May 2, 2024

The Courts

Law & Crime: Driver can’t make Hawaii issue a license plate expressing ‘profane’ opposition to Black Lives Matter: Judge

By Elura Nanos

.....A federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed by a vocal critic of Black Lives Matter challenging the city of Honolulu’s refusal to allow him to register his red Pontiac Firebird with a vanity plate reading “FCKBLM.”

Edward Odquina sued the city after his preferred license plate was revoked for being too profane. In his complaint, Odquina explained that “BLM” was an acronym for “Black Lives Matter,” and described the group as having been founded in response to the death of Trayvon Martin.

Congress

Newsweek: Congress Must Stop Biden's Weaponization of Government Against Pro-Lifers

By Mike Lee and Chip Roy

.....How can Laken Riley's murderer, an illegal alien, be repeatedly arrested and set free while Paul Vaughn, an American father, faces an 11-year prison sentence for singing hymns outside an abortion clinic? One word: weaponization. President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland have weaponized the Department of Justice, including the FBI, against anyone and everyone with whom they disagree.

Vaughn was convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for nothing more than exercising his First Amendment rights. In the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the FACE Act has become President Biden and radical progressive Democrats' primary way of advancing their radical abortion agenda.

Vaughn is not alone. Mark Houck, a pro-life father from Pennsylvania, was arrested at his home by FBI agents. Guns were pointed at him, his wife, and his children...While Houck has since been acquitted, the FBI sent a clear message to pro-life Americans exercising their First Amendment rights: If you peacefully stand up for life, we will make you suffer.

These cases demonstrate that, for the Biden administration, the First Amendment is a selective privilege, not an inalienable right.

PEN America: Bill Intended to Combat Antisemitism Could Also Undermine Free Speech, Academic Freedom and Legitimate Political Discourse

.....PEN America said it was gravely concerned over adoption by the House of Representatives on Wednesday of H.R.6090, the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which it characterized as an overbroad bill that could harm academic freedom, free speech, and legitimate political speech.

Combating antisemitic speech and bigotry is an urgent imperative and one that PEN America seeks. In light of the significant rise in antisemitic incidents around the country, the goal is more important than ever, the free speech and free expression organization said.

FEC

FEC approves two advisory opinions

.....Advisory Opinion 2024-05 (Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom) The Commission approved an advisory opinion in response to a request from Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom. The Commission concluded that federal candidates and officeholders may solicit funds for the requestor and for the state ballot initiative outlined in the request without regard for the amount limitations and source prohibitions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act). During the discussion, the Commission heard from counsel for the requestor. The Commission received one comment on the advisory opinion request and two comments on the draft advisory opinion, as well as Supplemental Material from the requestor.

Dallas Morning News: Federal elections regulator from Texas has Ted Cruz campaign sign in front yard

By Joseph Morton

.....Elections lawyer Trey Trainor recently reposted a photo his wife, Lucy Trainor, shared on X, featuring a campaign yard sign for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, displayed outside their home near Austin.

The post raised eyebrows given Trey Trainor’s seat on the Federal Election Commission, the government agency responsible for enforcing campaign finance rules.

Cruz is the subject of a high-profile complaint filed with the FEC over more than $630,000 in advertising revenue that flowed from the senator’s podcast to a super PAC backing his reelection.

The public show of support for Cruz does not violate the law, but it could raise the appearance of bias by a government regulator, campaign finance lawyer Brett Kappel said.

Rules were overhauled in 2011 to remove prohibitions on FEC commissioners engaging in political activity such as displaying campaign yard signs, Kappel said.

The Media

AP News: News organizations have trust issues as they gear up to cover another election, a poll finds

By David Bauder

.....Even as many Americans say they learn about the 2024 election campaign from national news outlets, a disquieting poll reveals some serious trust issues.

About half of Americans, 53%, say they are extremely or very concerned that news organizations will report inaccuracies or misinformation during the election. Some 42% express worry that news outlets will use generative artificial intelligence to create stories, according to a poll from the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The poll found 47% of Americans also expressing serious concern that news outlets would report information that has not been confirmed or verified, and 44% worry that accurate information will be presented in a way that favors one side or another.

Online Speech Platforms

Philadelphia Inquirer: I am an organizer in Pennsylvania. Instagram’s new policy threatens young people in an age of low youth participation in politics.

