First Amendment News

Health scientists are encouraged by what they see as unprecedented openness and collaboration between research teams that enables treatments and more accurate predictions of its spread. Some credit the new transparency to the entry of computer scientists into the field, often bringing a greater commitment to transparency. There are signs that China is cooperating, but U.S. officials just asked for more information on the potential of the disease for person-to-person transmission. (Quartz, February 1, 2020,

In repelling online harassment, journalists abroad are enlisting defamation laws. Women are particularly subject to online harassment, an international survey showing that 63 percent of women reporters experienced some form of it. Few got any help from their employers. (Columbia Journalism Review, January 31, 2020, by Anya Schiffrin with contributions by Chloe Oldham) Reporters, especially women, must separate their professional and private lives by limiting personal details online, one security manager suggested in an interview

Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has a plan to curb false information on the internet, specifically cracking down on tech companies by imposing criminal penalties on them for spreading information that undermines the right to vote. She proposed breaking up companies like Amazon and Facebook. (CNBC, January 20, 2020, by Sunny Kim) Warren only proposed criminal penalties for false information about polling locations, but Robby Soave, Reason, February 3, 2020, cites her interview with Pen America

David French, Time, January 24, 2020, writes that it is misguided to rewrite Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that safeguards internet free speech by not holding platforms responsible for their users’ content. The Act also allows internet providers to remove obscene, harassing and violent content without being held liable for user content. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley is proposing requiring social media companies to prove to the Federal Trade Commission that they are not

The National Security Council sent a letter to former national security adviser John Bolton warning they could block his book unless he deletes secret items that could undermined national security. Bolton’s lawyer Charles Cooper said there was no information in the book that could reasonably be considered classified. The NSC said it would work with Bolton to cut the manuscript. (USA TODAY, January 30, 2020, by David Jackson) As the letter was sent, President Donald