First Amendment News

The nation’s universities are taking a less tolerant view of disruptive protests and are suspending or expelling students. The schools are reacting to criticism by conservative alums and donors but also are moved by the realization that protests are so disruptive that they have a negative effect on learning. Administrators are clamping down in the face of criticism that their role is to foster debate no matter how contrary it gets. (The New York Times,

Steven Brill in Politico, April 1, 2024, writes that there are ways to clean up the social media without government censorship. The platforms already have contracts with users and lists of prohibited content, but they claim they cannot prevent the hate and false information because of the algorithms and volume of content. The FTC has the authority to protect consumers and could enforce the contracts by exacting hefty fines. For related FAC coverage, click here,

NBC News reported that scores of subscriber X accounts and thousands of unpaid accounts posted or amplified Nazi content recently. The postings often praised Nazi soldiers, shared Nazi symbols and denied the Holocaust. X has not been enforcing their policies against this content. (NBC News, April 16, 2024, by David Ingram) Mike Masnick in techdirt, April 17, 2024, wonders if X owner Elon Musk will defend the content by declaring his commitment to free speech

Smartmatic settled its lawsuit against the right-wing One America News Network for its broadcast of false claims that Smartmatic tipped the election to President Joe Biden in swing states. The terms of the settlement were confidential. (The Washington Post, April 16, 2024, by Jeremy Barr) Los Angeles County was the only site for Smartmatic activity in the 2020 election. Last year Dominion Voting Systems settled with Fox News for $787 million. (Axios, April 17, 2024,

Publishers are rallying to a challenge to Iowa’s book ban law, now blocked but under appeal to the Eight Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The law banned books with descriptions of sex and instruction and materials involving gender identity and sexual orientation through the sixth grade (Publishers Weekly, April 16, 2024, by Andrew Albanese) In the meantime, Pen America reported that book banning is sweeping the country with over 4,300 books banned in the first