The Backpage Scandal Isn't What You Think
How indie media entrepreneurs James Larkin and Michael Lacey became the targets of a federal witchhunt.
First Amendment
Compelled Subsidies and the First Amendment
Why both the dissent and majority in Janus were wrong, and what the next lawsuits may look like.
Federal Judge Says It's Plausible That Andrew Cuomo Violated the First Amendment by Pressuring Banks and Insurers to Shun the NRA
The organization's lawsuit against New York's governor survives a motion to dismiss.
Andrew Cuomo's Unconstitutional Assault on the NRA
New York's governor is violating the First Amendment by pressuring banks and insurers to shun "gun promotion organizations."
Is Your Ballot Selfie Legal?
Banning ballot selfies to stop voter fraud is like "burning down the house to roast the pig" said the First Circuit Court of Appeals. But many states still do it.
Condemning Extreme Rhetoric, NYT Columnist Says Conservative Pundits Incite Murder
Jim Rutenberg's indictment of "the Incitement Industry" charges right-wing provocateurs with complicity in violence.
San Diego Police Creepily Forced Strippers to Pose for Photos. Now the City's Paying $1.5 Million.
A city ordinance let officers harass women as part of a licensing inspection process. A judge ruled it unconstitutional.
Memphis Police Ordered to Stop Revisiting History by Snooping on Protesters
A decade of surveillance from the civil rights era makes a technology and social-media-fueled return.
Trump Beat Stormy Daniels' Defamation Claim With a Law Aimed at Rich Bullies Like Him
The president, who routinely threatens to sue people for saying things he does not like, deployed an anti-SLAPP law in his own defense.
When Social Media Platforms Block Conservatives
The best answer to speech we don't like is: more speech.
Portland Mayor's 'Emergency Ordinance' to Combat Constant Left/Right Street Brawling Has Civil Liberties Advocates Worried
Mayor Ted Wheeler's proposed ordinance raises "constitutional concerns," says Oregon ACLU.
Writer Stephen Elliott Sues Over 'Shitty Media Men' Spreadsheet: Reason Roundup
Plus: libertarian accounts purged from Facebook?
Texas Attorney General Ignores 75 Years of Supreme Court Rulings Trying to Force a Student to Stand for the Pledge
The irony is that she's protesting authoritarian police behavior.
Google Employees Considered Adjusting Search Engine Algorithm to Hide Islamophobic Results
"Actively counter islamophobic, algorithmically biased results from search terms 'Islam', 'Muslim', 'Iran', etc."
High School Journalists Fight for Their 1st Amendment Right to Report on Their School's Administration
Student journalists at a Vermont high school had a damning article censored by their interim principal.
A Banned Magazine Is Trying to Take Florida Prison System to the Supreme Court
Florida prisons completely ban Prison Legal News magazine. Now the publication is asking the Supreme Court to "vindicate the First Amendment."
Flashy Storefront Gun Ads Are Protected by the First Amendment, Says California Judge
Sen. Kamala Harris tried to limit the storefront speech of firearms sellers as California attorney general.
Who's Ready for an Obama Lecture About Trump?: Podcast
Critiquing an ex-president's warnings about anti-media rhetoric, non-voting, and unelected bureaucrats
Maybe Social Media 'Outrage' Is Just a Lazy Partisan Ritual: Podcast
Before demanding censure or intervention, take a step back from the Twitter machine and ask yourself whether anyone really cares about this stuff.
The Slants Know What it Takes to Win a Supreme Court Case
The Slants speak with Reason a year after winning the right to use their own name.
The Importance of Uncomfortable Conversations
Uncensored author and new college grad Zachary R. Wood explains why his generation is so scared of viewpoint diversity.
Donald Trump Unblocks Some More Twitter Haters
A judge ruled in May that the First Amendment means we all should be able to see government officials' social media accounts.
Federal Court: First Amendment Protects Feeding the Homeless—Sort Of
Referencing Shakespeare, the Bible, and American colonial times, a federal court rules in favor of a group's right to feed the homeless.
Missouri Might Imprison You for False Meat Advertising
A state law says you can't call it meat unless it's actually beef, pork, or poultry. Critics say the bill violates the First Amendment.
Reporter Says She Was Cuffed for Photographing a Cop in Public
Prosecutors have declined to file charges against the officer.
Rutgers Can Criticize a White Professor for Anti-White Racism, But Punishing Him Would Violate Free Speech
"Okay, officially, I now hate white people" is a gross statement that deserves First Amendment protection.
Elizabeth Nolan Brown Talks About Her Blockbuster Backpage Story on Sirius XM
Matt Welch interviews Brown (and others, including ex-Reasoner Lauren Krisai) from 9-12 ET.
Trump Is No Match for the First Amendment
Far from undermining freedom of the press, the president's fulminations prove its durability.
House Passes 'Anti Sex-Trafficking' Bill Opposed by Both DOJ and Trafficking Survivors
The bill makes "promoting prostitution" a federal crime, holds websites legally liable for user-posted content, and lets states retroactively prosecute offenders.
Judge Says Backpage Protected by First Amendment, Rejects Pimping Charges for CEO… Then Backtracks a Few Hours Later
"Congress has spoken on this matter and it is for Congress, not this court, to revisit." Except for maybe later this afternoon...
Former Backpage.com Heads Say Pimping Charges Motivated by Politics, Not Facts
"Make no mistake; Kamala Harris has won all that she was looking to win when she had us arrested."
SCOTUS Won't Hear Illinois Sheriff's Appeal of Order to Stop Threatening Credit Card Companies for Working With Backpage
Visa and Mastercard had ceased serving the site under threat of sanction from the Illinois sheriff.
Judge Grants Backpage.com Temporary Restraining Order Against Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart
"It appears that an oft-used tool for identifying lawbreakers will be lost if Backpage were to fold," writes federal judge.
Backpage.com Says Screw Off to Squeamish Credit Card Companies by Dropping Fees For Adult Ads
Score one for sex workers, capitalism, and common sense.
Backpage.com Lawsuit: Sex Trafficking Doesn't Trump Internet Freedom, Says Federal Judge
Plaintiffs coerced into prostitution as teens alleged that Backpage was complicit in their trafficking.
Internet Freedom Suffers in Passage of Senate Human Trafficking Bill
Senators sneak through SAVE Act as amendment, creating criminal liability for classified-ad sites.
Sex-Trafficking Victims Hurt Most by Senator's Crusade Against Classified Ads
Closing sites like Backpage.com puts trafficking victims at even more risk.
SAVE Act Would Hold Websites Criminally Liable for User-Generated Content
Lawmakers target classified ad sites
Idaho Legislators Want to Outlaw Videos of Men Sexually Abusing Cows—But Not for the Reason You Expect
It's not an animal-porn law, it's an ag-gag law.
Broadcasters in Bondage
Free speech is a fundamental right? Not when it comes to TV and radio broadcasters, it isn't—and an odd coalition of liberals and conservatives want to keep it that way.
