June 28, 2024

In the News

EWTN News Nightly: Wednesday, June 26, 2024

.....IFS Senior Attorney Charles "Chip" Miller speaks to host Tracy Sabol about the Supreme Court's ruling in Murthy v. Missouri.

Supreme Court

Wall Street Journal: Murthy Wounds, but Doesn’t Kill, Free Speech on Social Media

By Jed Rubenfeld

.....At oral argument, several justices telegraphed their skepticism about standing. Writing in these pages in January 2023, I warned that the Murthy case might be kicked out of court on just these grounds. But the plaintiffs’ lack of standing doesn’t mean that no one has it. The Murthy opinion points to two kinds of cases as stronger candidates for standing.

National Review: The Supreme Court Gives Biden a Mulligan for Stifling Free Speech

By The Editors

.....But what the case revealed was nonetheless a scandal. The Biden administration should be held politically accountable for its pervasive and illiberal campaign to silence the speech of its domestic enemies. Moreover, Congress can and should consider legislation to rein in the abuse of the executive branch in this fashion in the future. If Democrats are actually as afraid of an authoritarian second Trump administration as they claim, they should support such reforms.

The Courts

New York Times: Vermont Man Arrested After Giving Trooper Middle Finger Gets $175,000

By Sara Ruberg

.....A Vermont man who was arrested in 2018 for flashing a middle finger and cursing at a state police trooper received $175,000 this month to settle a lawsuit he had brought against the state and the arresting officer, according to court documents.

The man, Gregory Bombard, 57, of St. Albans, Vt., accused the state trooper of having violated his First Amendment rights.

ABC News: Racial justice, free speech groups join fight against potential TikTok ban

By Haleluya Hadero

.....A dozen social and racial justice groups said Thursday that the federal effort to require a sale or ban of TikTok would suppress speech from minority communities by disrupting a critical tool many use to establish connections online and advocate for causes…

They say the platform has empowered diverse communities in online conversations and placed “marginalized views squarely before new audiences,” enabling them “to break down stereotypes that persist in America and globally.” The brief claims this happens because the platform gives communities increased reach and the ability to bypass “entrenched hierarchies” found on other social media platforms.

Congress

The Hill: Ohio Democrat introduces bill to protect against AI-generated election misinformation

By Cheyanne M. Daniels 

.....Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) has introduced legislation to protect voters against artificial intelligence-created election misinformation. 

The Securing Elections from AI Deception Act seeks to ban the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to deprive or defraud individuals of their right to vote and require disclaimers on AI-generated content. 

FCC

Reuters: FCC chair asks telecoms to detail efforts to block fraudulent AI political robocalls

By David Shepardson

.....The chair of the Federal Communications Commission asked AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, and other cable and telecom carriers to detail efforts to crack down on fraudulent political robocalls that are generated by AI, the agency said Thursday…

"We know that AI technologies will make it cheap and easy to flood our networks with deepfakes used to mislead and betray trust," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel wrote to the companies in a letter first reported by Reuters. "It is especially chilling to see AI voice-cloning used to impersonate candidates during elections. As AI tools become more accessible to bad actors and scammers, we need to do everything we can to keep this junk off our network."

Free Expression

Fox News: Treatment of Assange was a shameful stain on our First Amendment

By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

.....There is a reason why the Founding Fathers enshrined freedom of the press in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is crucial for democracy to function. Democracy requires transparency. Without it, government cannot be accountable to the public. A vigorous free press makes the workings of government visible, focusing foremost on that which the government wants to hide.

President John F. Kennedy understood well that secrecy is inimical to democracy. In his address to the American Newspaper Publishers in 1961, he stated, "The very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it."

Fox News: High school coach fired after pushing to change state trans athlete law: 'Vilified' for standing up for girls

By Taylor Penley 

.....An Oregon high school track and field coach says his First Amendment rights were violated when a local school district terminated his contract for sending letters to state officials, advocating for a change in laws concerning transgender athletes.

The States

AP News: Wisconsin Supreme Court says an order against an anti-abortion protester violated First Amendment

By Scott Bauer

.....The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an order barring an anti-abortion protester from coming close to a Planned Parenthood nurse violated his First Amendment free speech rights and must be overturned.

The court, controlled 4-3 by liberals, ruled unanimously in ordering that the injunction be dismissed.

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): New California Precedent on Anti-Harassment Orders and Public Speech About People

By Eugene Volokh

.....I was glad to see that the California Court of Appeal published its opinion in Luo v. Volokh, following a request by the First Amendment Coalition. (In California, any person or organization may ask a court to publish an opinion that was initially released as nonpublished.) The opinion thus becomes precedent in California, and might prove helpful in cases such as Adams v. Gulley, the case discussed in the "California Judge Orders Removal of Reddit Criticism of Scientist/Consultant Who Publicly Criticized English Lucy Letby Murder Trial" post.

Here again is the key reasoning in the newly published opinion: