First Amendment News

A federal district court sided with the New York Times in its Freedom of Information Act request for records relating to fraudulent entries during the public comment period on net neutrality. The court wrote, “If genuine public comment is drowned out by a fraudulent facsimile, then the notice-and-comment process has failed. Disclosing the requested data in this case informs the public understanding of the operations and activities of government in two ways — at the

Video-teleconference hijacking know as Zoom-bombing disrupts meetings at a time during the pandemic that the public and government agencies depend on Zoom to conduct business. Much of the conduct violates First Amendment rights, but it important to distinguish that which is truly unlawful and disruptive from other that may be protected discourse. It is unlawful to invade a pass-word-protected video conference meeting, but rather than targeting expressive speech, the prosecution could proceed on the grounds

A new edition of Verification Handbook helps journalists “investigate social media accounts, bots, private messaging apps, information operations, deep fakes, as well as other forms of disinformation and media manipulation.” The editor compiled a roster of reporters and academics to share ways to expose those engaged in nefarious transactions and improve the quality of information. (Datajournalism.com, April 28, 2020) Editor Craig Silverman, Poynter Institute, January 28, 2020, writes that the skills of verification are as

The NATO coalition has left the pubic is in the dark about the current Taliban attacks in Afghanistan during the implementation of a peace agreement between the Taliban and the U.S. The Trump administration is anxious to withdraw from Afghanistan and wants the agreement viewed as a success. A special inspector general for Afghanistan is bothered by the omission, and the Afghan government reported 2,804 attacks since the peace agreement was signed on February 29.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is set to interpret a key Freedom of Information Act amendment meant by Congress to curtail an exemption frequently used to deny public records requests. Oral argument were made in January on a case involving a visa application by a non-citizen who wanted to know the contents of documents that the Justice Department redacted. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press), April 30, 2020,