July 19, 2024

Ed. note: The Daily Media Update will return Tuesday, July 23.

In the News

Philadelphia Inquirer: A new law protects Pa. citizens from retaliatory lawsuits for speaking out

By David Gambacorta

.....A new state law promises to push back against a “disturbing increase” in SLAPP cases, and provide citizens with a badly needed layer of free speech protection…

“This is more important than ever,” said David Keating, president of the Washington-based Institute for Free Speech, a nonprofit focused on protecting First Amendment political speech rights.

In 2022, the institute estimated that, in states with poor anti-SLAPP laws, defeating a meritless defamation lawsuit could cost a defendant $21,000 to $55,000. In some instances, that price tag could rise to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Few social media users, Keating said, understand that an offhand post — a bad Yelp review here, a pointed Facebook community comment there — could result in being on the receiving end of a costly, vengeful lawsuit.

“Even totally frivolous lawsuits can make your life really miserable,” he said…

“I think the number of SLAPPs is going to go down a lot,” Keating said. “It’s a totally different dynamic.” …

On its website, Keating’s institute lists a range of people and groups that have benefited in states with strong anti-SLAPP laws, from conservative Christians and Hollywood filmmakers, to environmental activists and anti-abortion groups.

“It’s always been a bipartisan issue,” Keating said.

ArcaMax reprint

Spotlight PA: Pennsylvania expands protections against frivolous suits aimed at curtailing free speech

By Sarah Nicell

.....Pennsylvanians have new protections against lawsuits meant to silence public expression under a bill Gov. Josh Shapiro signed into law this week…

Last year, Pennsylvania received a D- in the Institute for Free Speech’s anti-SLAPP report card because state law at the time was so narrow.

New from the Institute for Free Speech

Free Speech Arguments – Is California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act Constitutional? (NetChoice, LLC v. Bonta)

.....NetChoice, LLC v. Bonta, argued before Judges Milan D. Smith, Jr., Mark J. Bennett, and Anthony D. Johnstone in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on July 17, 2024. Argued by Robert Corn-Revere (on behalf of NetChoice, LLC) and Kristin Liska, Deputy Attorney General (on behalf of Robert Bonta, Attorney General of the State of California).

A Description of the Law, from the Appellee’s Response Brief:

The Courts

WABE: Georgia Democrats sue to overturn law allowing unlimited campaign cash, saying GOP unfairly benefits

By AP News

.....Georgia Democrats are suing to overturn the ability of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and others to raise unlimited political contributions and spend them on behalf of any political cause.

The Democratic Party of Georgia on Thursday filed suit against the governor in federal court in Atlanta. The lawsuit asks a judge to declare that a 2021 law that created leadership committees is unconstitutional because it unfairly gives unlimited fundraising powers to some people but not others.

Tennessee Lookout: U.S. Appeals Court upholds Tennessee drag show ban

By Sam Stockard

.....The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court’s ruling and upheld Tennessee’s 2023 ban on adult cabaret entertainment in front of children.

The court found that Memphis theater group Friends of George’s, which puts on drag shows, failed to show standing in its challenge of the state law and instructed the U.S. District to dismiss the case.

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): First Amendment Doesn't Protect Being "Foreign Government [Agent] Without Notice to the Attorney General"

By Eugene Volokh

.....From U.S. v. Liang, decided Tuesday by Judge Indira Talwani (D. Mass.):

"Defendant Litang Liang is charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government without notice to the Attorney General, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 951, and conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. The Indictment alleges that between July 2018 through at least 2022, Liang acted under the control or direction of officials of the People's Republic of China ("PRC") without notifying the Attorney General of his status as an agent of a foreign government…."

Washington Free Beacon: WaPo Columnist Max Boot Accused Trump Figures of Acting as Foreign Agents. Now, His Wife Is Accused of Working Covertly for a Foreign Government

By Chuck Ross

.....During the Trump administration, Washington Post columnist Max Boot called for "ramp[ed] up enforcement" of foreign agent laws to curb "foreign influence" in American politics. The federal government has indeed beefed up enforcement of those statutes, but it may have hit closer to home than Boot expected.

Boot’s wife, former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry, was indicted on charges this week for acting as an unregistered foreign agent of South Korea. 

Free Expression

Campus Reform: UCLA prof bans in-class recordings to protect free speech

.....Susanne Lohmann, a political science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) recently announced that she would fail students in certain classes of hers who recorded lectures or class discussions. 

Lohmann said that the decision was a necessary one in order to protect students from the fear of being attacked for expressing controversial viewpoints during in-class debates.

In a sample course syllabus that Lohmann provided to Campus Reform, she explained that her policy aimed to protect free speech by empowering students to meaningfully engage with controversial political issues.

FIRE (So to Speak Podcast): Political violence and speech

.....On today's show we explore political violence: its history, its causes, and its relationship with free speech. Flemming Rose is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. He previously served as foreign affairs editor and culture editor at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. In 2005, he was principally responsible for publishing the cartoons that initiated the Muhammad cartoons controversy.

Nadine Strossen is a professor emerita at New York Law School, former president of the ACLU, and a senior fellow at FIRE.

Jacob Mchangama is the founder and executive director of The Future of Free Speech. He is a research professor at Vanderbilt University and a senior fellow at FIRE.

The States

Courthouse News: Chicago passes ordinance against ‘hate litter’

By Dave Byrnes

.....The Windy City Wednesday approved a new ordinance targeting "intimidating" flyers, three months after antisemitic signs, some attacking the Anti-Defamation League, were found in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood…

The new ordinance, as approved Wednesday, penalizes materials left on private or personal property that "without the property owner’s consent, knowingly subject[s], or having ground to know that they may subject, another person or group of people to intimidation or defamation, threats of physical injury, violence, or a hate crime, or in reasonable apprehension thereof such that would cause alarm in others, disturb the peace, or provoke violence."

Those found violating the law will face fines between $500 and $1,000 per offense. Law enforcement will also note if the flyers accompany a hate incident for city records.

Boulder Reporting Lab: Trial date set for former Boulder council candidate’s defamation lawsuit against political organizer

By John Herrick

.....A defamation lawsuit stemming from the 2021 City of Boulder election has been set for a five-day trial on May 12, 2025, marking a critical point in a protracted court battle that raises significant questions about political speech and campaign tactics.

In 2021, Steve Rosenblum, a former candidate for the Boulder City Council, filed a lawsuit alleging that members of the political group Boulder Progressives conspired to spread defamatory statements about him. The allegations center on the creation of an X (formerly Twitter) account in Rosenblum’s name, which included a link to a blog called Safer Leaks that featured some statements falsely attributed to Rosenblum.

Colorado Sun: Dave Williams sent the Colorado GOP $60,000. The party says it’s not reimbursement for campaign help.

By Sandra Fish and Jesse Paul

.....A new batch of federal campaign finance reports this week are raising more questions about how the Colorado GOP spent money to help party Chairman Dave Williams’ unsuccessful run for Congress.