First Amendment News

A jury in a free speech case ruled that pro-life demonstrators at a college were not disruptive and complied with police officers’ requests. -DB LifeNews.com May 11, 2009 By Steven Ertelt SAN BERNARDINO, CA — A jury in a California court has found a group of pro-life advocates not guilty in connection with false charges filed against them when they visited Chaffey College in November 2007. The case is the second legal victory for the

You could go to prison for using speech online that causes emotional distress to another person if a bill proposed by a California representative becomes law. A Wired writer says the bill would never pass Constitutional muster. -DB Wired By David Kravets May 5, 2009 Proposed congressional legislation would demand up to two years in prison for those whose electronic speech is meant to “coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person.”

The Associated Press would like to own the facts of its news stories at least for a reasonable period of time. Ars technica writer Nate Anderson describes the origins of the “hot news” principle and explains why AP is unlikely to succeed in owning the news. -DB ars technica May 6, 2009 By Nate Anderson What do bloggers and a 1918 newspaper syndicate have in common? According to the Associated Press, both are wretched hives

The Obama administration and the photo-sharing site Flickr came to an agreement that official White House photos cannot be copyright. -DB Wired May 11, 2009 By Ryan Singel Official White House photos are now officially in the public domain, thanks to a licensing change made quietly over the weekend by the Obama administration and the photo-sharing site Flickr. The White House began posting striking photos of President Barack Obama from its official photographer Pete Souza

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is concerned about a federal appeals court decision that puts the free speech rights of elected officials above their responsibilities to conduct government business in a transparent, accountable manner. -DB Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Press Release May 11, 2009 The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans (5th Cir.) to rehear a case in