Trump Order Aims to Dismantle What He Calls Government ‘Censorship’ of U.S. Citizens

The order comes after Trump and his supporters have accused the government of pressuring social media companies to take down posts over concerns around misinformation.

Immigration Judges Union Is Told To Get Approval Before Speaking Publicly

The order requires Justice Department approval “to participate in writing engagements (e.g., articles; blogs) and speaking engagements (e.g., speeches; panel discussions; interviews).”

House Rejects Effort to Censure Rashida Tlaib Over Rhetoric About Israel

The censure resolution measure was dismissed with broad bipartisan support as both parties raised concerns about violating First Amendment rights.

Twitter Barred from Disclosing ‘National Security’ Information Requests, Ninth Circuit Says

The FBI restricted what Twitter could publish in its biannual “Transparency Report,” but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled March 6 in a 2-1 decision that it was not a violation of the company’s freedom of speech.

A Social Media Censorship Law is Upheld in Texas, Lyrissa Lidsky Weighs In

First Amendment lawyer Lyrissa Lidsky weighs in on a recently upheld social media censorship law in Texas that would bar platforms with more than 50 million users from removing content with political viewpoints. A different circuit court in Florida filed a preliminary injunction against a similar law. Since both federal appeals courts disagreed, only the Supreme Court can decide if the platforms have a First Amendment right to censor, or if they don’t.

Authors Share Excerpts on Free Speech: Robert Corn-Revere and the Censor’s Dilemma

In his new book, "The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder," Robert Corn-Revere asks a simple question: what characterizes the psychology of a censor? For Corn-Revere, the attitudes of moral crusaders have been fairly consistent over the last 200 years: they are marked at once by a rigid certainty that the ideas they target are indisputably harmful and an insecure defensiveness stemming from the awareness that most people will reject their attempts at censorship.

Utah Police Arrest Woman for Stomping on Pro-Police Flag

A Utah Police officer is charging a 19-year-old woman with a hate crime for “stomping on a ‘Back the Blue’ sign” while “smirking in an intimidating manner,” The Salt Lake Tribune reported on July 9th. The woman could face up to a year in prison or a fine of up to $2,500 for allegedly destroying stolen property “in a manner to attempt to intimidate law enforcement.”

First Circuit Defends Hospital Worker’s Speech Rights

During the pandemic, as hospitals struggled to keep up with the surge of COVID patients, managers clamped down on staffers who spoke to the press about their work conditions. Young's case could pave the way for other hospital workers to push back against official policies that prohibit them from speaking to the press.