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

Wall Street Journal:  U.S. Supreme Court Rules Web Designer Can Refuse Work on Same-Sex Wedding Announcements

By Jess Bravin

.....The Supreme Court sided with a Colorado web designer’s claim that the First Amendment entitles her to refuse commissions for same-sex wedding announcements, providing a victory for religious conservatives still smarting from the court’s 2015 ruling granting marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples.

Washington Post: Supreme Court’s ruling on online harassment outrages victims, advocates

By Taylor Lorenz

.....On Wednesday, victims of that harassment and their advocates reacted with dismay at the court’s 7-2 ruling, written by Justice Elena Kagan, that found that while true threats of violence aren’t protected by the First Amendment, other harassing online speech is, unless prosecutors prove a defendant acted recklessly and “disregarded a substantial risk that his communications would be viewed as threatening violence.”

People United for Privacy: Surveying the Landscape on Donor Privacy Two Years After AFPF v. Bonta

.....The First Amendment scored a major victory two years ago this week when the Supreme Court issued its decision in Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) v. Bonta. The ruling, which was broadly supported by the nonprofit community, struck down a requirement from the California Attorney General that every nonprofit organization soliciting funds in the state report the names and addresses of their donors to state officials.

Washington Post: Meta Oversight Board calls for Cambodian leader’s accounts to be suspended

By Regine Cabato and Rebecca Tan

.....The social media giant Meta’s Oversight Board called Thursday for the immediate suspension of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for inciting violence — a request that could shape how political speech is regulated online, experts say.

This is the first time the Oversight Board, created by the company to adjudicate difficult content decisions, has asked for a head of government to be banned from Meta’s platforms, which have struggled in recent years to balance freedom of expression with abusive online behavior, including incitements to violence from political leaders.

New York Post: Ex-NYC Council candidate driven to Rikers Island for cushy weekend prison stays

By Steve Janoski

.....A former City Council candidate who got a slap on the wrist sentence for trying to steal almost $20,000 in campaign donations only goes to prison on the weekends — when a black van picks her and her baby up to bring them to Rikers Island, The Post has learned.

Celia Dosamantes, 33, was sentenced in 2018 to four months’ worth of weekends behind bars for her crimes, which included faking donations to get a 6-for-1 match from taxpayers’ coffers for her doomed campaign three years earlier.

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