The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech October 24, 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]. In the News NewsNation: College campuses responding to Israel-Hamas war protests By Elizabeth Prann .....Campuses may always be a microcosm for global events, said David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech. From an administrative standpoint, he said it’s not wise to take a stance on some social issues and stay silent on others. Higher education should be just that, he said — a safe space for college education. “Our colleges and universities have not been places where people feel free to express their views,” Keating said. “And many people have been investigated in the past for having views that are contrary to the college administrators line. But now, when there’s a different line with an atrocity, it’s happened, and they can’t seem to come up with a straight statement, it leaves a lot of people angry and upset. I think this wouldn’t be the situation if colleges and universities stuck to their business, which is creating an environment for freedom of expression, diversity of viewpoints, and not investigating people for having the wrong viewpoints.” The Hill: ‘No credibility’: Critics cry foul as colleges press for free speech amid Israel-Hamas conflict By Lexi Lonas .....[C]alls for open dialogue from leaders at multiple colleges are ringing hollow for critics who point to how past free speech controversies have been handled. “They can’t pick and choose the issue. ‘Oh, we’re going to denounce this or that’ and then some other issue comes along, and they decide to be silent when a good part of the public is outraged,” said David Keating, president of the conservative-leaning Institute for Free Speech… Keating said, “A lot of these institutions have no credibility,” pointing to past campus events that have been canceled or lost official support because of controversy. Supreme Court SCOTUSblog: Justices allow federal government continued communication over social media content moderation By Amy Howe .....The Supreme Court on Friday granted a request from the Biden administration to temporarily block a lower court’s order that would limit the ability of government officials to communicate with social media companies about their content moderation policies. The Biden administration contends that it has sought only to “mitigate the hazards of online misinformation” by flagging content that violated the social media platforms’ own policies. But two states and several individuals whose social media posts were removed or downgraded counter that the government “coerced, threatened, and pressured social-media platforms to censor” them, in violation of the First Amendment. The justices also agreed to weigh in on the merits of the case during their 2023-24 term, adding yet another issue relating to social media to their docket for the current term. Three justices – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch – indicated that they would have denied the Biden administration’s request, calling Friday’s order “unreasoned” and “highly disturbing." The Courts Cowboy State Daily: Federal Court Rules Wyoming’s 100-Yard Election Buffer Zones Are Legal By Leo Wolfson ....A lawsuit challenging Wyoming’s law prohibiting campaigning within 100 yards of a polling place on Election Day was struck down Monday. A federal appeals court has overturned a 2021 Wyoming federal district court decision that had found the Cowboy State’s ban on electioneering within 100 yards, or 300 feet, of a polling place on Election Day violates the First Amendment. Three judges from the federal 10th Circuit of Appeals found that because electioneering restrictions relate to the First Amendment, free speech and the right to vote without intimidation, restrictions on political speech can face intense scrutiny in law. Washington Post: Special counsel Jack Smith pulls subpoena over pro-Trump fundraising By Josh Dawsey, Perry Stein and Devlin Barrett .....Special counsel Jack Smith has withdrawn a subpoena seeking records about fundraising by the political action committee Save America — a group that is controlled by former president Donald Trump and whose activities related to efforts to block the results of the 2020 presidential election have come under investigation, people familiar with the matter said. Free Expression The Free Press: Even Antisemites Deserve Free Speech By Nadine Strossen and Pamela Paresky .....We are living through the most horrific moment for the Jewish people in this century. It is also an especially crucial moment for the future of free speech... Both of us advocate for robust protections of free speech, subject to the sensible limits provided by the First Amendment. This is why we disagree with the recent call by Arkansas senator Tom Cotton to empower Homeland Security to deport any foreign national on our soil who expresses support for Hamas—particularly foreign nationals on student visas. The senator’s proposal is both misguided and unconstitutional. Since as far back as the 1940s, the Supreme Court has held that anyone lawfully in the United States in any capacity, including as a student, has the same speech rights as a U.S. citizen. Importantly, the First Amendment protects not just the right to speak, but the right to hear. Punishing noncitizen speakers violates not only their rights but the rights of citizens to hear their views—even the most morally repugnant. Politico Magazine: Sick of Cancel Culture? One Man Has a Surprising Solution. By Evan Mandery .....As president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Lukianoff has been either in front of the camera or behind the scenes of almost every major free speech controversy over the past 25 years. A near sui generis figure in American legal history, he’s the rarest of creatures in modern public life: someone dedicated to elevating principle over tribalism, a progressive who’s willing to ally himself with anyone — even the Koch brothers — who supports his larger cause. That cause is a near absolute commitment to the First Amendment and civil liberties. It’s premised upon a faith in the human capacity to tolerate complexity, hearkening to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s observation that “the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” That Americans can recognize the importance of the due process rights of a likely criminal or the speech rights of someone with extreme or loathsome views. Most deeply, it’s rooted in the belief that governmental and institutional authority is never more dangerous than when it infringes upon freedom of thought and expression — even when the motivation is noble. Donor Privacy Cato Daily Podcast: Are States Trying to Subvert Donor Privacy Since Bonta? .....Since 2020’s Bonta decision at the U.S. Supreme Court, states have broadly taken two approaches to donor privacy, according to Luke Wachob of People United for Privacy Foundation. Online Speech Platforms The Hill: Celebrating Free Speech Week: Why America must lead in protecting internet freedom By Bradley Smith, Greg Walden, and Loretta Sanchez .....As we celebrate Free Speech Week 2023 (Oct. 16-22), the state of global internet freedom stands in stark contrast to this deeply cherished American value. According to the just-released Freedom on the Net report, internet freedom has declined for the 13th consecutive year. Alarmingly, China retains its title as the “world’s worst environment for internet freedom,” ranking last for the ninth straight year due to the obstacles it creates to open internet access, limits it places on online expression, and its violations of internet users’ rights. The States Reason: New York's Online Hate Speech Law Raises Serious First Amendment Concerns By Gabriel Ogunjobi .....The state of New York is heading back to court to defend a law that would require social media networks to police speech deemed "hateful." "Online platforms should be held accountable for allowing hateful and dangerous content to spread," said New York Attorney General Letitia James in an October 2022 statement. "Extremist content is flourishing online, and we must all work together to confront this crisis and protect our children and communities." The legislation, Assembly Bill A7865A, went into effect in December 2022. In February, Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an injunction halting its enforcement and setting the stage for a showdown at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. The question before the court: Does the law's crackdown on so-called hate speech violate the First Amendment? 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." 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