impossible
Justice Department regulations threaten people with prosecution for failing to register even when their state no longer requires it.
Amicus Brief as to § 230(c)(1) in Gonzalez v. Google
(Note that this case is about immunity when Internet platforms provide access to material, not the separate question about immunity when Internet platforms block access to material.)
North Dakota Legislators Consider Bill To Ban 'Sexually Explicit' Material From Public Libraries
"If you don't like a book, don't read it. The First Amendment's guarantee of the freedom of speech and the right to access information has created a beautiful marketplace of ideas in our country," said one ACLU representative opposing the bill.
When Does an Ugly Facebook Message Qualify as an Illegal 'True Threat' of Violence? SCOTUS Will Decide.
The Supreme Court takes up “true threats” and the First Amendment in Counterman v. Colorado.
No Sealing or Pseudonymization of Opinion Related to Lawyer Discipline
The lawyer's "personal interest in avoiding the 'reputational harm' that she might suffer if the public were made aware of the 'very serious allegations here'" "cannot meet the 'weighty' standard for overriding the presumptions of open records and public access."
Inside the CDC's Campaign To Police COVID Speech
Plus: FOSTA in court, challenges to Illinois' assault weapon ban, and more...
Emails Show CDC Policed COVID Speech on Facebook. Live with Robby Soave, Nick Gillespie, and Zach Weissmueller
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET for a discussion of the Facebook Files with Robby Soave.
Inside the Facebook Files: Emails Reveal the CDC's Role in Silencing COVID-19 Dissent
Throughout the pandemic, the CDC was in constant contact with Facebook, vetting what users were allowed to say on the social media site.
How the CDC Became the Speech Police
Secret internal Facebook emails reveal the feds' campaign to pressure social media companies into banning COVID "misinformation."
She Lost Her Job For Showing a Painting of Muhammad in Class. Now, She's Suing.
"Hamline subjected López Prater to the foregoing adverse actions because . . . she did not conform her conduct to the specific beliefs of a Muslim sect," the lawsuit states.
Appeals Court Panel Seems Skeptical That FOSTA Doesn't Violate the First Amendment
The 2018 law criminalizes websites that "promote or facilitate" prostitution. Two of three judges on the panel pushed back against government claims that this doesn't criminalize speech.
Davos Elites Warn That Disinformation Is an Existential Threat to Their Influence
At the World Economic Forum, Brian Stelter and panelists discuss why everything is Facebook's fault.
The Hazards of Holding YouTube Liable for Promoting Terrorism
A Supreme Court case illustrates the potential costs of making it easier to sue social media platforms over user-generated content.
Britain Wants To Jail Social Media Managers Who Don't Censor to the Government's Liking
Tech firm operators may face criminal charges if children who use their platforms encounter too much “harmful content.”
Jacob Mchangama: "Privileging Blasphemy Norms Over Open Inquiry Plays Into the Hands of Religious Fundamentalists"
A broader perspective on the Hamline controversy.
Google's Brief to the Supreme Court Explains Why We Need Section 230
There's a good reason why algorithms are still protected by Section 230.
"[H]ere Come Your Masser" Remark to Neighbor Leads to Anti-"Harassment" Order (on "Hate Speech" Theory) …
but the Michigan Court of Appeals reverses.
Prattle, a Shakespearean Version of Wordle, Won't Let You Guess 'Slave'
"This anti-free speech, anti-intellectual, anti-common-sense action deserves all the scorn it can get," says Roy Thomas, former editor in chief of Marvel Comics.
Don't Let the House Hunter Biden Investigation Become a Russiagate-Style Search for Election Excuses
Plus: Lab-grown meat, the allure of raw milk, and more...
Forget Russia's Twitter Trolls—America's Censorious Officials Are a Bigger Threat
Researchers: Moscow’s social media meddling had little impact on the 2016 election.
Harvard Kennedy School Dean Rejects Proposed Fellowship, Allegedly Based on the Person's "Anti-Israel Bias"
The proposed fellow would have been Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, and apparently a highly prominent expert on the subject.
House Republicans To Probe White House Pressure on Social Media Companies
Plus: House votes to rescind IRS funding, the FDA is putting unnecessary strings on pharmacies filling abortion pill prescriptions, and more...
Did 'Every Conspiracy Theory' About Twitter Turn Out To Be True?
The internal company documents offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the federal agencies distorted the public debate on one of the world's largest social media platforms.
With Jordan Peterson, Occupational Licensing Becomes a Way To Censor
New mechanisms to threaten liberty are brought to bear on those who need the government's permission to do their jobs.
Jen Psaki Was "Apex" Official Who Should Generally Not Be Subject to a Deposition
This is in Missouri's and Louisiana's suit alleging various government officials "are infringing the First Amendment by coercing social media platforms to censor speech."
Dismissing Volunteer City Advisory Board Appointee for Alleged Antifa Links Doesn't Violate First Amendment
The same would apply for other speech or political association, because "political affiliation [was] an appropriate requirement for the effective performance of the public office involved."
A College Fired a Professor for Showing a Painting of Muhammad. Now, It Could Lose Its Accreditation.
"If Hamline won't listen to free speech advocates or faculty across the country, they'll have to listen to their accreditor," said FIRE attorney Alex Morey, who filed the complaint.
