The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech April 26, 2023 Click here to subscribe to the Daily Media Update. This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected]. In the News EFF: Texas Should Leave Its Anti-SLAPP Law Alone By Joe Mullin and Hayley Tsukayama .....The Texas Citizens Participation Act, or TCPA, has been one of the strongest laws in the nation protecting citizens against lawsuits intended to silence or punish individuals who speak up on public matters. But HB 2781, a bill making its way through the state's legislature right now, would needlessly undercut the protections Texans have enjoyed for more than a decade… A number of groups representing many different interests publicly oppose HB 2781, including Yelp, several news media outlets and organizations, the Better Business Bureau, and a coalition of groups including: Institute for Free Speech, ACLU of Texas, Americans for Prosperity-Texas, Center for Biological Diversity, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Institute for Justice, National Coalition Against Censorship, National Right to Life, National Taxpayers Union, PEN America, Public Participation Project, The Authors Guild, and the True Texas Project. The Courts CNN: Scam PAC operator uncovered by CNN’s KFile sentenced to 10 years in federal prison By Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski .....A scam PAC operator was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Monday after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering for operating a scheme to collect more than $3 million from donors during the 2016 election. Matthew Tunstall, 36, was one of three men who ran two political action committees during the 2016 campaign cycle that tricked unsuspecting donors into giving them money by using robocalls and written solicitations meant to imply they were supporting presidential candidates. But the money raised in the name of supporting the 2016 presidential candidates – both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton – were actually used to enrich themselves and pay for more robocalls and radio advertisements, according to the Department of Justice and previous KFile reporting. ACLU: Is the Government Tracking Your Social Media Activity? By Shaiba Rather and Layla Al .....Through our ongoing FOIA lawsuit, the ACLU has obtained documents showing that a wide range of government agencies are monitoring and retaining the speech of U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike — whether or not those individuals are suspected of any criminal wrongdoing. Agencies continue to pour millions of dollars into technology that enables this sustained tracking of social media activity. Free Expression Racket News: An Insider's Guide to "Anti-Disinformation" By Andrew Lowenthal .....I knew things were bad in my world, but the truth turned out to be much worse than I could have imagined. My name is Andrew Lowenthal. I am a progressive-minded Australian who for almost 18 years was the Executive Director of EngageMedia, an Asia-based NGO focused on human rights online, freedom of expression, and open technology. My resume also includes fellowships at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center and MIT’s Open Documentary Lab. For most of my career, I believed strongly in the work I was doing, which I believed was about protecting and expanding digital rights and freedoms. In recent years, however, I watched in despair as a dramatic change swept through my field. As if all at once, organizations and colleagues with whom I’d worked for years began de-emphasizing freedom of speech and expression, and shifted focus to a new arena: fighting “disinformation.” Washington Post: What’s stopping ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ from telling you how? By Sophia Nguyen .....“How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” Andreas Malm’s 2021 book calling for a more radical flank of the climate movement, does not, in fact, tell you how to blow up a pipeline... But is anything stopping some other, hypothetical book or movie from saying — not in broad strokes but directly, step by step — how to blow up a pipeline? Legal experts say that the First Amendment broadly protects speech, even speech that could or does lead to a crime, with a few carveouts… There’s also a federal statute that specifically makes it a crime to teach or demonstrate the making or use of an explosive with the intent that the information be used “for an activity that constitutes a federal crime of violence,” said Eugene Volokh, a professor at UCLA School of Law. “My theory is that this statute might be unconstitutional,” Volokh said. The Supreme Court has often said that free speech protection should not hinge on jurors’ and prosecutors’ best guesses about a distributor’s purpose. But, he added, “If somebody came to me, as a lawyer, and said they were publishing this book, I’d say, ‘Maybe you eventually might prevail under the First Amendment. But there is this statute. You could get into trouble.’ ” Newsweek: Not Only The Left. Now Conservatives Embrace Boycotts and Regulations By Paul Bond .....Conservatives are celebrating the impact of their boycott of Bud Light over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is using all the tools he can to fight Disney and other firms accused of a "woke" agenda. Long seen as the purview of the political left, boycotts and calls for regulation of big business are now being adopted by some culture war Republicans in a paradigm shift for a party long seen as unquestioningly pro-business and a recipient of its money. The tactics are dividing the GOP, with some traditionalists arguing that business should be left alone—and that making a fuss can discourage political donations. But the party's grassroots support has shifted since the era of former President Donald Trump. Jonathan Turley: Macron Gives “Le Doigt” to Free Speech: Protesters to be Prosecuted for Flipping Off the French President .....Five years ago, I wrote a column criticizing Democratic and Republican members of Congress who joined the media in gushing over an address from French President Emmanuel Macron as he called for European style censorship. Free speech has been in a virtual free fall in France for decades and Macron is a major voice in that movement. This week, the French added another outrage to Macron’s legacy by promising to prosecute three citizens who protested the President by flipping him off at an event. The use of “Le Doigt” could now land them in “La Prison.” The three will be prosecuted under France’s abusive criminal code that allows for the arrest of those who engage in speech that “affect the personal dignity or the respect owed to a public official.” It is a breathtaking denial of political speech and invites selective prosecution. If convicted, they could face a fine of 15,000 euros and potentially up to one year in prison, according to La Chaîne Info. Candidates and Campaigns Washington Post: Republicans counter Biden announcement with dystopian, AI-aided video By Isaac Stanley-Becker and John Wagner .....Shortly after President Biden announced his reelection bid Tuesday, the Republican National Committee countered with a video of its own offering a pretty predictable message: Four more years of Biden would be bad for the country. But the production was anything but old school. The 30-second spot, which envisions a dystopian future during a second Biden term, was built entirely with AI imagery, the RNC said... Such political ads are likely to become more common as AI technology proliferates... AI language models and image generators have become increasingly accessible over the past year, resulting in a torrent of realistic-looking fake visuals accompanying major news events. Campaigns eager to stay on the cutting edge have been testing out the tools — dabbling with prompts for speeches in the style of certain politicians and enhancing fundraising pitches with AI-generated art. To date, the RNC ad represents the most explicit use of the technology for political messaging. The States Horwitz Law: New Tennessee Court of Appeals Ruling Settles Previously Unanswered Questions About the Tennessee Public Participation Act By Daniel Horwitz .....As news of Dominion Voting System’s record-shattering settlement in its defamation case against Fox News spread across newswires, the Tennessee Court of Appeals quietly issued a landmark defamation decision of its own. In particular, in a little-noticed April 18, 2023 ruling in Pragnell v. Franklin, No. E2022-00524-COA-R3-CV, 2023 WL 2985261 (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 18, 2023), the Court of Appeals settled three critical and previously unanswered questions about the Tennessee Public Participation Act, Tennessee’s still-novel anti-SLAPP statute. Center Square: Committee reviews potential election reform bills By Dave Fidlin .....If ultimately passed into law, LD1336 would require organizations that qualify as ballot question committees to file campaign reports if more than $5,000 is spent on communication efforts. While such a requirement is in place in Maine communities with populations in excess of 15,000 people, LD1336 would extend it statewide, regardless of size... Will Hayward, advocacy program coordinator with the organization Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, was among the speakers providing testimony in support of LD1336. Hayward described the scenario as “a significant loophole.” But concerns about the impact LD1336 could have on municipal staffers – particularly those in small communities with minimal personnel – also were raised at Friday’s hearing. “Municipal officials appreciate that this bill intends to provide a level of transparency in municipal ballot referenda expenditures, but are concerned with the undue burden that it will place on town and city clerks,” said Rebecca Lambert of the Maine Municipal Association’s Legislative Policy Committee. Cleveland.com: Judge rejects Beachwood police chief’s effort to unmask anonymous online critics By Cory Shaffer .....A judge has rejected an attempt by the city of Beachwood and its police chief to use a defamation lawsuit to find out who wrote anonymous online comments critical of the chief. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. 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