First Amendment News

The federal Department of Education found that pro-Palestinian events critical of Israel conducted on University of California campuses were protected free speech. The events included mock Israeli military checkpoints at UC Berkeley last year. (San Francisco Chronicle, August 28, 2013, by Nanette Asimov) Jewish students at various UC campuses filed complaints in 2012 under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protecting students against discrimination based on racial or ethnic background. The Education Department’s

A bill before the California state assembly would ban nude pictures posted online without permission to seek revenge on a former lover. “The bill would make it a disorderly conduct offense if a person ‘photographs or records by any means the image of another, identifiable person with his or her consent who is in a state of full or partial undress in any area in which the person being photographed or recorded has a reasonable

ESPN pulled out of an October PBS “Frontline” production, entitled “League of Denial,” by ESPN investigative reporters and brothers Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada, documenting the National Football League’s treatment of concussions. ESPN has a vested interest in broadcasting NFL games. The NFL faces thousands of lawsuits filed by former players and their families charging that the league did not do enough to prevent injuries and to help players with head injuries. (Sports Illustrated, August

Government agencies charged with fighting terrorism are ratcheting up their game in fighting whistleblowers and journalists. That explains why the British authorities recently detained David Miranda married to journalist Glenn Greenwald who had published former NSA contractor Andrew Snowden’s revelations about domestic spying in the U.S. Journalists know their e-mails are not secure so they send family members on trips with important messages. Agencies respond by detaining the family members, writes ex-CIA operative Barry Eisler