April 25, 2024

In the News

The Free Speech Project (Georgetown University): After Five-Year Struggle and a First Amendment Lawsuit, Iowa Blogger Gains Press Credentials and Wins Financial Settlement

By Luke Suko

.....On Jan. 19, 2024, attorneys from the Institute for Free Speech, a nonprofit organization with a stated mission of defending First Amendment rights, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Belin. They contended that the House’s repeated and arbitrary negative responses violated her First Amendment press rights. 

The lawsuit alleged that Belin was being actively shut out by an “ever-shifting credentialing system” that was treating her unfairly because of her political leanings. Her legal filing received widespread attention and stirred multiple organizations to criticize the apparent bias shown by the House’s decisions.

Five days later, in response to the lawsuit and mounting pressure, the Iowa legislature granted Belin press credentials, without public comment. 

The Courts

Variety: TikTok Will File Court Challenge to U.S. Divest-or-Ban Law, CEO Says: ‘The Facts and the Constitution Are on Our Side’

By Todd Spangler

.....As expected, TikTok said it will file a lawsuit seeking to block the U.S.’s legislation — signed into law Wednesday by President Biden — that will ban the app unless its Chinese parent company divests its ownership stake.

In a video on TikTok, CEO Shou Zi Chew responded to the Senate’s passage of the bill Tuesday, as part of a package of foreign aid. He said TikTok will “keep fighting for your rights in the courts” and reiterated his allegation that the new law is an attempt by U.S. lawmakers to ban the app.

“Make no mistake, this is a ban. A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,” Chew said.

“It’s obviously a disappointing moment but it does not need to be a defining one, ” he continued. “It’s actually ironic, because the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.”

“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere,” Chew said. “The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.” He added, “While we make our case in court, you’ll still be able to enjoy TikTok like you always have.”

Bloomberg: Corporate Political Donations Poised to Spark Shareholder Lawsuits

By Bill Allison

.....Major US companies could face lawsuits from their own shareholders for making political donations, according to a new legal strategy progressives are advocating to reign in corporate influence on elections.

Some of the money used for a corporation’s hefty super PAC donation come from shareholders. That gives those investors standing to sue if they don’t approve of how the money is spent, according to the latest Center for American Progress report, which aims to reign in the 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United ruling that allows corporations and other groups to spend unlimited amounts on elections.

That threat of legal action could make executives of publicly traded companies less likely to donate to political causes and groups, said Tom Moore, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a co-author of the analysis.

Congress

OutKick: Senate Investigation Uncovers Why Eventbrite Censored Riley Gaines

By Ian Miller

.....Now a massive new report from Senator Ted Cruz and the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has revealed just how pernicious this censorship industrial complex has become. Detailing how companies like Eventbrite create purposefully vague terms and conditions, then rely on monstrously biased interpretations of their terms to justify shutting down individuals or events that they disagree with politically.

FEC

Law & Crime: ‘Fronting legal costs for Trump’: Federal complaint says ex-president and GOP firm violated multiple campaign finance laws by obscuring over $7.2 million in shadowy fees

By Colin Kalmbacher

.....Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and four associated political committees violated federal campaign finance law, according to a complaint filed by a nonpartisan public interest watchdog.

Late Wednesday, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted a 30-page complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that “five political committees authorized by or affiliated with former President Donald Trump” violated mandatory reporting obligations.

The complaint alleges that those reporting violations were facilitated by GOP consulting, accounting and compliance firm Red Curve Solutions in violation of federal “contribution limits and prohibitions.”

Free Expression

Fox News: AI can predict political orientations from blank faces – and researchers fear 'serious' privacy challenges

By Greg Norman

.....Researchers are warning that facial recognition technologies are "more threatening than previously thought" and pose "serious challenges to privacy" after a study found that artificial intelligence can be successful in predicting a person’s political orientation based on images of expressionless faces. 

A recent study published in the journal American Psychologist says an algorithm’s ability to accurately guess one’s political views is "on par with how well job interviews predict job success, or alcohol drives aggressiveness." Lead author Michal Kosinski told Fox News Digital that 591 participants filled out a political orientation questionnaire before the AI captured what he described as a numerical "fingerprint" of their faces and compared them to a database of their responses to predict their views. 

"I think that people don’t realize how much they expose by simply putting a picture out there," said Kosinski, an associate professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.  

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Private, Shmivate: Sit-ins, Campouts, and True Threats Are Constitutionally Unprotected at Universities, Whether Private or Public

By Eugene Volokh

.....The Wall Street Journal had an editorial this morning called "Defining Free Speech Down on Campus"; I agree that disruptive protests are unprotected by the First Amendment, but I think the editorial erred in its emphasis.

The editorial begins by arguing that no First Amendment rights to protest on privately owned property:

New York Times: New Group Joins the Political Fight Over Disinformation Online

By Steven Lee Myers and Jim Rutenberg

.....Two years ago, Nina Jankowicz briefly led an agency at the Department of Homeland Security created to fight disinformation — the establishment of which provoked a political and legal battle over the government’s role in policing lies and other harmful content online that continues to reverberate.

Now she has re-entered the fray with a new nonprofit organization intended to fight what she and others have described as a coordinated campaign by conservatives and others to undermine researchers, like her, who study the sources of disinformation.

Already a lightning rod for critics of her work on the subject, Ms. Jankowicz inaugurated the organization with a letter accusing three Republican committee chairmen in the House of Representatives of abusing their subpoena powers to silence think tanks and universities that expose the sources of disinformation.

Online Speech Platforms

Washington Post (Technology 202):  OpenAI’s rules can be ‘easily’ dodged to target Latinos, study warns

By Cristiano Lima-Strong

.....In January, OpenAI unveiled revamped policies aimed at preventing its tools from being used to spread disinformation ahead of the 2024 elections, including by blocking people from building chatbots “for political campaigning and lobbying.”

But a new study released Thursday argues that the rules can be “easily” bypassed “to maliciously target minority and marginalized communities in the U.S. with misleading content and political propaganda,” such as Latinos and Spanish speakers.

The findings, researchers say, highlight key enforcement gaps in OpenAI’s rules that could have big implications for underrepresented and non-English-speaking communities during this year’s elections.

Candidates and Campaigns

NBC News: Biden campaign plans to keep using TikTok through the election

By Monica Alba

.....Joe Biden’s re-election campaign plans to continue using TikTok for at least the next year, despite the president signing a law Wednesday that would ban the social media platform nationwide if its China-based parent company doesn’t sell it in that time frame. 

“A fragmented media environment requires us to show up and meet voters where they are — and that includes online,” a Biden campaign official told NBC News. “TikTok is one of many places we’re making sure our content is being seen by voters.”  

The States

Center Square Ohio: Lawmakers continue push to brighten ‘dark money’ contributions

By J.D. Davidson

.....Nearly five years after House Bill 6 became law and resulted in what prosecutors call the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history, lawmakers continue to push for reforms.

Democrats in the House of Representatives say ratepayers funded FirstEnergy’s campaign and other contributions to several state officials and continue to pay with higher rates and fees.

House Bill 444, sponsors say, would make utility company donations more transparent and fine those that use ratepayer funds for political purposes…

The bill, which recently had its first hearing, would ban utilities from lobbying, donating to political groups or nonprofits or public relations campaigns with ratepayer money.