Judge Says 'Fuck Biden' Signs Are Obscenity and Orders Their Removal
Plus: Facebook blamed for missed Biden vaccine goal, court sides with CDC in cruise ship battle, and more...
Free Speech
Iranian Operatives Plotted To Kidnap Brooklyn Journalist
From the other side of the world, the regime plots ways to chill free speech.
Some Potentially Racially Offensive Terms Can't Be Trademarked—Because They're Too Common, Not Because They're Racially Offensive
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board rejects the mark “Nigga” for clothing, because it’s so commonly used by others that it doesn’t serve to identify the applicant’s products (logic that equally applies to "Team Jesus," "Texas Love," and "God Bless the USA").
Utah Woman Charged With Hate Crime for Stomping on 'Back the Blue' Sign
The case is yet another instance of law enforcement using hate crime enhancements to punish people for criticizing them.
Bronx Conservatory of Music Can't Seal Sexual Harassment Counterclaim Against It
"Bronx Conservatory does not cite (and this Court has not found) any case, in this jurisdiction or elsewhere, in which an employer accused of sexual harassment has succeeded in sealing the pleading containing that accusation on any of the grounds asserted here."
The Case Against Imposing Common Carrier Restrictions on Social Media Sites
The rationales for doing so are weak, and would create a dangerous slippery slope, if accepted.
Fifth Circuit Strikes Down Ban on Religious Proselytizing at El Paso Art & Farmers Market
The market was conducted on city streets, managed by the city, and open to the public.
The Campaign Against 'Extremism' Looks Like an Attack on Speech
Efforts against violence are turning into restrictions on ideas.
Facebook Will Now Ban Criticism of "Concepts, Institutions, Ideas, Practices, or Beliefs" When They Risk "Harm, Intimidation, or Discrimination" Against Religious, National, or Other Groups
This includes "burning a national flag or religious texts, caricatures of religious figures, or criticism of ideologies."
Tennessee Woman Sues State Officials for Revoking Her '69' Vanity Plate
Nashville’s Leah Gilliam says her vanity plate is protected by the First Amendment.
Economic Power Being Leveraged to Control Political Discourse
I'm serializing my new Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers? article, forthcoming in the Journal of Free Speech Law.
Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers?
I finally have a presentable draft of this article, forthcoming in the Journal of Free Speech Law; I'll be posting excerpts over the next couple of weeks.
Is NYT v. Sullivan the Real Problem with Libel Law? (Updated)
Glenn Reynolds suggests it's how that landmark decision was applied and expanded that has created the real problem.
Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court's Most Conservative Justice, Trashes Qualified Immunity Again
The Court has "failed to justify our enacted policy," he wrote.
SCOTUS Rules That California Violated the First Amendment by Routinely Demanding Donor Information From Advocacy Groups
Six justices agreed that the state's "dragnet for sensitive donor information" imposes "a widespread burden on donors' associational rights."
Journal of Free Speech Law Call For Papers: Symposium on the Freedom of Association and Disclosure Requirements
We'll be ready to publish articles on this subject as early as September, if you submit them by August 1.
S. Ct. Strikes Down California Requirement that Charitable Organizations Disclose Major Donors to State AG
"The gravity of the privacy concerns in this [case] is further underscored by the [amicus briefs supporting the challenge].... [T]hese organizations span the ideological spectrum ...: from the [ACLU] to the Proposition 8 Legal Defense Fund; from the Council on American-Islamic Relations to the Zionist Organization of America; from Feeding America—Eastern Wisconsin to PBS Reno."
Florida's Social Media Bill Was Supposed To Protect 'Free Speech.' A Judge Says It Violates the First Amendment.
Plus: How Trump lost in 2020, Amazon seeks recusal of FTC chair, and more...
