Zuckerberg Defends Facebook’s Policies in Speech at Georgetown University
By invoking the United State’s unique commitment to protecting free expression, Zuckerberg sought to draw attention towards the positive aspects of social media.
Trump Threatens to Sue CNN Over Its Coverage of Him, Claiming “False Advertising”
“Never in the history of this country has a President been the subject of such a sustained barrage of unfair, unfounded, unethical and unlawful attacks by so-called ‘mainstream’ news, as the current situation,” wrote Trump attorney Charles Harder in a four-page letter to CNN.
Jury Awards Sandy Hook Father $450,000 in Defamation Suit against Conspiracy Theorist
“We went in thinking we had to prove that the death certificate was real. We ended up having to prove not only that, but that a little baby was born to these two parents,” Pozner’s attorney, Jacob Zimmerman, told First Amendment Watch.
Students at Georgia Southern University Burn Book By Latina Author
After disagreeing with the way Jennine Capó Crucet’s novel, “Make Your Home Among Strangers,” presented white privilege, a group of students at Georgia Southern University decided to burn her book. The incident serves as an interesting example of a form of expression that is at once protected speech—symbolic speech—and a symbol of censorship.
Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren Takes On Facebook’s Political Ads Policy
After Facebook refused to take down a misleading ad by the Trump campaign about former Vice President Joseph Biden, Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s campaign ran an ad on Facebook falsely claiming that Mark Zuckerberg endorsed President Trump's reelection bid.
Facebook Refuses to Remove Misleading Trump Campaign Ad From Its Platform
The Trump campaign released a new political advertisement that accused presidential candidate Joseph Biden of bribing the Ukranian government while he served as the Vice President under Barack Obama. When the Biden campaign asked Facebook to remove the ad, arguing that it spread demonstrably false information to voters, the social media company refused, citing free speech principles.
A Small Newspaper in Iowa Wins a Libel Suit, but Legal Costs May Force It to Close
On July 17, 2017, the Carroll Times Herald was sued for libel after it published the first of a series of investigative pieces about a local cop who was having inappropriate relationships with teenage girls. The day after the Times Herald published its first article about the police officer, he filed a libel suit contending that his reputation had been destroyed, along with his employability as a law enforcement officer.
California Becomes the Second State to Restrict Political “Deepfakes”
California passed a bill that would prohibit the use of “deepfake” technology to spread false information about a candidate within 60 days of an election. While some have touted the bill as a necessary step towards addressing the spread of disinformation, others, including many free speech advocates, argue that the law conflicts with First Amendment law.