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

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EFF: Government Needs Both the Ability to Talk to Social Media Platforms and Clear Limits, EFF Argues in Brief to Appellate Court

.....Government input into social media platforms’ decisions about user content raises serious First Amendment concerns and the government must be held accountable for violations, but not all such communications are improper, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) argued in an appellate brief filed today. 

Reuters: Democrat-led states support Biden in fight over moderating social media content

By Brendan Pierson

.....A group of Democratic state attorneys general has urged a federal appeals court to lift an order sharply curbing the ability of government officials to push social media companies to moderate content they deem harmful.

The top law enforcement officers of 20 states and the District of Columbia, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said in a filing on Friday with the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the order hampers efforts by government officials to stop the spread of false information.

Carolina Journal: Stein, DAs oppose ACLU’s move to block anti-riot law

.....NC Attorney General Josh Stein and three local district attorneys urge a federal court to reject a request to block North Carolina’s new anti-riot law. The American Civil Liberties Union is pursuing a preliminary injunction against the law.

In documents filed Friday in US District Court, Stein and the DAs from Durham, Guilford, and Wake counties rejected the ACLU’s arguments.

Washington Post: Judge throws out Trump’s ‘big lie’ defamation lawsuit against CNN

By Caroline Anders

.....A federal judge on Friday dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CNN, in which the former president said the network defamed him by associating him with Adolf Hitler.

Wall Street Journal: Nigel Farage Shows What Happens When Good Banks Go Woke

.....It’s the biggest financial scandal you’ve barely heard about in the U.S.: Two British bank executives have lost their jobs and others may follow in an uproar over politicized decisions to close customer accounts. This is a cautionary tale for Americans about what happens when good banks go woke.

Academic Freedom Alliance: AFA Sends Letter to Texas A&M Regarding Censure of Professor

.....The Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA) today sent a letter to Texas A&M regarding reports that it suspended and investigated a faculty member over comments critical of Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. According to published reports, Professor Joy Alonzo in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Texas A&M participated as a guest lecturer on the opioid crisis at the University of Texas on March 7, 2023. When a student in the class complained about her comments, she was suspended and investigated by Texas A&M and formally censured by course leaders. She was cleared of wrongdoing, but leaders at both the University of Texas and Texas A&M sent emails clearly designed to discourage constitutionally protected speech in order to avoid offending students or state politicians.

New York Times: The Mystery of How Tim Scott’s Campaign Is Spending Its Millions

By Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Alexandra Berzon

.....Mr. Scott entered the 2024 race with a war chest of $22 million, and his campaign raised $5.8 million from April through June. In that same time, he laid out about $6.6 million, a significant clip — but most of it cannot be traced to an actual vendor.

Radar: Lawyer for Kanye West's Failed Prez Campaign Blows Whistle on Alleged Crimes, Election Law Violations to FBI and Federal Election Commission

By Douglas Montero

.....Kanye West may become the subject of a criminal FBI investigation for allegedly hiring a foreign national — alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos — to work as the campaign manager on his failed 2020 presidential campaign, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned…

EdSource: California moves to silence Stanford researchers who got state data to study education issues

By John Fensterwald 

.....The California Department of Education has threatened to sue two prominent Stanford University education professors to prevent them from testifying in a lawsuit against the department — actions the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California calls an attempt to muzzle them. 

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