The Russian government has blocked access to material on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in the name of protecting children, but others see it as a step toward wider Internet censorship, according to the New York Times. Full story
A federal judge ruled that clicking the “like” button on Facebook was “insufficient speech” to warrant protection under the First Amendment. But First Amendment Center President Ken Paulson does not see how pressing the like button is any different from saying “I like such and such a candidate,” obviously protected speech. -db From a commentary for the First Amendment Center, May 31, 2012, by Ken Paulson. Full story
A U.S. Marine who was given an other-than-honorable discharge recently for criticizing President Barack Obama has little legal recourse in his appeal, writes Arthur Bright for the Citizen Media Law Project. The problem is that the Marine wrote in an Armed Forces Tea Party blog, “Screw Obama and I will not follow all orders from him.” -db From a commentary for the Citizen Media Law Project, May 7, 2012 by Arthur Bright. Full story
After a brief downturn, military bloggers are finding myriads of outlets and are flourishing as never before, even with the blessing of the Defense Department. After complaints in 2006, the Bush administration began to encourage milblogging partially as a way to present positive news of military activities. -db From a commentary for The New York Times, February 28, 2012, by Crispin J. Burke. Full story
The Maryland legislature is considering a law preventing colleges from requiring athletes to allow school administrators to monitor their messages and posts on the social media. Questions arise over the constitutionality of colleges funded by the government interfering with the free speech rights of students. -db From a commentary for the Citizens Media Law Project, February 23, 2012, by Eric P. Robinson Full story