First Amendment News

Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan, June 6, 2021, criticizes President Joe Biden’s Justice Department for continuing the Trump administration’s spying on reporters. Ryan said the department continued to solicit subpoenas of phone records and only stopped the practice when news reports revealed its efforts. The Biden administration scrambled to reverse the practice after The New York Times reputed that there was a gag order preventing them from revealing a court fight over attempts to obtain

Stanford University held up a law student’s diploma while they investigated a complaint for creating a fake flier satirizing the Federalist Society. (Daily Beast, June 2, 2021, by Blake Montgomery; Update: After advocacy by the organization FIRE, Stanford ended the probe.) A Virginia elementary school teacher was put on leave for expressing his belief at a school board meeting that he would violate his religious beliefs by addressing students with chosen pronouns rather than ones

Governments are increasing using algorithmic systems to make important decisions especially during the pandemic. The public most engage in discussions of the use of algorithms while governments are open about how they use the systems. (ComputerWeekly.com, May 17, 2021, by Sebastian Rees) Some in a panel of experts interviewed by the Pew Research Center expressed some pessimism at holding algorithms accountable. Some suggested improving algorithm literacy for all and training in ethics and impacts on

Republican state legislators are trying to ban discussions of race in their state’s classrooms, introducing bills banning teaching “divisive concepts.” The bills are often aimed at preventing the schools from teaching that systemic racism is part of American society. (American Civil Liberties Union, May 14, 2021, big Emerson Sykes and Sarah Hinger) Eight states introduced bills hampering teachers in dealing with racism, sexism and bias. The bills prescribe that certain concepts are off-limits including that

Police officers that support extremist, racist groups are resisting attempts to dismiss them from the ranks, arguing that they have the right to free speech and assembly. (The New York Times, May 11, 2021, by Neil MacFarquhar) A Sparks, Nevada police officer filed a $1 million lawsuit against the city for suspending him after they found social media posts that celebrated the idea of shooting Black Lives Matter activists and referred to women as bitches