Key Takeaways of Supreme Court Oral Arguments in Gonzalez v. Google
During almost three hours of oral arguments Feb. 21, the U.S. Supreme Court discussed for the first time a case that questions Section 230 protections. The case looks at the liability of social media platforms and search engines regarding speech hosted on their sites, and if recommendation algorithms could be responsible for aiding terrorist activity.
Electronic Frontier Foundation’s David Greene Weighs In on Section 230 and Online Speech
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases pivotal to online speech: Gonzalez v. Google on Feb. 21 and Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh on Feb. 22. Both cases question the liability of social media platforms and search engines regarding speech hosted on their sites, and if recommendation algorithms could be responsible for aiding terrorist activity.
Will a Supreme Court Decision Bring Clarity to the Government Speech Doctrine?
A pending case before the United States Supreme Court about flags and flagpoles could determine two crucial questions for First Amendment law: (1) who is speaking—the government or an individual; and (2) when does the government create an open forum for freedom of expression.
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.
Despite numerous legal challenges over the right to record police officers in public, the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the question of whether citizens have a First Amendment right to record the police. Because of this, only states in judicial districts that have established the right to record as a constitutional right consider it a “clearly established law.”
Supreme Court Rules that Student’s Off-Campus Speech Is Protected By the First Amendment
In an 8-1 decision on June 23rd, the Supreme Court ruled that a student’s off-campus speech was protected by the First Amendment. The case, Mahanoy Area School District v B.L., involves a message posted on Snapchat by a then-14 year old student identified as “B.L.”, after she learned she failed to advance from the junior varsity to the varsity cheerleading squad. The message, posted on a Saturday afternoon when she was off-campus, stated, in part, “f*** cheer, f***everything.”
SCOTUS Ruling in Van Buren A Win for Data Journalists and Security Researchers
On June 3rd, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling that could have set a dangerous precedent for data journalists and security researchers. The case focused on the interpretation of a federal hacking law, and whether it could apply to an individual who is given access to a computer or online information, but uses it in an unauthorized manner.
Teacher Guide: Does the First Amendment Allow the Government to Censor Art?
For much of our nation’s history, the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech did not clearly protect art from government censorship. Over the course of the 20th century, however, courts gradually extended speech protections to a broader range of artistic expression, including film, dance, theater, and fine arts. Today, public officials can censor art only in limited circumstances. What are those circumstances, and what protection does the First Amendment provide?