Trump's Threats Against Musk and Newsom Reflect an Authoritarian Intolerance of Dissent
Even if the president was joking in both cases, he already has used his powers to punish people whose views offend him.
First Amendment
A Prosecutor Allegedly Tried To Jail Him for Fighting Civil Forfeiture. He May Finally Get His Day in Court.
Law enforcement seized Robert Reeves' Chevrolet Camaro without charging him with a crime. After he filed a class-action lawsuit, that changed.
FTC Pivots From Competition to Children
The result is the same: attacks on tech companies and attempts to violate Americans' rights.
Terry Moran Insulted Stephen Miller? That's None of the Government's Business.
Karoline Leavitt's threat against ABC News is an attack on free speech.
Marsha Blackburn Wants Secret Police
Sen. Blackburn introduced a bill this week that would make it a crime to publish the name of a federal law enforcement officer.
A Teen Killed Himself After Talking to a Chatbot. His Mom's Lawsuit Could Cripple the AI Industry.
A federal court in Florida will consider whether chatbot output is First Amendment-protected speech.
Anti-Israel Violence Does Not Justify Censorship of Pro-Palestinian Speech
The fight against anti-Semitism is undermined when it is conflated with mere criticism of Israel's government.
A First Amendment Right To Preach Orgasm?
As the prosecution rests in the OneTaste case, the defense lays out the free speech implications if the government succeeds.
Texas Legislature Bans LGBT Student Clubs in K-12 Schools, Violating the Constitution and Federal Law
Signaling legislative contempt, one sponsor called the student groups "sex clubs." But in targeting the content of student speech the bill probably infringes First Amendment free speech rights and tramples the Equal Access Act of 1984
Female Nude Spa in Washington Can't Bar Transgender Clients With Male Genitalia, Federal Court Rules
Olympus Spa had sued on First Amendment grounds.
Nevada Becomes the 21st State To Strengthen Donor Privacy Protections
A new law prohibits the state from requiring nonprofits to disclose the personal information of their supporters, protecting Americans’ First Amendment right to free association.
Texas Ten Commandments Bill Is the Latest Example of Forcing Religious Texts In Public Schools
The Lone Star State's bill is already facing legal challenges.
Civil Rights Groups Say Immigrants Are Being Denied Legal Access at Detention Centers
Reason confirmed reports of dysfunction and violence at one of those detention centers earlier this week.
Marco Rubio Sure Has a Weird Definition of Free Speech
Marco Rubio has announced a plan to deny visas to foreigners who censor Americans.
British Attacks on Free Speech Prove the Value of the First Amendment
Speech codes intended to battle misinformation are instead empowering the government to be the arbiter of truth.
Can Schools Ban This 'There Are Only Two Genders' Shirt? Supreme Court Declines To Hear Free Speech Case
A Massachusetts 7th grader was sent home for wearing the shirt, though the school allows students to challenge the idea it conveyed.
Can Trump Yank Harvard's Remaining Federal Funding?
Trump is wielding the state against a school whose politics he doesn't like.
A Federal Judge Lists 8 Ways That Trump Violated the Constitution by Punishing a Disfavored Law Firm
The president's crusade against attorneys whose work offends him, which defies the First Amendment and undermines the right to counsel, has provoked several judicial rebukes.
Mitchell Berman on Conditional Federal Grants and the Constitution
While there is no constitutional right to receive grants, the Constitution does bar grant conditions that undermine constitutional rights.
A Top Antitrust Enforcer Is Open To Prosecuting People Who Disagree With Him
Mark Meador thinks the Federal Trade Commission may have the legal right to investigate nonprofits that “advocate for the interests of giant corporations” if they don’t disclose their donors.
Supreme Court Orders Maine Legislator Censured for Social Media Post Must Get Voting Rights Back
On Monday, the court granted an emergency injunction allowing Rep. Laurel Libby to resume voting and speaking after she was censured for a post criticizing trans women in women's sports.
The FTC's Probe Into 'Potentially Illegal' Content Moderation Is a Blatant Assault on the First Amendment
In the name of "restoring freedom of speech," FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson wants to override the editorial judgments of social media platforms.
New Article on Eugene Volokh's Amicus Briefs Regarding Compelled Speech and Antidiscrimination Law
Volokh's view gave breathing room for individuals' speech interests while leaving plenty of space for government to protect people from discrimination
Judge Rules in Favor of New Hampshire Bakery in Fight Over Donut Mural
Conway, New Hampshire's attempt to force a local bakery to take down the mural "does not withstand any level of constitutional scrutiny," a judge ruled this week.
