July 11, 2024

The Courts

First Coast News: Judge: St. Johns County Commissioner Krista Joseph's election comments protected by First Amendment

By Jessica Clark and Isabella Casapao

.....A judge ruled Wednesday in favor of a St. Johns County commissioner accused of election interference, saying her First Amendment right to free speech is protected even at a county commission meeting.

The ruling comes after a months-long legal battle regarding comments made by St. Johns County Commissioner Krista Joseph during a November county commission meeting.

Joseph waived a flag and held an elections guide while reminding voters during a meeting that they could vote out incumbents in the upcoming August election.

She told voters if they were not happy with the way the county was going, "In less than nine months, we have an election," Joseph said.

The other county commissioners objected to her making those comments during a meeting.

In response to the incident, St. Johns County hired an outside attorney. The attorney argued Joseph's comments violated election law by speaking about an election as a county commissioner during a county commission meeting.

Bloomberg Law: Professors’ Free Speech Challenge to Idaho Abortion Law Is Nixed

By Mike Vilensky

.....An Idaho statute that university professors say criminalizes discussing pro-abortion viewpoints in the classroom can remain in place after a federal judge ruled the teachers don’t have standing to challenge it.

Because the Attorney General, who enforces the statute, says it doesn’t impact classroom speech and he wouldn’t prosecute the professors, “the Court must stay in its lane and dismiss this suit, Judge David C. Nye said Tuesday.

FEC

Washington Post: Influencer running for U.S. Senate challenges campaign finance rules

By Taylor Lorenz

.....Caroline Gleich, the Utah Democrat vying to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R), is asking the Federal Election Commission to update its rules for the age of the online influencer.

On Wednesday, Gleich, a professional ski mountaineer and online content creator, filed a request seeking permission to sidestep campaign finance rules that she says disadvantage influencers who make a living generating sponsored posts on social media.

Under current FEC rules, any sponsored social post that features Gleich and is distributed in Utah within 90 days of the Nov. 5 election could be considered a “coordinated communication.” As such, it would count as an in-kind political contribution and have to be listed in her campaign finance reports. Gleich is asking the FEC to agree that sponsored posts are “business communications” and therefore exempt from the rule.

FCC

Washington Post (Tech Brief): Democrats decry FCC commissioner’s Project 2025 involvement

By Cristiano Lima-Strong

.....Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, whom Trump appointed to the agency in 2017, wrote a portion of the report calling for a dramatic reimagining of the agency, shifting more of its focus to reining in tech giants like Facebook and Google.

Most notably, Carr’s chapter calls for enlisting the Federal Communications Commission into the Republican battle against Section 230, the law that shields digital platforms from lawsuits over user-generated content. Carr has long advocated for revamping the law on grounds that social media companies are disproportionately “censoring” viewpoints on the right, which many conservatives allege.

Trump launched a similar legally dubious broadside against the legal shield during his administration. Carr’s Project 2025 proposal doubles down on the approach.

Carr also advocated harnessing the FCC’s powers to impose “transparency rules on Big Tech” and suggested the agency could play a role in banning TikTok from the United States.

Congress

Inside Radio: Debate Over Whether The FCC Should Police AI-Generated Political Ads Airs In Congress.

.....Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel defended her proposal to require political ads on radio and television to include artificial intelligence disclosures during a congressional hearing Tuesday. She said that while the issues surrounding AI remain complex and still undefined, a proposal she circulated in May with her colleagues will help get a conversation going on what limits should be adopted.

Washington Examiner: Media group under spotlight in GOP report for alleged censorship of conservatives

By Gabe Kaminsky

.....A media coalition is under the spotlight in a new report from the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee for allegedly censoring conservatives and, in the telling of the Republican majority, violating antitrust law.

The report, released Wednesday, zeroes in on the influence of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a “cross-industry initiative established by the World Federation of Advertisers to address the challenge of harmful content on digital media platforms and its monetization via advertising,” according to GARM. But Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, led by its chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), say GARM has sought to starve conservative media outlets of advertising dollars.

Candidates and Campaigns

Washington Post: Tech winners from Trump’s 2024 platform: crypto, AI and Elon Musk

By Will Oremus

.....For a party whose leaders, including former president Donald Trump, have often railed against Big Tech, the Republicans’ new platform has relatively little to say about tech regulation…

The 16-page platform, proposed by Trump and adopted by Republican delegates Monday ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention, calls for boosting rather than restricting cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence…

“We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology,” the platform reads. “In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.”

New York Times: If Biden Drops Out, What Happens to His Money?

By Theodore Schleifer

.....If the nominee is not Mr. Biden or Ms. Harris, there is one way that the Democratic ticket might not start from zilch. In that scenario, the smartest thing financially for Democrats might be to turn to a billionaire who could turn that zero into, well, a big number followed by a bunch of zeros.

New York Times: As Rich Backers Retreat, Biden Trumpets Small Donors

By Kenneth P. Vogel

.....Mr. Biden claimed on “Morning Joe” that “97 percent of all the people contributed to us are people making under $200 — contributed under $200.” He called that “the largest contingent ever in history. I’m not positive of that, but I think that’s true.” (The claim is difficult to independently check, because campaigns are not required to disclose individual donors who give $200 or less.)

The States

PennLive: Pa. lawmakers pass bill to curb frivolous lawsuits, protect free speech

By DaniRae Renno

.....In the midst of trying to nail down an overdue state budget, Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a bill 10 years in the making, aimed at curbing frivolous lawsuits and expanding and protecting First Amendment rights.

“Freedom of speech is about the right to publicly call out deception, malfeasance and corruption by any powerful actor,” said Mike Lee, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “HB 1466 will go a long way in preventing powerful individuals and entities from weaponizing the courts against criticism that they don’t like.”

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Court Vacates "Stalking … Protective Order" Entered Against Critic of Elected Official

By Eugene Volokh

.....From Tuesday's decision in Calhoun v. Harrell by the Georgia Court of Appeals, written by Judge Anne Elizabeth Barnes and joined by Judge Elizabeth Gobeil: