donal brown

Plaintiffs in a case involving online harassment and threats are asking a federal court for rules that would require universities to block access to anonymous online platforms. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a brief contending that the rules would limit political protest and free speech. EFF earlier argued “…preemptively removing access to anonymous online speech platforms violates all students’ First Amendment rights—threatening projects like the USG Girl Mafia at the University of Southern California,

A Department of Energy photographer fired for leaking photos of Secretary Rick Perry hugging the head of a coal mining company filed a complaint with the department’s inspector general for reinstatement under federal regulations protecting whisteblowers. (The New York Times, January 17, 2018, by Ben Protess) Simon Edelman felt an obligation to bring to public notice the chummy relationship between Perry and coal mining executive, Robert E. Murray. At their meeting, Murray presented a memo

European countries are pressuring social network companies to shut down hate speech, harassment and phony news placing responsibility on actors that are free of accountability and often prone to error in failing to protect important speech. (Columbia Journalism Review, January 17, 2018, by Mathew Ingram) The problem surfaced on New Year’s Day when a German comedian posted on Twitter a satirical message critical of the right wing’s fears of damage immigrants were doing to German

President Donald Trump’s list of fake news award winners failed to impress as it was mostly a compilation of reporting errors corrected after publication. And Trump’s first place winner was from The New York Times, a Paul Krugman op-ed that the stock market would fall after Trump’s election. As a prediction, it should not be included as fake news. (Vox, January 17, 2018, by Jen Kirby and Libby Nelson) The fake news awards are widely

The Ninth Circuit U.S Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 that laws criminalizing commercial sex passed constitutional muster. The court found that the laws against prostitution were in the public interest and did not run afoul of free speech protections. The San Francisco-based sex worker advocacy group that brought the lawsuit is expected to appeal the ruling to the full court. (The Recorder, January 17, 2018, by Michael Booth) Law professor Ruthann Robson wrote about the