Federal Court Scraps Rule That Gagged Tennessee Civil Rights Attorney From Criticizing a Private Prison
For nearly three years, Daniel Horwitz faced contempt of court for talking about a private prison that was one of his most frequent courtroom opponents.
James Comey's Deleted '86 47' Instagram Post Is Obviously Protected by the First Amendment
A lot of conservatives are falling prey to the same snowflakery they criticize.
Reason Nominated for 17 Southern California Journalism Awards
Nominees include stories on inflation breaking brains, America's first drug war, Afghans the U.S. left behind, Javier Milei, and much more.
Republicans Want To Redefine Obscenity
A new bill would ban sharing visual content that might "arouse" or "titillate."
Court Orders Release of Tufts Foreign Student Detained For Her Speech
The ruling is a victory for the proposition that the First Amendment applies to immigration and visa restrictions.
Steven Pinker: Can Harvard Be Saved?
The Harvard psychologist discusses recent gains for free speech at Harvard, growing political and ideological threats to academic freedom, and the importance of shared knowledge in sustaining truth and progress.
Should Sharing Information About Israeli Businesses Get You 20 Years in Prison?
The IGO Anti-Boycott Act would dramatically expand U.S. anti-boycott laws. The House quietly postponed a vote after running into unexpected Republican opposition.
Maine Legislator Barred From Voting Over Social Media Post
Earlier this year, state Rep. Laurel Libby made a post criticizing trans women in women's sports. Her refusal to apologize has cost Libby her right to speak on the House floor and vote on legislation.
Immigrants and Radicals Have the Same Free Speech Rights as Everyone Else
Campus protests against Israel have revived debates over the limits of First Amendment protections.
Court Frees Palestinian Student Arrested by ICE at His U.S. Citizenship Hearing
A U.S. district judge called Mohsen Mahdawi’s detention a “great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime.”
Rumeysa Ozturk's Op-Ed Is Still the Only Public Justification for Her Arrest
"It is unthinkable that a person in a free society could be snatched from the street, imprisoned, and threatened with deportation for expressing an opinion the government dislikes," says FIRE.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act's Good Intentions Don't Make Up for Its Bad Policy
Congress just approved a new online censorship scheme under the auspices of thwarting revenge porn and AI-generated "nonconsensual intimate visual depictions."
Trump Administration Admits ICE Arrested Mahmoud Khalil Without a Warrant
The administration's lawyers claim that this was justified by Khalil's likelihood of escape.
By Openly Retaliating Against Disfavored Law Firms, Trump Attacks Free Speech and the Right to Counsel
Two of his targets are seeking permanent injunctions against the president's blatantly unconstitutional executive orders.
Harvard University Should Emulate Hillsdale College and Cut Ties With the Government
To remain independent, institutions of higher education should end their reliance on taxpayer money.
Trump's Actions Contradict His Avowed Commitment to First Amendment Rights
The president has launched a multifaceted crusade against speech that offends him.
Here Is Why Harvard Argues That Trump's Funding Freeze Violates the First Amendment
The administration's demands extend far beyond its avowed concern about antisemitism and enforcement of "civil rights laws."
Treating Journalism As Consumer Fraud, Trump Claims Coverage of a Presidential Poll Was Not 'News Reporting'
The president's lawyers also conflate fraud with defamation, misconstrue the commercial speech doctrine, and assert that false speech is not constitutionally protected.
Missouri 13-Year-Old Suspended for Making a Rifle Out of Dr. Pepper Cans
The boy and his mother are now suing the school district and its officials to protect students' right to free expression.
Fewer People Support Censoring False Information Online
Support for suppressing "violent content" has also dropped.
Marco Rubio Brags About Defending Freedom of Speech While Eagerly Undermining It
The secretary of state, who aims to "liberate American speech," nevertheless wants to deport U.S. residents for expressing opinions that offend him.
A Survey Suggests Most Americans Are Not Keen on Trump's Speech-Based Deportation Initiative
Just a quarter of respondents said they favored deporting students for "expressing pro-Palestine views."
Trump Threatens Harvard's Tax-Exempt Status
Apparently freezing $2 billion in federal funding wasn't enough.
Obama Is a Huge Hypocrite for Praising Harvard's Anti-Trump Stance
Harvard's law faculty previously criticized the Obama administration's assault on norms of free speech and due process.
