The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech August 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]. Ed. note: The Daily Media Update will return Tuesday, September 5th. The Courts Bloomberg Law: Judges Skeptical Florida ‘Woke’ Ban Can Dodge Free Speech Claims By Chris Marr .....Florida’s defense of its “anti-woke” law restricting workplace diversity training met with skepticism from a panel of federal appellate judges, who questioned how attorneys for the state could consider the statute a limit on employers’ conduct rather than a restriction on speech. Courthouse News: Judge tosses RNC’s lawsuit against Google over emails sent to spam folders By Hillel Aron .....A federal judge agreed Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee against Google over emails seeking donations that kept ending up in their recipients' spam folders. In his 38-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Daniel Calabretta wrote that the Republican National Committee, or RNC, had "not sufficiently pled that Google acted in bad faith in filtering the RNC’s messages into Gmail users’ spam folders." He added that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — a controversial provision that shields platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google from many kinds of liability — protects Google's ability to filter spam, "including marketing emails, as 'objectionable' material'." California Globe: Two Doctors File Lawsuit Challenging California Law Requiring ‘Implicit Bias’ Training in Medical Education By Evan Gahr .....Two California doctors are challenging a state law that requires them to call the doctors they teach racists. In 2019, California passed Assembly Bill 241 by then-Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles), requiring that starting in 2022 teachers of continuing medical education for doctors would include “implicit bias” training–namely telling doctors they are bigoted whether they realize it or not... Now, two doctors who teach continuing medical education courses in California are challenging the law on First Amendment grounds. Their federal lawsuit says the requirement for teaching implicit bias amounts to compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment. FEC Daily Caller: Larry Elder Files Complaint Against RNC Over Absence At GOP Debate By Arjun Singh .....Republican presidential candidate Larry Elder has filed a complaint against the Republican National Committee (RNC) for not permitting him to attend the party’s first presidential primary debate on Wednesday. Elder had submitted a qualification petition to David Bossie, the RNC’s debate chairman, seeking a position on stage alongside eight other candidates in the race, minus former President Donald Trump. After his petition was denied, due to a poll he cited by Rasmussen Reports being deemed ineligible, Elder filed a complaint against the RNC with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for allegedly violating the Federal Election Campaign Act. Online Speech Platforms Washington Post: Elon Musk stopped policing political misinformation. The tech industry followed. By Naomi Nix and Sarah Ellison .....Social media companies are receding from their role as watchdogs against political misinformation, abandoning their most aggressive efforts to police online falsehoods in a trend expected to profoundly affect the 2024 presidential election. The States Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): California Public Records Requester Can File Anti-SLAPP Motion Objecting to Attempt to Block Request By Eugene Volokh .....From today's California Court of Appeal opinion in Iloh v. Regents of U.C., decided by Justice Thomas Goethals, joined by Justices Maurice Sanchez & Joanne Motoike; this case is important because it lets anti-SLAPP motions be brought not just by defendants who are being directly sued (here, that's the UC) but also by the "real parties in interest" whose public records request triggered the lawsuit: Wisconsin Examiner: Democrats propose anti-SLAPP legislation as Republican senator’s lawsuit against Wausau publication continues By Baylor Spears .....Wisconsin Democrats proposed a bill on Wednesday that would protect activists, journalists and others from lawsuits meant to silence or intimidate them. It comes as state Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) is continuing a lawsuit against a local Wausau publication, which has accused him of trying to bankrupt them. The bill, co-authored by Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) and Rep. Jimmy Anderson (D-Fitchburg), would allow a person being sued to file a motion to strike the lawsuit if it arises from their right of petition or free speech in connection with a public issue. Judges that find in a defendant’s favor could dismiss the lawsuit and order the plaintiff who filed the original suit to pay for the other person’s attorney fees and costs. 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 political rights to free speech, press, assembly, and petition guaranteed by the First Amendment. Please support the Institute's mission by clicking here. For further information, visit www.ifs.org. 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