This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected].  

Committee on House Administration: American Confidence in Elections: Protecting Political Speech

.....On Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. ET, the Committee on House Administration will hold a full committee hearing titled, “American Confidence in Elections: Protecting Political Speech.” The hearing will take place in room 1310 of the Longworth House Office Building.

Livestream here.

SCOTUSblog: Petitions of the Week

New York Times: These Are the Charges Against George Santos

By Nicholas Fandos and Rebecca Davis O’Brien

.....Federal prosecutors have charged Representative George Santos of New York with 13 counts of money laundering, stealing public money, wire fraud and making false statements to Congress.

Here is an overview of the charges contained in the indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday.

Carolina Journal: ACLU seeks injunction against new anti-riot law, wants all DAs as defendants

.....The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking an injunction against North Carolina’s new anti-riot law. ACLU is also asking a federal judge to rule that every local district attorney will be treated as a defendant in the case.

The group filed paperwork in U.S. District Court Monday asking for a preliminary injunction against the law approved earlier this year. In separate documents, ACLU is asking for certification of all N.C. district attorneys as a “defendant class” in the case.

These latest requests follow the group’s April 10 lawsuit challenging the law, which is set to take effect Dec. 1. The anti-riot law was filed as House Bill 40.

Time: The Case for Protecting AI-Generated Speech With the First Amendment

.....AI itself is not human and cannot have constitutional rights, writes Cass Sunstein, just as a vacuum cleaner does not have constitutional rights. But it seems pretty clear that content created by generative AI probably has free speech protections. It is speech. It is speech that is created out of the raw material of human speech. It is created from code made by humans. It certainly contributes to the marketplace of ideas—it may well contribute too much. The modern Court has shown over and over that government cannot restrict speech because of its message, its subject matter, or its content. [See “Police Department v. Mosley”] At the same time, it makes sense that government can restrict any AI speech that is traditionally not protected by the First Amendment: libel, criminal solicitation, false advertising, child pornography, and speech that leads to imminent lawless action. Such speech is unconstitutional, whether it is created by a human, an algorithm, or a toaster. The question is whether government can regulate AI to prevent unconstitutional speech.

AP News: North Dakota governor outlaws pronoun policies in schools

.....North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a bill that prohibits public schools and government entities from requiring teachers and employees to refer to transgender people by the pronouns they use, the governor’s office announced Monday...

South Florida Sun Sentinel: Judicial activism excludes municipalities from Florida’s anti-SLAPP law

.....In a recent Florida appellate court decision — William B. Crosby, III v. Town of Indian River Shores — the majority ruled that Florida’s anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws do not apply to governmental entities…

Casper Star-Tribune: Wyoming GOP debates where to draw the line for free speech in meme controversy

By Maya Shimizu Harris

.....The Wyoming Republican Party was united in condemning Laramie Democrat Rep. Karlee Provenza for posting a meme concerning transgender people that was criticized for its violent overtones.

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