Utah Professor Sues University Over Required Pronoun Use, Argues Free Speech Infringement
Richard Bugg, a theater professor at Southern Utah University filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Utah Aug. 31. Bugg, represented by attorney Jerry Mooney with financial support from the FIRE Faculty Legal Defense Fund, argues that he is “opposed to the coercion of speech that is taking place on our campus and on most campuses,” the lawsuit stated.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune Challenges Order Against Identifying Deputies in Fatal Shooting
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is seeking to overturn an emergency injunction granted by a judge Friday night to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and the 12th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office barring the news organization from publishing the names of two of the deputies involved in a fatal shooting.
Appeals Court Rules Florida Licensing Law Doesn’t Violate the First Amendment
A federal appeals court ruled that a Florida law that requires individuals to be licensed in order to dispense dietary advice doesn’t violate the First Amendment. Heather Kokesch Del Castillo, who calls herself a “holistic health coach,” sued the state, claiming that Florida’s Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Act violates her free speech rights to give advice to her clients.
Texas’ Social Media Law is Unconstitutional, Federal Court Rules
On December 1st, a federal court in Texas issued a preliminary injunction against Texas’ social media law, HB 20, for violating platforms’ First Amendment right to moderate the third-party content they disseminate. "HB 20 prohibits virtually all content moderation, the very tool that social media platforms employ to make their platforms safe, useful, and enjoyable for users," U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman wrote.
Texas Community College Sued for Violating Former Professor’s First Amendment Rights
Collin College, a community college in McKinney, Texas is being sued by a former professor for violating her free speech and assembly rights. In a lawsuit filed on September 22nd in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas Sherman Division, Suzanne Jones alleges that Collin College administrators pushed her out for criticizing the school’s COVID-19 response, and in retaliation for two previous incidents in 2017 and 2020.
Two Internet Trade Groups Sue Texas Over a Recent Law Regulating Social Media Companies
Two Internet trade associations are suing Texas and its Attorney General Ken Paxton over a recent law that regulates social media companies’ ability to remove users from their platforms. Filed on September 22nd in the U.S. District Court for the District of Texas Austin Division, NetChoice and Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represent Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others, contend that House Bill 20 violates the First Amendment.
PETA Sues Two Federal Agencies for Blocking Their Employees’ Comments on Social Media
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is suing two federal agencies for violating its free speech rights on social media. Filed on September 9th in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, PETA alleges that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) “blocked comments posted to the agencies’ social media accounts based on the viewpoint and/or content of that speech.”
MyPillow CEO Sues Dominion Voting Systems for $1.6 Billion
On April 19th, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell filed a suit accusing Dominion Voting Systems of violating his First Amendment rights for filing a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against him. Lindell accuses Dominion of engaging in an “illegal campaign to punish and silence their critics.”