First Amendment News

Some lawyers think that when Florida revoked Disney’s tax status for the company’s opposition to its “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the state violated its First Amendment rights. A government cannot retaliate against an entity for that entity’s exercise of free speech. (The Intercept, April 23, 2022, by Akela Lacy) Law professor Eugene Volokh, Reason, April 22, 2022, is skeptical that the free speech charge has lasting power given that Florida is stripping Disney of a

A survey of over 1,000 journalists by Pen America showed that a deluge of false information is “changing the practice of journalism, disrupting newsroom processes, draining the attention of editors and reporters, demanding new procedures and skills, jeopardizing community trust in journalism, and diminishing journalists’ professional, emotional, and physical security.” Sixty-six of those surveyed said they were spending more time dealing with falsehoods. One in four felt overwhelmed by the amount of fact-checking to complete

Former President Barack Obama voiced concern over the proliferation of false information that is hurting the U.S. as seen in the statistic that one in five refuse vaccination for Covid-19 in the belief it will damage them. He suggests several reforms for the internet from greater transparency on algorithms to slowing the spread of viral posts to allow fact checking. (Platformer, April 21, 2022. by Casey Newton) Stanford professor Michell Mello addressed the problem of

In a 5-4 decision the U.S Supreme Court ruled that Austin, Texas’ distinction between on-premise and off-premise signs (billboards) was content-neutral and thereby constitutional. (International Sign Association, April 21, 2022) The court found a lower court too extreme in ruling that Austin’s law was unconstitutional if a regulator has to read a sign to know if it is within the law. (Bloomberg Law, April 21, 2022, by Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson) For related FAC coverage, click

A Harvard Business School professor found that when local news outlets shut down, corporate corruption goes up. Violations at local public companies rose 1.1 percent and financial penalties by 15 percent. Toxic emissions escalated to almost 20 percent after a newspaper ceased publication. (NiemanLab, January 3, 2022, by Ann Marie Lipinski) Congress is considering measures to help news organizations. The measures provide tax credits for 50 percent of newsroom employees’ salary or up to $25,000