Civil Liberties
Support Encryption for Everybody or Place Your Faith in Government Snoops
Government agencies have repeatedly proven themselves to be abusive.
No Facial Recognition Tech for Cops
A sloppy panopticon is almost as dangerous as an effective one.
City's Allowing "Black Lives Matter" Street Painting Doesn't Require It to Allow Other Writings
Just like a city can allow some monuments in city parks without having to allow others.
South Dakota Supreme Court Rules Property Owners not Entitled to Compensation for Severe Damage to their Home Inflicted by Police During a Law Enforcement Operation
The ruling denies relief under a state constitutional provision requiring compensation for "taking" or "damaging" of private property by the government. Many other states have similar provisions.
Equal First Amendment Rights Coming for Non-Media Speakers in Oregon?
The Oregon Supreme Court has agreed to reconsider its earlier precedents denying non-media speakers certain First Amendment libel law protections.
New Mexico Could Be the Third State To Authorize Lawsuits Against Abusive Cops Without Qualified Immunity
A bill approved by the state House would let people sue government officials for violating rights protected by the state constitution.
The Fairness Doctrine Was the Most Deserving Target of Rush Limbaugh's Rage
He was no libertarian, but he absorbed an important lesson about regulating speech.
Attempt to Vanish My Article About Attempt to Vanish Other Articles
My article was about Kelly Hyman v. Alex Daoud, in which a court order seemed to command all Internet "services" to remove material that mentions plaintiff or her husband (retired federal bankruptcy judge Paul Hyman).
Americans' Lust To 'Cancel' One Another Should Spark Soul Searching
It's the result of our overly politicized culture where many people like to shame and destroy their enemies, but it is undermining the benefits of free and open dialogue.
5th Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Cops Who Ignited a Suicidal, Gasoline-Drenched Man by Tasing Him
The appeals court concluded that the officers' use of force was reasonable in the circumstances.
Conversation Friday About Information Technology Governance, with Rep. Ro Khanna, Prof. Ted Parson, and Me
That's tomorrow (as I write this), 2 to 3 pm Pacific time; free, but registration required.
Metal Musician Adam 'Nergal' Darski Fined by Polish Court for 'Offending Religious Feelings'
Behemoth frontman Adam 'Nergal' Darski was fined $5,000 for a 2019 social media post that showed him stepping on an image of the Virgin Mary.
Civil Forfeiture Does Not Seem To Reduce Drug Use or Help Fight Crime
A new study provides further evidence that property seizures are driven by financial motives rather than public safety concerns.
The Facebook "Oversight" Board
You may have seen stories about the operation of Facebook's new and innovative "Supreme Court." Don't believe 'em.
'That System Is Being Used Against You': Edward Snowden Makes the Case for Internet Privacy. Is He Right?
Online companies might not be as nefarious as you think.
Biden's 'Commonsense' Gun Controls Make Little Sense
The policies he favors would arbitrarily limit Second Amendment rights and threaten the industry that makes it possible to exercise them.
This Cop Wants Qualified Immunity for Fatally Shooting a Passenger in a Fleeing Vehicle
The unfolding legal saga of City of Hayward v. Stoddard-Nunez
"What Cheap Speech Has Done: (Greater) Equality and Its Discontents"
I'm serializing a forthcoming law review article of mine.
Larry Flynt Made the World Freer for Everybody by Pushing Boundaries
Abrasive, tasteless, and uncompromising, Flynt undoubtedly made the world safer for speech of all varieties.
FBI Arrests Activist Daniel Baker Over Posts About Police Abuse and Self Defense
Plus: The aftermath of the New York Times' anti-Pornhub crusade, and more...
N.J. Law Forbids Naming a Judge's, Prosecutor's, or Police Officer's Close Relatives Online,
whenever the judge, prosecutor, or police officer demands that the relative's name be taken down.
The Eighth Circuit's Narrow Decision About the Arkansas BDS Statute
One provision has been invalidated, but the general ban on boycotts of Israel by most state government contractors still stands.
Publishing Another Newspaper's Spiked Story: Copyright Infringement or Fair Use?
Likely fair use, at least under the Second Circuit's precedents.
Plaintiff Can't Sue for Claimed Constitutional Violations but Keep Key Facts Sealed
"It is simply not reasonable for a plaintiff to bring a case alleging that his constitutional rights were violated by state officials and not expect the facts on which those officials based their actions to be included in the public record of a case."
This Gun Shop Says It Won't Do Business With Biden Voters
Tech companies should have the same freedom to choose their customers.
Journalists Worried About People Having Conversations on Clubhouse
A person you know might be having an online conversation without a transcriptionist and a fact-checker right now, and we have to stop it.
Bret Stephens' Spiked Story on the Donald McNeil Firing, Published by the New York Post
"Unfit to Print: The Post publishes column The Times wouldn't"
"Does the Government Have the Right to Control Content Moderation Decisions?"
My conversation with Prof. Eric Goldman (Santa Clara) via the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law, and Policy.
U.S. Used Facial Recognition on Millions of Air Travelers Last Year, Found No Imposters
Plus: Biden won't pursue Trump's TikTok and WeChat bans, Mitt Romney's child allowance plan, and more...
Avenatti v. Fox News Getting Funner (at Least for Law Geeks Like Me)
Third Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas has been appointed to hear the case.
Trump's Impeachment Lawyers Try To Deconstruct the Link Between What He Said and What His Followers Did
No amount of parsing can obscure his responsibility for the deadly attack on the Capitol.
The Vote-by-Tweet Memes Prosecution
The First Amendment and statutory questions in the Douglass Mackey / Ricky Vaughn case.
Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders Pretends Prisoners Are Patients
The practice evades constitutional constraints by casting punishment and preventive detention as treatment.
Trump's Dubious First Amendment Defense Against Impeachment
He is on firmer ground in arguing that the Senate does not have the authority to try a former president, although that issue is highly contested.
Civil Liberties Groups Plead With Biden To Stop Persecuting Julian Assange
Plus: Oklahoma cosmetologists fight insane licensing requirement, Australia doesn't understand how search engines work, and more...
The Not-So-Peaceful Transfer of Power
Our long record of peaceful transfers of power now has an asterisk on it.
A $2.7 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Says Fox Hosts Recklessly Implicated Smartmatic in a Conspiracy To Steal the Election
Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro persistently promoted the wild claims of Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
