The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech May 25, 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]. New from the Institute for Free Speech Do States with Fewer Campaign Finance Regulations Have More Corruption? By Alec Greven .....This report examines the relationship between the states with the most corruption and the states that offer the widest range of free political expression. The states that perform the best on free political expression metrics, in this context, are those that have the fewest campaign finance restrictions. If more campaign finance regulations indeed prevent corruption, then we would expect that states with the least campaign finance restrictions to have higher rates of corruption. The report finds the opposite. Almost no states that rank highly for free political expression are highly ranked states for corruption. In fact, states that have the most robust free expression protections outperform the national average for per capita rates of corruption. PDF The Courts College Fix: Stanford and U. Washington sued for censorship deal with feds By Hudson Crozier .....Academics at Stanford University and the University of Washington have been accused of a “conspiracy” with the federal government to violate the First Amendment rights of social media users. A pending federal lawsuit named several entities who worked with federal agencies to flag social media content related to the 2020 election and COVID-19 vaccines as “misinformation” and urged platforms to suppress it as part of two initiatives – one called the Election Integrity Partnership and the Virality Project. Free Expression New York Times: Robert J. Zimmer, Who Promoted Free Speech on Campus, Dies at 75 By Sam Roberts .....Robert J. Zimmer, a mathematician who as president of the University of Chicago championed diversity not only quantitatively, in the recruitment of students and faculty, but also by protecting free expression on campus with a protocol that was later embraced by dozens of colleges across the country, died on Tuesday at his home in Chicago. He was 75… Mr. Zimmer, who presided over the university from 2006 to 2021, was instrumental in shepherding what became known as the Chicago Principles, a set of guidelines recommended by the Committee on Free Expression, a faculty group he appointed in 2014. Those guidelines have become a xxxxxx against what critics perceive as the stifling of academic freedom by colleges where students are able to insulate themselves against discomforting viewpoints — practices that are often lumped together as “cancel culture.” “Concerns about civility and mutual respect can never be used as a justification for closing off discussion of ideas, however offensive or disagreeable those ideas may be to some members of our community,” the faculty committee concluded. Daily Caller: ‘Scare Students Into Silence’: Cali School District Runs Snitching Database To Report ‘Racism,’ ‘Microaggressions’ By Alexa Schwerha .....A California school district operates a reporting system students can use to report on one another for offensive incidents, according to its website. The Acalanes Union High School District’s (AUHSD) Bias Incident Reporting System works to promote “safe environments” for students by creating a system where “incidents of harm” can be anonymously submitted for review, its website reads… The district releases a monthly report on the topics that have been reported, a mother of a student in the district, who spoke anonymously due to fear of retribution, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Some of the topics included gender identity, racial bias and sexism. The States Center Square (Arizona): Hobbs vetoes bill banning elected officials from lobbying By Carly Moran .....Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have barred public officials from being lobbyists while in office, arguing it would have been a violation of free speech. The bill, introduced by House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci, R-Lake Havasu, was one of 14 bills vetoed by Hobbs in one day. It had passed in the House with a vote of 31-26 and the Senate 16-13. Hobbs vetoed HB 2377 on May 19... “In its current form, this bill creates meaningful first amendment concerns through its definition of lobbying,” Hobbs said in a letter to Speaker of the House Ben Toma, R-Phoenix. Wiley: New Minnesota Law Targets Citizens United; Other States Planning Similar Move By Andrew G. Woodson .....On May 5, Minnesota became the first state to enact legislation prohibiting “foreign-influenced” corporations from making political contributions and expenditures. But while supporters heralded the measure, critics charged that the law does little to combat true foreign influence and instead appears intended to deter corporations from exercising their First Amendment rights pursuant to the Supreme Court's landmark Citizens United decision. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. For email filters, the subject of this email will always begin with "Institute for Free Speech Media Update." The Institute for Free Speech is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and defends the First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government. Please support the Institute's mission by clicking here. For further information, visit www.ifs.org. Follow the Institute for Free Speech ‌ ‌ ‌ The Institute for Free Speech | 1150 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]