First Amendment
Texas A&M's Drag Ban Shows the Threat to Campus Free Speech Is Bipartisan
Conservatives are picking up the unconstitutional weapons that intolerant progressives have deployed against them.
FIRE Says the Law Trump Is Using To Deport Mahmoud Khalil Is Unconstitutional. Trump's Sister Agreed.
As a federal judge, Maryanne Trump Barry said the provision is unconstitutionally vague. That's especially problematic when it is used to punish speech.
Federal Judge Blocks Texas A&M From Banning Drag Shows
The judge ruled that Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's executive orders targeting "gender ideology" can't change the fact that drag performance is expressive conduct under the First Amendment.
Another Legal Resident Faces Deportation for Vague Allegations That They Support Terrorists
The Trump administration keeps arresting legal immigrants with views they don't like.
France Accuses Trump of Booting Space Researcher Over 'Personal Opinion'
Border officials reportedly barred the academic from visiting Texas after finding anti-Trump messages on his phone.
Why Was a Brown University Surgeon Deported to Lebanon?
The Trump administration has started a pattern of trying to deport legal residents over allegations of pro-terrorist views.
Miami Beach Mayor Withdraws Bill To Evict Theater for Screening No Other Land
The attempt to retaliate against a cinema for screening a documentary on the Israel-Palestine conflict drew national condemnation from civil rights groups and filmmakers.
A Federal Judge in Utah Orders Local Officials To Return a Religious Group's Psychedelic Sacrament
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish emphasizes that religious freedom must protect "unpopular or unfamiliar religious groups" as well as "popular or familiar ones."
Trump Is Explicitly Targeting Legal Residents Based on the Opinions They Express
The rationale for deporting Mahmoud Khalil is chillingly vague and broad.
TSA Screeners' Union Sues the Trump Administration for Violating Its First Amendment Rights
Passengers suing the TSA for First Amendment violations have had a rough time in court.
Georgia Antidoxing Bill Could Criminalize Everyday Criticism
The bill is a "law against criticism of any kind," according to a lawyer who testified against it.
The FCC's Show Trial Against CBS Is a Political Power Play
The commission’s partisan “news distortion” probe is trampling the First Amendment to pressure the press.
Mahmoud Khalil Is an Easy Call
The government's stated justification for deporting him is so unconvincing that it must not be allowed to stand.
No Other Land Won an Oscar. Miami Beach's Mayor Is Trying To Evict a Movie Theater for Screening It
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner says "disseminating antisemitism" in a taxpayer-owned building is "unjust to the values of our city and residents and should not be tolerated."
Study: Age-Verification Laws Don't Work
At least not if the goal is keeping minors from viewing porn.
A Nevada Math Professor Who Was Disciplined for Criticizing Curriculum Changes Will Get His Day in Court
The 9th Circuit revived a First Amendment lawsuit by Lars Jensen, who says his community college punished him for complaining about dumbed-down courses.
Mahmoud Khalil, the Great Rorschach Test
Plus: Ukraine attacks Russia with drones, Newsom's revisionist history, and more...
Is it Constitutional To Deport Immigrants for Political Speech?
President Donald Trump has begun kicking immigrant “Hamas sympathizers” out of the U.S.
Who Is the Palestinian Columbia Student Detained For His Protest Activity?
Several months ago, Reason interviewed Mahmoud Khalil at a protest encampment. Now he’s sitting in ICE detention.
SCOTUS to Consider Whether State Bans on "Conversion Therapy" Violate the First Amendment
A highly significant grant of certiorari for next term.
U.S. Attorney Threatens Georgetown Law for 'Teaching DEI'
The law school's dean rejected the letter, arguing the First Amendment "guarantees that the government cannot direct what Georgetown and its faculty teach and how to teach it."
Trump Is Targeting Media and Chilling Free Speech
The president campaigned on a promise to defend the First Amendment, but he's now attacking free speech through a variety of disreputable strategies.
Amy Klobuchar's Health Misinformation Act Has Aged Poorly
A proposed bill in 2021 would have put the HHS secretary in charge of censoring COVID-19 contrarianism on social media.
