First Amendment News

China and the U.S. agreed to ease restrictions on journalists working in the two countries after a confrontation during the Trump administration that resulted in the expulsion of U.S. reporters. (The New York Times, November 16, 2021,by Michael D. Shear) The U.S. will issue on-year multiple-entry visas to Chinese journalists and address duration of status issues, and China will grant equal treatment to U.S. journalists. Both sides also agreed to issue media visas for new

A Connecticut judge ruled that conservative Infowars host Alex Jones was liable for damages in defamation lawsuits brought by the families of children murdered in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting that Jones claimed was a hoax. The judge held that Jones refused to submit documents to the courts, a decision that determined the outcome. Jones will appeal. Jones’ lies about the shooting of 20 first graders and educators inspired his followers to abuse the

As the city of Santa Clara struggles with legal disputes over the operation of the San Francisco 49ers Levi’s Stadium, five of seven council members met scores of times with team executives behind closed doors. Mayor Lisa Gillmor said she asked the members to share information from the meetings with no success,.”I am highly disappointed,” she said, “these elected officials have breached the trust of our community, and are putting special interests before the public

A federal judge for the District of Columbia ruled that the FBI failed to follow Justice Department guidelines in 2019 when they questioned freelance reporter Bryan Carmody during a raid of his home. The Reporters Committee had filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to find out the details of FBI involvement in the raid. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, November 15, 2021, by Chris Young) For related FAC coverage, click here, here

Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times, November 12, 2021, reports a dramatic increase of censorship in U.S. schools and libraries this year partly fueled by fears of marginalized groups about critical race theory. “This spreading moral panic [among the marginalized] demonstrates, yet again, why the left needs the First Amendment,” writes Goldberg, “even if the veneration of free speech has fallen out fashion among some progressives. Absent a societal commitment to free expression, the