Facebook Had Every Right to Reject Elizabeth Warren's Crappy Ad
Nobody in the media should be supporting an elected official trying to control what speech online platforms allow.
Civil Liberties
Expedited Appeals of Anti-Libel/Anti-Harassment Injunctions
If your client has been ordered not to say things about someone, here are the precedents supporting your right to an expedited appeal.
The E.U. Wants to Censor 'Terrorist Content' Online. What Could Go Wrong?
There's no room for errors and online platforms face huge fines, likely encouraging overly broad takedowns.
Yes, You Can Get Kicked Off Twitter for Saying 'Learn To Code'—Even If It's Not Harassment
"I'm more confused than angry about all of this."
If the Feds Have Stopped Snooping on Our Phone Records, Watch Out for the Anti-Encryption Propaganda
Backdoors into your texts and private message provide far more information than your phone metadata.
Florida Bill Would Make It a Crime for Minors to Post Pictures of Guns on Social Media
Clearly unconstitutional, of course.
When the Fat Lady's Cat is Singing to the Genie, and the Bottle Has Fallen Out of the Bag …
An interesting decision called United States v. Suppressed.
No Preliminary Injunctions Against Libel
Another court opinion reinforces this principle -- even if repetition of libelous statements can be forbidden after a trial on the merits at which the statements are found libelous, it can't be preliminarily enjoined before such a trial.
23-Year-Old Coleman Hughes Is Reframing the Discussion on Race: Podcast
Meet the undergrad who is recovering the legacy of gay, socialist civil-rights activist Bayard Rustin while explicating Kanye West's conservatism.
Preventing Government Facial Recognition Oppression
Pervasive real-time police surveillance is not just theoretical anymore.
Feds Used a Secret Database to Track Journalists Covering the Migrant Caravan: Reason Roundup
Plus: Facebook says it's pivoting to privacy, and congressional Democrats want to "save the internet."
Media Outlets Spread Fake News About TSA Seizing 'Rocket-Propelled Grenade Launcher'
They're just helping the TSA push its scaremongering narrative.
Securing Free Speech on Campus, Part II
Universities should be proactive about articulating, defending and protecting the free exchange of ideas on campus
Securing Free Speech on Campus, Part I
If universities do not take steps to address their campus free speech problems, politicians will do it for them
Colorado and Baker End Fight Over Whether He Can Be Forced To Make a Transgender Cake
Both sides agree to stand down. First Amendment precedents were on the baker's side.
The NSA Has Apparently Stopped the Domestic Surveillance Program Snowden Exposed
For years, security state advocates fought to maintain the authority to snoop on your phone records. Are they really giving up?
Sacramento Police Detain Reporter Covering Stephon Clark Protests, Tie Hands Behind His Back
Police allegedly shoved a photographer to the ground with a baton as well.
Sneak-and-Peek Warrant for Hidden Cameras at Florida Massage Parlors Faces Scrutiny
We were told this sort of spying would only be used to stop terrorists. And yet...
Popular Defiance Will Kneecap Gun Laws in New Mexico, As It Has in Other States
Following the lead of their rebellious constituents, local officials say they won't enforce despised rules.
Federal Government Has Shared Watchlist Info with 1,400 Private Groups
Due Process Concerns Abound
At CPAC, the Culture War Matters More than Politics or Policy
Even for conservatives who believe in individualism, group identity trumps all.
Sen. Josh Hawley Rails Against 'Big Tech,' Anti-Conservative Bias, and Section 230
"Google and Facebook should not be a law unto themselves. They should not be able to discriminate against conservatives."
Knock It Off, Lazy News Outlets. 'Momo' Isn't Telling Kids To Hurt Themselves.
When absurd ghost stories are passed off as actual journalism
Can a Person Be Banned from Posting Anything About Someone Else, Because His Past Speech Supposedly Stems from a "Vendetta"?
Yes, said an Ohio Court of Appeals majority opinion, reasoning that the speaker's past speech "was not engaged in for a legitimate reason, but instead for an illegitimate reason born out of a vendetta seeking to cause mental distress to his mother and sister and to exact personal revenge." No, argue the EFF, Prof. Aaron Caplan, and I in a brief we've just filed with the Ohio Supreme Court.
What Politicians Must Do When Protesters Attack
Learning from Robert McNamara's mistakes and magnanimity
Court Ordered Divorcing Husband Not "to Post Anything on Facebook … in Regards to This Action"
Fortunately, the California Court of Appeal has just reversed the decision, on First Amendment grounds.
"Libertarianism and Its Limits": Podcast
Nick Gillespie is interviewed by Spiked's Brendan O'Neill about the Enlightenment, free speech, and crony capitalism.
Here Is What's Wrong With the Gun Control Bills the House Is About to Pass
Two bills dealing with background checks would criminalize innocent behavior and unjustly interfere with the exercise of Second Amendment rights.
A Harvard Law Professor Is Representing Harvey Weinstein. Students Say This Makes Them Unsafe, Demand His Resignation.
Ronald Sullivan's choice of clients is "not only upsetting, but deeply trauma-inducing," according to activist students.
No, the NRA Is Not Urging Its Members to Assassinate Gun Control Supporters, Culture War
A lame headline provokes even lamer charges of incitement to violence.
America Is Not as Racist as Jussie Smollet's Defenders Fear or White Supremacists Hope
We make a mistake when we think outliers somehow represent who we are as a country.
Defendant Has No First Amendment Right to Wear "Black Lives Matter" T-Shirt at Trial
So holds the Kansas Court of Appeals, in reasoning that applies equally to any clothing that displays a message; the defendant in this particular case was on trial for setting fire to a truck that was displaying Confederate flags.
"Cyberstalking" Ban Violates the First Amendment
So a federal district court in Washington just concluded, about a Washington statute that criminalized "anonymous or repeated" speech intended "to harass, ... torment, or embarrass."
Did Twitter Punish Criticism of Government Propaganda About Smokeless Tobacco?
After a harm reduction advocate slammed a hardy but misleading factoid, users who retweeted his message complained that they had been shadowbanned.
A Conservative Got Punched in the Face for Protesting Hate Crime Hoaxes
"Encouraging violence"
The Media's Covington Coverage Was Appalling, but Nick Sandmann's Libel Lawsuit Is Not the Answer
A teenager wrongly accused of harassing a Native American activist sues The Washington Post for $250 million.
Louisiana Mom Arrested Under 'Notoriety' Law for Posting Video of a School Fight
But what she did wasn't actually illegal.
"Free Speech Rules," My New YouTube Video Series -- Episode 2 (Hate Speech) Now Out
Please share it widely -- there will be at least nine more in the upcoming months.
How the Feds Are Using Civil Asset Forfeiture to Threaten Free Speech
Sex, publishing, and quasi-legal theft collide in the Backpage prosecution.
Illinois Police Admit That Oversight in a Background Check Allowed a Mass Shooter to Get a Gun
The problem isn't a lack of laws, but poor implementation of those laws.
Justice Thomas's Skepticism of New York Times v. Sullivan
First Amendment limitations on libel and other torts are complicated
SCOTUS Won't Hear Defamation Case Against Bill Cosby; Clarence Thomas Has Issues with Landmark First Amendment Ruling [UPDATED]
Thomas thinks the Supreme Court may have erred in its 1964 NYT v. Sullivan ruling.
