FIRE was the brainchild of University of Pennsylvania history professor Alan Charles Kors and Boston civil liberties lawyer Harvey A. Silverglate, who co-authored the 1999 book, The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America’s Campuses.
Days after Mark Zuckerberg planted his flag in favor of free speech by announcing that Facebook wouldn’t censor political advertising, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, apparently bowing to pressure from his platform’s largely liberal user base, announced a contrary policy: Twitter will no longer accepthttps://ift.tt/eA8V8J Source: Free Speech Means Free Speech
Over the past few years, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (“CREW”) has been on a targeted lawfare campaign against the Federal Election Commission.Source: CREW v. FEC’s Impact on Independent Expenditures and Donor Privacy, Explained
Dark money could be trending toward a record low this election cycle. It’s a development the media has been suspiciously silent on. "Dark money” is a pejorative label for campaign spending by groups that are not political committees.Source: The 2020 election could see record lows for 'dark money' influence
Americans of both parties worry they’ll be canceled for making donations to a campaign or cause.Source: Political Giving Should Be Private
It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am resigning from The New York Times. I joined the paper with gratitude and optimism three years ago.Source: Resignation Letter — Bari Weiss
The agency had previously ruled that the tea party movement was a social force, not a political organization, and the agency said BLM fits the same mold. The Hatch Act governs what types of political activities are acceptable from U.S. government employees, particularly while on the job.Source: Federal employees can support Black Lives Matter on the job, Office of Special Counsel rules
Disclaimers for ads supporting or opposing candidates or ballot measures tell viewers and listeners who is attempting to persuade them. While this information can be useful, laws requiring disclaimers burden First Amendment rights.Source: “Paid For By”: Principles for Accurate and Effective Political Ad Disclaimers in the 21st Century
A 1991 federal statute generally banned robocalls to cell phones (among other things), but a 2015 amendment exempted calls "made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United States." In today's Barr v. Am.Source: S. Ct. Strikes Down Content-Based Exception from Robocall Ban,
On Monday, in a fractured set of opinions, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an association of political consultants challenging the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. That statute bans robocalls to cellphones.Source: Opinion analysis : Fractured court rules in favor of political consultants in First Amendment challenge to federal robocall law but keeps robocall ban in place
On July 2, two Democrats running in the New Jersey July 7 primary for U.S. House filed a federal lawsuit. The lawsuit attacks the state law that restricts political slogans that candidates can place next to their names on primary ballots. Mazo v Way, 2:20cv-8174. Here is the Complaint.Source: Federal Lawsuit Filed Over New Jersey Limits to Political Slogans on Primary Ballots
The current rules regulating free speech and the "monopoly social media” (Facebook/Instagram, Twitter, Google/YouTube -- together, the MOSM) are a mess, but the basic principles should be obvious. They should be treated as the new public square, and subject to First Amendment requirements.Source: Big Tech Monopolies Are a Threat to First Amendment
Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn penned a letter to Attorney General William Barr Monday urging the Department of Justice to conduct a thorough antitrust investigation into Google’s monopolistic power over the internet after the tech giant’s recent attack on The Federalist.Source: Blackburn Pushes DOJ To Examine Google's Power Over Free Speech
YouTube’s controversial “hate speech” and “harassment” rules have greatly restricted what users are allowed to say on the platform by dishing out harsh punishments for jokes, criticism, and other types of language that YouTube decides has gone “too far.Source: YouTube CEO: We’ll remove “hate speech” from elected officials but media outlets are allowed to reupload it with their own “context”
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) has collected a number of supporters for her bill banning microtargeted political ads. “Political speech is critical to democratic discourse, but organized disinformation and organic misinformation use microtargeting and prevent ideas from being debated in the open.Source: Bill Banning Microtargeted Political Ads Draws Crowd
On Tuesday, NBC News reported that Google would ban two websites, ZeroHedge and The Federalist, from its advertising services. Such a ban could be an enormous blow to an ad-supported website. By some measures, Google Ads commands over 30% of the entire digital ad business worldwide.Source: The Federalist’s Disappearing Comments Section Is a Preview of What Happens if We Revoke Section 230
In an effort to force Facebook to change its policy towards negative ads targeting his campaign, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is apparently willing to trash the federal law that guarantees free speech online.Source: Joe Biden Has Officially Joined the Misguided Crusade Against Online Free Speech
Matt Jones, the liberal host of a popular sports radio show in Kentucky, was off the air Thursday following a complaint by the Kentucky Republican Party that he had violated campaign finance laws.Source: Kentucky sports radio host, mulling Senate run vs. McConnell, is off air after GOP complaint
Twitter has banned political ads, Facebook hasn't — who's in the right? There are powerful arguments on both sides, but the one thing they all have in common is the desire to strike some sort of balance between freedom of political speech and attempting to quell the flow of false information.Source: Silicon Valley congressman: Regulate political ads on Facebook just like copyright
Alexandria, VA – Nearly five years ago the Missouri Ethics Commission (“MEC”) ordered Ron Calzone, an unpaid grassroots activist, to pay a $1,000 fine and prohibited him from discussing policy with lawmakers until he registered and filed reports as though he was a professional “lobbyist.Source: Volunteers Are Not Lobbyists, Rules Eighth Circuit