By Jacob Fuller

.....In late March, I awoke to the news that Instagram, perhaps the biggest social media platform for young people in the United States, would automatically limit recommending political content to users unless they proactively opt in.

As someone who has spent most of my career focused on engaging young people in the political process, this decision was deeply troubling. But perhaps what was more troubling was the shocking lack of coverage and outrage on this wildly consequential decision. While many were preoccupied with the proposed forced sale of TikTok, Instagram’s policy went quietly under the radar. Yet this ill-timed decision will likely have disastrous consequences for speech online, and the future of our democratic process.

I am an organizer in Pennsylvania in my early 20s, and Instagram has been the single most useful tool for engaging with young people in politics. Compared to platforms like TikTok, users on Instagram largely decide what they see in their feed. This has led to the rise of local networks in which information can be distributed to members of a community, rather than to everyone on the platform. Using this, organizers can share information, highlight upcoming gatherings, and give important updates to just those following them.

Oversight Board: Content Moderation in a Historic Election Year: Key Lessons for Industry

.....The Oversight Board, an independent body of 22 human rights and freedom of expression experts from around the world and across the political spectrum, has made the protection of elections and civic space one of our seven strategic priorities. We believe it is crucial that social media platforms defend an open civic space in which people, including members of political oppositions, human rights defenders and marginalized voices, can freely express their opinions, share information and participate in democratic processes. In this year of elections, it is especially important to identify ways in which social media companies can better safeguard the integrity of elections, while respecting freedom of expression. At the Oversight Board, our recommendations have already led to Meta committing to better practices, but more work needs to be done, including by Meta, and other platforms and regulators.  

This paper draws on our analysis in relevant cases, which consider emblematic pieces of content on Meta’s platforms, to highlight some of the ways social media companies can better protect political speech and counter online challenges to the safe and reliable conduct of elections, under the guidance of international human rights standards. Through the collective insights gained from these cases, we also share our key lessons for industry that are described in full in this paper’s final chapter.

New York Times: Meta Faces E.U. Investigation Over Election Disinformation

By Adam Satariano

.....Meta, the American tech giant, is being investigated by European Union regulators for the spread of disinformation on its platforms Facebook and Instagram, poor oversight of deceptive advertisements and potential failure to protect the integrity of elections.

On Tuesday, European Union officials said Meta did not appear to have sufficient safeguards in place to combat misleading advertisements, deepfakes and other deceptive information that is being maliciously spread online to amplify political divisions and influence elections.

The States

Cal Matters: California passed a law to stop ‘pay to play’ in local politics. After two years, legislators want to gut it

By Yue Stella Yu

.....Described by its author as the “most significant political reform” in decades, a 2022 law designed to limit businesses’ and contractors’ attempts to sway local elected officials with campaign contributions cleared the California Legislature without a single “no” vote.

Two years later, some of the same legislators who backed the measure want to water it down — and they have the backing of developers and labor unions.

Sen. Bill Dodd, a Napa Democrat, is championing a bill to loosen restrictions on how much — and when — local elected officials can accept in campaign cash from interest groups who would benefit financially from those officials’ pending decisions. The bill would also exempt certain industries — such as some labor unions and housing developers — from those restrictions to prevent “pay to play.”

“It has become very apparent that there are problems,” Dodd said of the existing law. “The law essentially freezes out a sector of the community from donating anything directly to candidates.”

Senate Bill 1243 cleared the Senate Elections Committee 4-1 on Tuesday despite concerns from the committee’s chairperson, Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who criticized the bill as “unworkable” and “problematic.” 

The City: State Campaigns Are About to Rake in $100 Million of Public Funding — While Also Spending All The Private Money They Want

By Alyssa Katz

.....Kim’s situation highlights a controversial aspect of the new campaign finance system’s design: there is no limit to how much participating campaigns can spend outside the program — so candidates can benefit from small-dollar matching and big-donor spending at once.

In contrast, New York City’s decades-old public finance system does impose a strict spending cap. And, while the city program faces scrutiny under multiple corruption scandals — including straw donor schemes in support of New York City Mayor Eric Adams — the state model will not audit the majority of campaigns, a condition set by the legislature when it approved the program. The money involved is substantial: The new state budget provides $100 million for matching funds, nearly one-third of the total New York City has given candidates in the entire 36-year history of its system.

“You have candidates who try to exploit the campaign finance system while spending their own and independent expenditure money to try to buy elections, which defeats the purpose of having a democratic matching system in the first place,” said Kim.