Civil Liberties
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.
An Unconstitutional Arrest for Refusing To Show ID to the Cops
Fourth Amendment advocates prevail in Wingate v. Fulford.
Tennessee Pharmacy School Nearly Expelled Student for Twitter Sex Talk
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is suing on her behalf.
There Is No Need for Another PATRIOT Act
Law enforcement has more than enough tools already, argues former Senator Russ Feingold in the Wall Street Journal
Interesting #TheyLied Appellate Libel Decision in Response to #MeToo Claims
I've been seeing many such libel lawsuits recently, though only a few have gone so far as to yield a verdict for the libel plaintiff.
The Case for Boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics in China
There is no other way to prevent the games from becoming a propaganda showcase for a brutally oppressive regime.
Prof. Eric Goldman & Me on Whether Governments Can Limit Platforms' Content Blocking Decisions
A forthcoming panel Thu., Feb. 11, 2 to 3 pm Pacific, organized by the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law, and Policy.
Putin Foe Navalny Sentenced to Nearly Three Years in Prison
The Russian opposition leader will be sent to a penal colony for failing to meet with probation officers while he was comatose due to poisoning.
This Draconian Bill Would Turn Millions of Peaceful Gun Owners Into Felons
Sheila Jackson Lee's sweeping licensing and registration scheme suggests what Democrats would do if they didn't have to worry about the Second Amendment.
Bitcoin Is Protecting Human Rights Around the World
"It's an escape hatch from tyranny," writes the Human Rights Foundation's Alex Gladstein. "It's nothing less than freedom money."
Toxic Politics Are Smothering America. Could David Hogg's Progressive Pillows Be the Solution?
There's a silver lining to partisan demagogues taking up peaceful entrepreneurship.
Americans Shouldn't Be Treated Like ISIS Insurgents
Adopting "counterinsurgency" tactics for use against wide swaths of Americans can only make the situation worse.
Don't Let the Capitol Riot Become an Excuse for Expanding Government Power
The federal government should prosecute those people who committed acts of vandalism or violence. However, we should be leery about giving the feds additional powers.
How To Fix the Internet
Each episode explores how to fix laws that entrench privacy-violating practices.
"Censorship by Zoom and Other Private Platforms": The UC Academic Freedom Committee's Concerns
"The University’s responsibility to protect academic freedom and freedom of expression cannot be outsourced."
Federal Court Confirms That Shackling an Inmate During Exercise Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The warden at the center of the case was originally given qualified immunity.
Thanks to Colorado's Reforms, Cops Who Forced Children To Lie on the Pavement at Gunpoint Might Be Held Accountable
A state law eliminated qualified immunity as a defense for abusive officers.
University Decisions About Funding Student Groups Can't Rely on "Unbridled Discretion"
An interesting ruling involving the University of Minnesota, by Judge Patrick Schiltz (himself a former professor).
