First Amendment News

Labor unions using an inflated rodent, “Scabby the Rat,” in protests were vindicated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)who ruled that the rat was protected speech. Even Republican appointees to the board sided with Scabby. The Trump administration had tried to argue that the rat was a threat, “glaring in character and size and an unmistakable symbol of contempt” with their “red eyes, fangs, and claws.” (Business Insider, July 21, 2021, by Charles Davis)

Seventeen news outlets from around the world are investigating private spying technology used on journalists, activists, politicians and CEOs. Called Pegasus, the spyware is widely used on reporters. (CNN Business, July 19, 2021, by Brian Stelter) Some are urging governments to curb the excesses of private spying made possible with the purchase of spyware that can invade smart phones. The Pegasus spyware is the product of the NSO Group based in Israel. It is confirmed

Attorney General Merrick Garland set new guidelines for the Justice Department preventing it from confiscating journalists’ information that could lead to revealing sources. In 2020 the Trump administration seized data from reporters at the Washington Post, CNN and the New York Times seeking the identities of sources. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, July 19, 2021) Garland said in weighing national interests, the department could “fail to properly weigh the important national interest in

In response to demonstrations last summer for racial justice and earlier protests against pipelines and then-President Donald Trump, legislatures have enacted anti-protest laws in 36 states. The laws are expected to encounter First Amendment challenges. Florida’s law is particularly egregious in creating a crime of “mob intimidation,” a number of people attempting to force another to “maintain a particular viewpoint.” You can serve a year in jail for that crime. (Facing South, July 14, 2021,