Tag Archives: First Amendment

From the editorial board of the New York Times: The bill represents a dangerous threat to free expression in the United States, not only for the news media, but for all Americans, whatever their political beliefs. There’s still time for Florida lawmakers to reject this crude pandering and ensure that their constituents retain the right to free speech. “This isn’t …

CBS News reports: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with a Pennsylvania cheerleader punished for a vulgar message shared on Snapchat, with the justices ruling the school violated the student’s First Amendment rights when it disciplined her for the off-campus rant. The high court rule 8-1 in favor of the cheerleader, Brandi Levy, with Justice Stephen Breyer writing the majority …

The New York Daily News reports: Fox News correspondent and law school graduate Geraldo Rivera is accusing Facebook of denying Donald Trump his constitutional rights. Twitter spoke freely about the mustached pundit’s understanding of the First Amendment. “Facebook is full of s–t,” Rivera tweeted after the social media platform decided to uphold its suspension of the 45th president’s account following …

The Texas Tribune reports: Decrying “a dangerous movement” to “silence conservative ideas [and] religious beliefs,” Gov. Greg Abbott touted a bill Friday that aims to crack down on the perceived censorship of conservative voices by social media companies. “They are controlling the flow of information — and sometimes denying the flow of information,” the Republican governor said at a press …

The Daily Beast reports: A source on the call, who shared it with The Daily Beast, called Trump’s talk “unhinged” noting that it often veered off in various directions. At one point, the source said, the president brought up flag burning and encouraged states to pass laws banning it. “Flag burning is a disgrace. We have a different court. And …

The Hill reports: A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that some of the claims in a literary advocacy group’s lawsuit against President Trump over his threats to retaliate against critical media coverage can proceed. U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield wrote in a 24-page opinion that PEN America had a “constitutional standing” to pursue claims for declaratory relief against Trump’s practice …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is asking social media users to report directly to the White House if they believe companies like Facebook and Twitter have punished them for their political views. In an online form shared with the White House’s 18.5 million Twitter followers, the administration asks people to “share your story” of political bias directly with the president. …

From an op-ed published last night by Junior: Even as Big Tech companies work to exclude us from the town square of the 21st century, they’ve been able to rely on misguided conservatives to carry water for them with irrelevant pedantry about whether the First Amendment applies in cases of social media censorship. Left unchecked, Big Tech and liberal activists …

The Associated Press reports: Newspapers from Maine to Hawaii pushed back against President Donald Trump’s attacks on “fake news” Thursday with a coordinated series of editorials speaking up for a free and vigorous press. The Boston Globe, which set the campaign in motion by urging the unified voice, had estimated that some 350 newspapers would participate. They did across the …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump cannot block users on his Twitter feed, a New York federal judge ruled Wednesday. The judge, Naomi Reice Buchwald, ruled that Trump is violating the U.S. Constitution by preventing Americans from viewing his tweets. The suit was filed in July 2017 by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. “This case requires us to …

The Hill reports: Drudge Report chief Matt Drudge criticized President Trump on Wednesday for his threat to take away credentials from news outlets. Drudge, who is largely supportive of the president, added that Senate Democrats had floated such an idea before Trump was president. Trump was referencing a recent report from the politically conservative Media Research Center that found 91 …

The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump on Wednesday threatened to revoke press credentials from the “fake news” networks after a report study showed 91 percent of Trump’s coverage in the press is negative. Fox & Friends reported Wednesday morning on a Media Research Center report that showed 91 percent of the coverage surrounding Trump in the first four months of …

“The blunt, simple, direct, straightforward answer is that Wiccans do not have First Amendment rights. Nor do Muslims, nor do Jews, nor do Native Americans, nor do Rastafarians, nor do any practitioners of any other religion other than Christianity. Whatever the First Amendment is about, whatever protections it extends in the federal Constitution, those were just for Christianity. Christianity has …

Buzzfeed reports: Since the fall, the US Department of Justice has been overhauling its manual for federal prosecutors. In: Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ tough-on-crime policies. Out: A section titled “Need for Free Press and Public Trial.” References to the department’s work on racial gerrymandering are gone. Language about limits on prosecutorial power has been edited down. The changes include new …

“The Constitution of the United States, and the First Amendment says ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Nor will they abridge the freedom of speech, of the press’.  I’ve got a copy of the Constitution I want to give you — at the end of this hearing.” – South Carolina …

Bloomberg Law reports: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to monitor hundreds of thousands of news sources around the world and compile a database of journalists, editors, foreign correspondents, and bloggers to identify top “media influencers.” It’s seeking a contractor that can help it monitor traditional news sources as well as social media and identify “any and all” coverage …

The Hill reports: President Trump’s 2020 campaign manager is calling for Jim Acosta to be stripped of his press credentials after the CNN White House correspondent questioned Trump during the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday. Brad Parscale shared an article from The Daily Caller, which reported that Acosta “yelled at Trump” during the event. Parscale said in his …

Reuters reports: In a decision late Monday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said a nonprofit run by conservative radio talk show host Dennis Prager failed to show that YouTube infringed its free speech rights by placing age restrictions on its content. The plaintiff, Prager University, said YouTube’s “animus” toward its “political identity and viewpoint” led it to curb access to …

Just in via email from Monica Cole: The NFL has told the nation’s largest veterans service organization, American Vets, its patriotic ad that encourages people to stand for the American flag and national anthem will not be tolerated. AMVETS had been solicited by the NFL to place an ad in the Super Bowl LII program. When the submitted advertisement included …

CNBC reports: Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., on Wednesday delivered a searing condemnation of President Donald Trump, specifically the way he employs the term “fake news” to dismiss objective reality. “2017 was a year which saw the truth – objective, empirical, evidence-based truth – more battered and abused than any other in the history of our country, at the hands of …