First Amendment News

The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging an Arizona law that makes it a misdemeanor to shoot footage of police in action closer than eight feet without an officer’s permission. The lawsuit said the law was ambiguous in part, and critics claimed the law would be used to stifle the established First Amendment right to record police in action. (News10, August, 23, 2022, by Terry Tang of The Associated Press) The ACLU joined with 10

The Texas Tribune and other news outlets are suing Uvalde, the sheriff and the school district for records of the May shooting that killed students and teachers. The request includes 911 calls, radio transmissions, body cam footage, police reports, training manuals and school surveillance film. (The Texas Tribune, August 29, 2022, by Zach Despart) Even with the Texas Attorney General ruling that Uvalde could not withhold all records, the officials have claimed they are conducting

Social media companies are gearing for a avalanche of lies during the election season. The plans look similar to those employed in earlier campaigns, inadequate for combating falsehoods. (The New York Times, August 23, 2022, by Stuart A. Thompson) Three British academics conducted a study to test a theory that videos posted on YouTube could help people recognize lies on social media. The videos sought to “immunize” viewers against manipulation techniques and logical fallacies. (NiemanLab,

The California Supreme Court applied the anti-SLAPP law in dismissing a lawsuit brought by an executive against picketers in front of his home. The court reasoned that although the dispute was private, the picketers were spotlighting an issue of great public interest, real estate practices that many find destabilizing. (Metropolitan News-Enterprise, August 30, 2022, by a Staff Writer)

A federal district judge, Mark Walker, found Florida governor’s “Stop WOKE Act,” restricting talk of race in schools and the workplace, failed to meet constitutional standards for free speech. Wrote Walker, “Normally, the First Amendment bars the state from burdening speech, while private actors may burden speech freely. But in Florida, the First Amendment apparently bars private actors from burdening speech, while the state may burden speech freely.” (New York Post, August 19, 2022, by