Could The Presidential Text Message Alert System Violate The First Amendment? Lawsuit Says Yes
Three people fought back against the first-ever national presidential text message alert system in the hopes of stopping a scheduled system test that went into effect yesterday afternoon. The plaintiffs, […]
Florida School Board Wants To Hold Newspaper In Contempt For Publishing Parkland Shooter’s Records
A Broward County judge lambasted the Sun Sentinel for publishing disclosed information contained in a redacted report that the paper says it obtained legally, because the information was already made […]
The Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia brought a lawsuit against Philadephia for an ordinance that banned employers from inquiring about a job-seeker’s salary history, stating that it was 'bad for business.' The ordinance has two parts - "it prohibits an employer from inquiring about a prospective employee’s wage history (“the Inquiry Provision”); and second, it makes it illegal for an employer to rely on wage history “at any stage in the employment process” to determine a salary for an employee (“the Reliance Provision”)." Philadelphia approved the ordinance in January to take effect this May. However, U.S. District Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that the "inquiry provision" specifically violated the First Amendment's free speech clause. “Although the ordinance represents a significant positive attempt to address the wage gap, the First Amendment compels me to enjoin implementation of the inquiry provision." Will this chill efforts in other states and cities that have been passing similar ordinances?
Lata Nott Podcast: Free Speech and the Internet
The Newseum Institute’s First Amendment expert, Lata Nott, originally published this podcast on the Newseum blog, and has given First Amendment Watch permission to reprint. In this episode of The First […]
Privacy and Press Freedom Argued in Carpenter v. United States
Across the ideological spectrum, Supreme Court Justices appeared to find common ground in that “mass searches of our digital effects would be as invasive and unreasonable as the hated general […]
Department of Justice Wants Anti-Trump Facebook User Information
The Justice Department has requested Facebook provide information on activists involved with the "DisruptJ20” protests which occurred during President Trump's inauguration. The American Civil Liberties Union is arguing that the request not only chills free speech, but also gives the DPJ unfettered access to thousands of personal records.