The War on Backpage.com Is a War on Sex Workers
The government's latest moral crusade shields traffickers, empowers pimps, and undermines free speech online.
Civil Liberties
Democrats Reveal Their Hostility to the Second Amendment
Most of the party’s presidential contenders show little or no concern for the right to armed self-defense.
A Social Media Platform Has Banned Support of Trump
It's Ravelry, and it's not just a "knitting site."
Attempt to Vanish Newspaper Articles About Elected School District Trustee Lynette Boggs-Perez
Boggs-Perez is the recently elected trustee of the San-Antonio-area Judson Independent School District, and the requests aimed to deindex columns about her in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the San Antonio Express-News.
Backers of a Federal Ban on 'Gun Silencers' Claim Only Murderers Use Them
The bill would turn law-abiding gun owners into felons for possessing a product that is almost never used in violent crimes.
What If Widespread Disinformation Is the Solution to Fake News?
It may be time to hire a libel service.
Incensed by Warrantless Border Searches of Americans' Tech Devices? These Senators Have the Cure.
Ron Wyden and Rand Paul team up to stop Border Patrol from snooping in your stuff without good reason.
Sen. Ron Wyden: Conservatives Are 'Totally Wrong' About Political Neutrality Under Section 230
"Section 230 has nothing to do with neutrality. Nothing. Zip. There is absolutely no weight to that argument," Wyden says. He oughta know. He wrote the damn thing.
Fired Harvard Dean Ronald Sullivan: 'Unchecked Emotion Has Replaced Thoughtful Reasoning on Campus'
The celebrated law professor lost his position as faculty dean after students demanded his firing.
The Moral Scolds of the New Illiberal Right Are Coming For Your Internet
From Sohrab Ahmari to Josh Hawley, what the new right really wants is to squelch free expression.
Facebook Posts Lewdly Insulting Elected Official Are Criminally Punishable (at Least If They Relate to a Private Dispute)
Such speech, whether about elected officials or others, is punishable, the court held, if it "[does] not express social or political beliefs or constitute legitimate conduct" and "could only serve to harass, annoy or alarm the complainant."
U.K. Appeals Court Overturns Ruling That Would Have Forced Mentally Disabled Woman To Get Abortion Against Her Will
Justice Natalie Lieven ruled it was in the woman's "best interests" because she has learning disabilities.
Knitting Website Ravelry Bans All Pro-Trump Content
"Support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy."
Colorado Supreme Court Upholds a Decision That Forced a Teenager to Register As a Sex Offender for Swapping Nude Selfies
That result "may strike some as unfair," the court says, but it's what state law required at the time.
The Supreme Court Says Your Filthy Trademark Is Protected by the First Amendment
A 6-3 ruling says that the First Amendment protects brand names that are considered “immoral” or “scandalous.”
Facially Viewpoint-Based Statutes Are Unconstitutional Even if They Aren't "Substantially" Overbroad
So the majority held in today's decision about the exclusion of "immoral or scandalous" marks from trademark registration (the FUCT case).
Congress May Not Bar Registration of "Immoral or Scandalous" Trademarks -- But "Vulgar or Profane" Marks, Maybe
The Supreme Court rules that the bar on "immoral or scandalous" marks is viewpoint-based, but Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Breyer, Alito, and Sotomayor say that an exclusion of "vulgar or profane" marks would be viewpoint-neutral though content-based. (The other five Justices express no opinion on a hypothetical "vulgar or profane" mark ban.)
Oberlin Has Been Ordered to Pay $44 Million in a Defamation Lawsuit. The Punishment Doesn't Fit the Crime.
A local bakery accused the college of defamation after students launched a public campaign against the store for racial profiling. Oberlin mounted a free speech defense.
U.S. Government Says Migrant Children Deserve Dirty, Traumatizing Conditions
But isn't this really Obama's fault?
Rhode Island Court Issues Temporary Restraining Order Requiring Blogger to Take Down All Posts About a Person
According to the ACLU of Rhode Island, which is representing the blogger, the order was issued without any adversarial hearing at which the blogger could appear.
Guns Are for Everybody
Like America itself, gun owners are a varied bunch whose politics and experiences don't conform to any narrative.
Supreme Court Overrules Precedent that Created "Catch-22" for Property Owners Attempting to Bring Takings Cases in Federal Court
The close 5-4 ruling is an important victory for constitutional property rights.
