free speech

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Cruz Warns Allies FCC Move Could Backfire

Strategy to silence Kimmel could be used against others, senator says

(Newser) - Editorials from Republican-leaning outlets including the Wall Street Journal and the Free Press have objected to the FCC chairman's push to knock Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air . GOP Sen. Ted Cruz has joined the outcry, warning allies they might come to regret their victory, the Washington Post...

Eisner Questions Disney After Kimmel Suspension

Former CEO criticizes former company's response to political pressure over Kimmel's Kirk remarks

(Newser) - It's been almost a year and a half since Michael Eisner posted anything on his X account, but this week the ex-Disney CEO broke his silent streak, criticizing his former company's leadership for its decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show on ABC, which Disney owns....

Tucker Carlson Hints at 'Civil Disobedience' in US

Ex-Fox pundit says disobedience would be justified if government uses Kirk killing to target 'hate speech'

(Newser) - Tucker Carlson's volatile relationship with President Trump may have just cycled back to being a critical one, this time centered on the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the Trump administration's reaction to it. The former Fox News host's main beef: the government's targeting of...

Sotomayor: US Should Learn Limits of Presidential Power

'Do we understand what the difference is between a king and a president?'

(Newser) - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned Tuesday that a shaky grasp of civics is leaving Americans unsure where presidential power stops and monarchy begins. Speaking at a New York Law School event, Sotomayor argued that too few citizens understand the constitutional limits set on the presidency—a gap she...

YouTube's New AI System to Shake Out Young Users

Age-verification protocols to find underage viewers will be based on the videos they watch

(Newser) - YouTube on Wednesday will begin testing a new age-verification system in the US that relies on artificial intelligence to differentiate between adults and minors, based on the kinds of videos they've been watching. The tests initially will only affect a sliver of YouTube's US audience, but will likely...

Supreme Court Rules on Age Checks for Porn Sites

SCOTUS greenlights age verification for those under 18 in 6-3 decision

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Texas law aimed at blocking children under 18 from seeing online pornography, reports the AP . Nearly half of all states have passed similar age verification laws, as smartphones and other devices make it easier to access online porn, including hardcore obscene material. The...

Man Jokes About Mayor, Gets Subpoena Days Later

It was issued by the city, not a court

(Newser) - A man who joked online about a Missouri mayor says he received a "ridiculous" subpoena days later. The Washington Post reports that after a 15-year-old boy disappeared in Riverview last month, James Carroll wrote, "Someone check Riverview's mayor's basement!" on the city's Nextdoor group....

Suit: Elon Musk Said He'd Pay for Petition Signatures, Didn't

Lawsuit alleges breach of contract and unpaid wages

(Newser) - A federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Pennsylvania against billionaire Elon Musk and his political action committee, accusing them of failing to make good on a promise to pay for petition signatures during the 2024 presidential election cycle. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a Pennsylvania resident listed only as...

After 'Extraordinary Ultimatum,' Columbia Caves

Ivy League updates rules on protests, masks amid threats by Trump administration

(Newser) - Columbia University agreed Friday to put its Middle East studies department under new supervision and overhaul its rules for protests and student discipline, acquiescing to an extraordinary ultimatum by the Trump administration to implement those and other changes or risk losing billions of dollars in federal funding.
  • Backstory: Earlier this
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Ohio School District Heads to Court Over Pronoun Policy

Conservative parents group argues that district's policy violates free speech rights of classmates

(Newser) - The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati will hear arguments Wednesday in a legal dispute that pits a suburban Ohio school district's policy requiring use of students' preferred pronouns against the free speech rights of classmates who believe there are only two genders. The lawsuit brought by...

City Goes After Rape Victim for Harassment
City Goes After
Rape Victim for Harassment
LONGFORM
Feb 16, 2025 8:01 AM CST

City Goes After Rape Victim for Harassment

Sharilyn Lux says Washington state's Snoqualmie mishandled her case; city says she's been harassing them

(Newser) - It's not unusual for victims of sexual assault to see their cases vanish into the ether, with unsolved cases caught in an often apathetic legal system. Sharilyn Lux's battle with the Seattle suburb of Snoqualmie, however, takes this kind of case further, as described by Kelsey Turner in...

Trump Asks SCOTUS for Delay on TikTok Ban

President-elect wants Supreme Court to postpone barring platform until he gets into office

(Newser) - President-elect Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a "political resolution" to the issue. The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued...

Appeals Court Upholds US Ban of TikTok

It's a 'resounding defeat' for the social media platform based in China, will require ban or sale

(Newser) - A federal appeals court panel on Friday upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the US. The US Court of Appeals for the District...

University Sued Over Canceled Oct. 7 Vigil

Students for Justice in Palestine group says First Amendment rights are being violated

(Newser) - A First Amendment lawsuit has been filed in federal court to challenge the University of Maryland's decision to cancel a vigil on Oct. 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The Students for Justice in Palestine group planned the vigil to...

Arrest of the 'Russian Mark Zuckerberg' Is a Flashpoint
Arrest of
Telegram
Founder
Unprecedented
the rundown
Aug 26, 2024 8:55 AM CDT

Arrest of Telegram Founder Unprecedented

Pavel Durov remains in custody in France, and the free-speech debate has begun

(Newser) - The co-founder of the popular messaging app Telegram remains in custody in France after his surprise arrest at an airport there over the weekend. Authorities say Pavel Durov, 39, has failed to rein in criminal activity on his site, but the app in a new statement called it "absurd...

Supreme Court Punts on Social Media Speech Rights

SCOTUS returns cases in Texas and Florida claiming that users were being censored

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Monday kept a hold on efforts in Texas and Florida to limit how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube, and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. The justices returned the cases to lower courts in challenges from trade associations for the companies, reports the...

After Storm of Threats, Bragg's Office Makes an Ask

Prosecutors ask judge to keep much of Trump gag order in place in hush-money case till sentencing

(Newser) - Manhattan's district attorney has asked the judge who oversaw Donald Trump's hush-money trial to extend the former president's gag order, with modifications. The Guardian notes that the gag order, which Trump's circle has long pushed back on, was placed on Trump before his felony trial kicked...

Supreme Court Clears Way for NRA's Free-Speech Lawsuit

Gun-rights group sued a former New York state official, said she tried to get it blacklisted

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for a National Rifle Association lawsuit against a former New York state official over claims she violated its free-speech rights. As the AP reports, the unanimous opinion reverses a lower court's decision tossing out the gun rights group's lawsuit...

She Says Car-Honking Is Free Speech. Appeals Court Says No
SCOTUS Won't Hear
Challenge to Honking Law
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 2, 2024 4:20 PM CST

SCOTUS Won't Hear Challenge to Honking Law

California woman argued that hitting the horn as 'personal expression' is protected free speech

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case on whether honking a car horn is protected free speech, leaving in place a lower court's ruling upholding a California law that bans excessive honking. Lawyers for Susan Porter, who was ticketed in 2017 after honking in support of anti-Donald...

After U Penn Chief's Remarks, $100M Donation Is Withdrawn
U Penn
President
Steps Down
After Outcry
updated
Dec 9, 2023 4:49 PM CST

U Penn President Steps Down After Outcry

Elizabeth Magill, whose answers on antisemitism sparked a backlash, will remain on the faculty

(Newser) - This file has been updated with Scott Bok's resignation. Elizabeth Magill, the University of Pennsylvania president who had been pressured to resign since her congressional testimony this week about antisemitism on campus, said Saturday that she's stepping down. She will remain a tenured law faculty member, the Daily ...

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