News & Opinion

A Contra Costa County, California judge erred in granting a motion by a teacher accused of sexual abuse to keep journalists from contacting people submitting letters of support. Prior restraint has long been held as a violation of freedom of the press even though judges often enact “confidentiality orders” that media outlets often do not have the resources to fight. (Freedom of the Press Foundation, November 30, 2022, by Seth Stern) For related FAC coverage,

Three plaintiffs filed suit against New York Attorney General Letitia James contesting a hate speech law that outlaws speech perceived to “’vilify, humiliate, or incite violence against a group or class of persons’ based on race, color, religion, or other protected categories.” The law was enacted to prevent racists from posting their rants leading to violent acts. The plaintiffs claim the law singles out “disfavored but protected speech” and holds social media accountable for hateful

The Supreme Court may choose to undertake a review of Counterman v. Colorado, a case involving Facebook messages Counterman sent to a professional musician that she felt were threatening. The issue: “Whether, to establish that a statement is a ‘true threat’ unprotected by the First Amendment, the government must show that the speaker subjectively knew or intended the threatening nature of the statement, or whether it is enough to show that an objective ‘reasonable person’

The Editorial Board of The Washington Post, November 28, 2022, argues that Elon Musk’s management of Twitter has undermined free expression. They say his layoffs have meant Twitter can no longer eliminate influence posts, as in Chinese Communist loading pornography onto Twitter to hide news of protests against Covid restrictions. And inconsistent enforcement “will make Twitter’s decision-making more arbitrary and, therefore, less conducive to free expression.” CIA analyst Bob Baer fears that now that Musk