Vets Who Use Medical Marijuana Shouldn't Have to Give Up Second Amendment Rights
"I think it’s ridiculous I would have to trade one of my rights," said veteran Joshua Raines.
Activists Want a Problematic Mural of George Washington Destroyed. It Will Cost a High School $600,000.
The artist wanted students to learn about Washington's flaws. How traumatizing.
How Europe Censors What Americans Say Online
Stanford Law professor and former Google attorney Daphne Keller says tech giants are facing pressure from governments worldwide to clamp down on content.
Almost No One Digs Josh Hawley's Internet Censorship Proposal, Thank Goodness
Plus: Immigration officials confirm Trump tweets about new raids, Elizabeth Warren talks sex work decriminalization, and more...
Why We Shouldn't Treat Survivors and Victims as Authorities on Policy Issues
The dispute over Harvard's decision to rescind the admission of Parkland shooting survivor/gun rights activist Kyle Kashuv should remind us of the reasons why we should not have given any special status to his views in the first place. The same goes for most others in similar situations.
Can California Ban Gun Shows From Public Fairgrounds?
A district judge says no, but don't expect the state’s gun-grabbing politicians to give up.
The U.K. Has Banned 'Harmful Gender Stereotypes' in Advertisements
The move is an assault on free speech.
House Votes Down Amash's Attempt To Stop Warrantless FISA Surveillance
Don't blame him for any FISA abuses. He's been fighting it for years.
Josh Hawley Introduces Bill to Put Washington In Charge of Internet Speech
Hawley is selling it as a way to fight tech-company "bias" against Republicans. Don't believe him.
University of Minnesota Food Service Worker Says 'Hello' in Japanese to Asian-American Student, Who Files a Bias Report
"These type of microaggressions occur too often on campus."
Campus Radicals Against Free Speech
Reason's Robby Soave on his new book, Panic Attack: Young Radicals in the Age of Trump
Let God Tweet
I shouted out, who killed online freedom of speech? When after all, it was you and me.
Stop Treating Government With Respect
It's become nothing but a weapon fought over by people who want to smash each other—and you.
Vermont Supreme Court Reads Revenge Porn Law Narrowly
Alice sends nude picture to her ex, Bob. Bob's new girlfriend (or maybe would-be girlfriend) Carol gets it and posts it online. Carol wouldn't be guilty under the state revenge porn statute, the court rules.
Do the Hatch Act's Restrictions on Kellyanne Conway's Commentary Violate Her First Amendment Rights?
The president's spokeswoman is doing what she has always done on TV, unencumbered by the legal distinction between partisan pundit and executive branch employee.
Violent Crackdown In Hong Kong as Residents Protest Bill Allowing Extradition to Mainland China
Also: Mike Lee says Congress must reassert power over the presidency. And so long to Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
No Take-Backs, No Do-Overs, No Data Replevin
A lawyer caught on tape criticizing his client (a judge), in the making of a documentary about the prosecution of rapper Meek Mill.
Can the Fourth Amendment Save Us from the Coming Era of Pervasive Biometric Surveillance?
New technologies mean new crimesolving techniques—and new threats to privacy and liberty.
Is Accepting Information About a Political Opponent From a Foreigner 'an Assault on Our Democracy'?
Nancy Pelosi's overwrought take on Donald Trump's receptiveness to "oppo research" is hard to take seriously.
The City of Vallejo, California, Has a Police Problem—and It's All Being Caught on Camera
A small city in California has been plagued by police shootings, costly civil rights lawsuits, and incidents of excessive force.
We're From the Government and We're Here to 'Ghost' Read Your Emails
Habitually untrustworthy snoops still demand we trust them to monitor our communications.
Did Craig Hicks Murder His Neighbors Because They Were Muslims? Should It Matter Legally?
The debate about whether the killer should have been prosecuted for federal hate crimes shows how the Justice Department targets defendants based on the opinions they express.
Muscular Content Moderation Is a Really Bad Idea That's Impossible To Implement Well
Be afraid as more journalists and politicians start calling for stronger policing of online speech.
Scott Daniel Warren Is Free (for Now) After Jury Can't Reach Verdict on Charges for Aiding Migrants
Plus: Amash says the "two-party system is hurting America," Zuckerberg gets deepfaked, Wonkette's lame defense of Harris, and more...