FIRE Files First Amendment Lawsuit Challenging Texas A&M Drag Show Ban
Texas A&M's Board of Regents voted to ban drag shows on the grounds that they objectify women and violate state and federal policies against promoting "gender ideology."
Education Department Clarifies Anti-DEI Guidance
The department insists its directive will not suppress First Amendment rights.
Supreme Court Refuses to Consider Whether University "Bias-Response Teams" Chill Speech
Justice Thomas dissents from the Court's refusal to resolve a clear circuit split.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr Wants More Control Over Social Media
Carr advocates greater control over social media by federal regulators, despite a reputation for supporting free speech.
Tennessee Supreme Court Rules State Can Revoke Personalized '69' License Plate Because It's Government Speech
Most courts have ruled that vanity license plates are private speech and protected from viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment.
Gay Penguins Face Florida's Classroom Speech Regulations
The authors of a picture book about two male penguins raising a chick together argue excluding their book from school libraries violates their free speech rights.
Judge Orders Newspaper To Delete Editorial Critical of City Government
After a lawsuit from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the city backed down. But it's still part of a worrying trend.
The FTC Has No Business Trying To Make Sure Social Media Are 'Fair'
Chairman Andrew Ferguson’s assault on "Big Tech censorship" aims to override editorial decisions protected by the First Amendment.
Trump Tries To Carve Out a First Amendment Exception for 'Fake News'
The president's portrayal of journalism he does not like as consumer fraud is legally frivolous and blatantly unconstitutional.
Florida Sues Target Over Trans Merchandise
Is Florida forgetting that the First Amendment applies there too?
Texas Cops Seized Photographs From a Museum and Launched Child Pornography Investigation
"It's shameful that government officials would use the criminal legal process to censor art and expression."
FTC Chair Throws Stones in a Glass House
Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson hypocritically engages in the very partisanship for which he faults the American Bar Association.
Mississippi Judge Orders Newspaper To Take Down Editorial Criticizing City Board for Secrecy
Free speech experts say the takedown order is a clear example of unconstitutional prior restraint under the First Amendment.
This UVA Law Student Was Threatened With Expulsion for Sitting Outside With Protest Signs
Kirk Wolff set out to peacefully protest Trump's plan to take over Gaza. Then an administrator and a police officer drove by.
As Migrant Arrests and Deportations Increase, Remember You Have the Right To Record ICE
Law enforcement acts better when officers know the public is watching.
CBS Is Wrong About Free Speech in Germany and the Rise of Nazism
Margaret Brennan should immediately Google the Weimar Fallacy.
Lawsuit Over New Hampshire Donut Mural Heads to Trial
Conway, New Hampshire, is trying to make a local bakery take down a mural of colorful baked goods. The bakery says that violates its First Amendment rights.
Trump Bans A.P. From Oval Office for Not Saying 'Gulf of America'
A dust-up over geographical nomenclature is silly, but it signals the Trump administration's hostility to the First Amendment and freedom of the press.
What Is the SEC Hiding?
To settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, you must swear silence.
Life, Liberty, and the Right To Shitpost
Generative AI is a powerful tool for creativity and speech. Efforts to censor, regulate, and control it threaten America's tradition of open discourse.
Trump Is Flat-Out Lying About the 60 Minutes Interview With Harris
The full transcript shows the president's complaints about the editing of the interview are not just wildly hyperbolic and legally groundless. They are demonstrably false.
Nico Perrino: What the Trump-Musk Alliance Means for Free Speech
FIRE’s executive V.P. discusses the Biden administration's failures, Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s influence on free speech, and the most pressing First Amendment issues facing the U.S. today.
Paramount Shouldn't Fold to Trump
Settling Trump’s CBS lawsuit won’t buy peace—it will sell out press freedom.
FBI Nominee Kash Patel, Who Vowed To 'Come After' Trump's Enemies, Disclaims 'Retributive Actions'
At his confirmation hearing, the president's pick to run the nation's leading law enforcement agency ran away from his record as a MAGA zealot.
