Hate Speech
Montana Man Faces Felony Charges for Telling Man of South Asian Descent To 'Go Back to His Country'
His alleged shove of the man would be a misdemeanor. His words have him facing a felony.
School Board Member's Objection to No-Indigenous-School-Team-Logos Claim Can Proceed
as a First Amendment claim, though only as to his own right to wear "Wantagh Warriors"-related gear at games and school functions.
The 1950s: The Repudiation of Hate Speech Laws
In the 1950s, Americans confronted the precipitous rise of hate speech and hate groups, yet very few turned to hate speech laws as a solution.
Hate Speech and the Marketplace of Ideas in Postwar America
After the Second World War, the nation grappled with tensions between protecting free speech and eliminating hate speech.
The Anti-Nazi Law
In the 1930s, New Jersey passed the most sweeping hate speech law in American history. [UPDATE: Originally erroneously posted under Eugene Volokh's byline; this post is from guest-blogger Samantha Barbas.]
Prosecutors Say a North Carolina Teenager Committed Murder by Livestreaming a California Mosque Shooting
The case smacks of a desire for retribution that cannot be satisfied by prosecuting the actual killers, who committed suicide.
Elon Musk's X Loses First Amendment Challenge to New York's 'Stop Hiding Hate Act'
Musk's X Corp., along with other social media companies operating in the state, must disclose whether and how it defines hate speech and disinformation.
Police Department in South Carolina Says It Has 'Zero Tolerance for Hate Speech'
A free speech organization sent a letter to the police department last week, calling its anti–hate speech post unconstitutional.
Nigel Farage's Reform U.K. Party Reports Green Party Leader's Guillotine Instagram Post to Police
Farage condemns the British government's habit of police action in free speech cases, but wants his political opponent arrested for an Instagram post.
Lawsuit by Khymani James ("Be Grateful That I'm Not Just Going Out and Murdering Zionists") Against Columbia Dismissed
As to James' discrimination claim, "James, who was on disciplinary probation leading up to the suspension, admits that Columbia suspended students involved in the encampment and fails to identify another student, who was also on disciplinary probation, whom Columbia declined to discipline."
More on the Southern Poverty Law Center Allegedly Funding the American Nazi Party and Other Racists
"[The National Socialist Party of America leader] used [SPLC] donors' money to, among other things, travel to extremist rallies, host extremist rallies, donate money to leaders of other extremist organizations, recruit new members into his extremist organization, publish racist and extremist material for the purpose of recruiting new members, both inside and outside of prison, and create racist paraphernalia to sell at rallies to raise more money for his extremist organization."
Shame on the U.K. for Censoring Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur
"This ban is completely unfounded and must be reversed," writes Shabbos Kestenbaum.
Racial Slurs as Actionable Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
UPDATE: Link to transcript in the earlier criminal case, and quotes from the transcript, added
The Global War on Free Speech
Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff discuss the global decline of free speech, why democracies are embracing censorship, and what can be done to protect open debate.
"New York Recognizes No Tort of 'Misgendering'"
The losing party on this had argued, "[The other party's lawyer] gives up the ghost as a transphobe twisting the First Amendment to mean, in effect, 'Intentionally misgendering you is free, not hate, speech,' a hollow, disingenuous notion echoing willfully ignorant, intellectually dishonest predators who weaponize incompetence as our social fabric tears at the seams in this 'Age of Information.'"
California Can't Define 'Hate Speech' But May Mandate Workplace Training Anyway
The term “hate speech” gets thrown around a lot, but it’s legally protected in the U.S.
DOJ Indicts Southern Poverty Law Center for Secretly Funding Extremists
"The SPLC is manufacturing racism to justify its existence," said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Workers' Comp Claim for "Exacerbation of Severe Mental Illness Due to Exposure of a Racially Insensitive Wooden Item"
"[S]he was told that a Mammy doll which depicts slavery was in the garage of the building where they worked.... [W]hen she saw the doll she was overcome with emotions because it was so humiliating.... [S]he could not control her emotions and could not think clearly."
The Enduring Fight Over 'Fighting Words'
More than eight decades ago, the Supreme Court invented a vague First Amendment exception that would-be censors continue to invoke.
Why Insulting Brigitte Macron Online Can Mean Prison Time in France
Ten Frenchmen were given fines, jail time, and social media bans for accusing their first lady of being a pedophilic gay man.
Deplatforming Backfired
Progressive censors failed to suppress our political demons. It's finally time to confront them.
Deplatforming Backfired
Progressive censors failed to suppress our political demons. It's finally time to confront them.
Most Americans Think Free Speech Is on the Decline, Survey Finds
"Drops in confidence across all political parties contributed to the record-levels of pessimism," writes the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
Social Media Speech "Recklessly" Jeopardizing Classmates' Sense of "Safety" by "Condon[ing]" "Forcible Family Separation by Immigration Authorities" May Be Punishable
So argues a concurring opinion in today's Second Circuit decision in Leroy v. Livingston Manor Central School Dist., also speaking about speech that "callously cheer[s] on or condone[s]" "police brutality, ... religiously-motivated attacks on their houses of worship, sexual or gender-based violence, or any other type of targeted state or private violence."
School's "Interest in Teaching Racial Sensitivity Is Not Sufficient" to Justify Punishing Student's "Free Expression Off-Campus"
So holds the Second Circuit: "Tying a student speaker's constitutional right to free expression solely to the reaction that speech garners from upset or angry listeners cannot be squared with [First Amendment] principles."
My New Paper on "How Speech-Based Immigration Restrictions Threaten Academic Freedom"
It is forthcoming in Academic Freedom in the Era of Trump, (Lee Bollinger and Geoffrey Stone, eds., Oxford University Press).
California Wants To Punish Social Platforms for Aiding and Abetting the First Amendment
Another entry into the "algorithms are magic" school of imposing liability on tech companies.
Defend Speech Even When Your Side Hates It
Civil liberties attorney Jenin Younes recounts her role in Murthy v. Missouri, her opposition to pandemic mandates, and why she believes Trump poses an even greater threat to free speech than Biden.
The FCC's Involvement in Canceling Jimmy Kimmel Was 'Unbelievably Dangerous,' Ted Cruz Says
Rand Paul concurs that the threats preceding the comedian's suspension were "absolutely inappropriate" because the agency has "no business weighing in on this."
Pam Bondi Is Really Wrong About Hate Speech
The attorney general is now getting called out by fellow conservatives.
Social Media Didn't Kill Charlie Kirk
Plus: Trump says he "may let [TikTok] die," the SoHo Forum debates paying for sex, the administration calls birth control "abortifacients," and more...
The Standard for 'Vicious' Speech Trump Laid Out After Kirk's Murder Would Implicate Trump Himself
Freedom of speech cannot reliably protect conservatives unless it also protects people they despise.
Safe Spaces Are Coming Back to Brown University—All Thanks to Trump
The campus' settlement with the federal government is bound to create free speech headaches.
