August 1, 2024

In the News

The Sentinel: Court grants free-speech win for Fresh Vision community group in Overland Park

.....Writing that the “Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits,” United States District Judge for the District of Kansas Daniel D. Crabtree issued a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit challenging part of Kansas campaign finance laws.

Fresh Vision is a local community organization formed by James Muir and some of his neighbors to advocate for “preserving the quality of life in our unique neighborhoods while supporting the growth of small local businesses, maintaining safe neighborhoods, and promoting responsible development” in the Overland Park area.

Jonathan Turley: Bakersfield College Agrees to $2.4 Million Settlement in Free Speech Case

.....Last year, we discussed the free speech case of Matthew Garrett, formerly a tenured history professor at Bakersfield College who was investigated and disciplined after he questioned the use of grant money to fund social justice initiatives. Bakersfield College has one of the worst records on free speech in higher education and has been repeatedly sued by faculty. It will now pay another $2.4 million in a settlement to subsidize the anti-free speech actions of its administration. The question is why California taxpayers continue to allow faculty and administrators to burn through millions in these efforts to punish divergent or dissenting viewpoints…

We previously also discussed the case of History Professor Daymon Johnson who was put under investigation after he commented on the extremist comments of another professor. Professor Andrew Bond denounced the United States as a “sh*t nation” and then invited conservatives to quote him.

 In August 2019, Bond posted a statement on Facebook that:

New from the Institute for Free Speech

Institute for Free Speech Urges First Circuit to Uphold Injunction Against Maine’s Corporate Speech Ban

.....Moving to protect free political speech in Maine, the Institute for Free Speech has filed an amicus brief in Central Maine Power Company, et al. v. Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, et al. The brief urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to affirm the district court’s preliminary injunction against Maine’s so-called “foreign money” speech prohibition.

The challenged law bans political spending by entities deemed “foreign government-influenced,” which Maine defines to include American companies with minimal foreign government ownership or participation.

Specifically, the law defines a company as “foreign government-influenced” if a foreign government directly or indirectly owns as little as 5% of the company’s shares or if a foreign government-owned entity “directly or indirectly participates in the decision-making process” related to political spending, regardless of ownership level.

Congress

Washington Post: Senate passes landmark bills to protect kids online, raising pressure on House

By Cristiano Lima-Strong

.....The Senate overwhelmingly passed a pair of bills to expand online privacy and safety protections for children on Tuesday...

The bills — the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, referred to as COPPA 2.0 — represent the most significant restrictions on tech platforms to clear a chamber of Congress in decades…

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), one of the three lawmakers who voted against the package, said in a post on X last week that he opposes KOSA because it could “be used as a tool for MAGA extremists to wage war on legal and essential information to teens.” The bill’s proponents dispute the claims.

Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) also voted against the bills…

Even if signed into law, the legislation is likely to face legal challenges from the tech industry, which has successfully halted parallel child online safety laws at the state level. While many cases are ongoing, federal judges have repeatedly expressed free-speech concerns over states’ efforts to regulate social media companies, dealing a series of blows to laws aimed at protecting kids online.

NetChoice, the tech trade association that has challenged those laws, has called KOSA “unconstitutional,” citing injunctions it secured against states as legal precedent.

Chris Marchese, who leads the group’s litigation center, said Friday that the bill follows the same “model of unconstitutionality” as a defunct California law that sought to restrict the sale of violent video games to minors. The Supreme Court struck it down in 2011, ruling 7-2 that the sales were protected under the First Amendment.

The Courts

Bloomberg Law: Google Escapes Suit From RNC Over Fundraiser Email Filtering

By Maia Spoto

.....A Sacramento federal judge tossed the Republican National Committee’s complaint against Google LLC, saying it failed to argue that state business law prevents the company from filtering its fundraising emails.

Google’s alleged move to direct emails from the RNC to spam folders leading up to the 2022 midterm elections doesn’t rise to the level of substantially injuring customers that would make it an unfair practice, Judge Daniel J. Calabretta of the US District Court for the Eastern District of California wrote in a Wednesday ruling, permanently ending the case.

The RNC’s strongest allegation was that after it filed its October 2022 complaint, the mass email diversions halted, even though the RNC sent more emails leading up to the election, Calabretta wrote.

Texas Tribune: Tech groups challenge Texas law requiring parental consent for kids’ social media accounts

By Pooja Salhotra

.....Two tech industry groups, the Computer and Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block a new Texas law that would require platforms like Instagram and Facebook to register the age of all users and get consent from a parent or guardian before minors create an account…

In their legal filing, the plaintiffs argue that HB 18 unconstitutionally violates First Amendment free speech rights by forcing websites to monitor and remove certain types of speech and by restricting minors’ access to lawful speech.

FEC

The Business of Politics Show (podcast): The Referee Of Political Campaigns – Sean Cooksey (FEC)

Hosted by Eric Wilson

.....Sean Cooksey is Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. The FEC sets the regulations for campaigning at the federal level. To put it bluntly, the business of politics follows their rules and there are real consequences to that. It’s an honor to have Sean on the show. He is former Chief Counsel to Senator Josh Hawley and former Counsel to Senator Ted Cruz. The Senate confirmed Sean as a commissioner in 2020.

In our conversation, we get the insider’s perspective on how the FEC works, what the commission is working on for the 2024 cycle, and how they’re responding to new advancements in technology.

FCC

NBC News: Regulators consider first federal rule on AI-created political ads

By Alex Seitz-Wald

.....Amid a campaign tinged by concerns about so-called deepfakes, the Federal Communications Commission is proposing a first-of-its-kind rule to mandate disclosure of artificial intelligence-generated content in political ads, though it may not go into force before the election…

The new rule would require TV and radio ads to disclose whether they include AI-generated content, sidestepping, for now, the debate about whether that content should be banned outright. Existing laws prevent outright deception in TV ads.

“We don’t want to be in a position to render judgment; we simply want to disclose it so people can make their own decisions,” Rosenworcel said. 

Online Speech Platforms

The Verge: Meta blames hallucinations after its AI said Trump rally shooting didn’t happen

By Alex Heath

.....Meta’s AI assistant incorrectly said that the recent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump didn’t happen, an error a company executive is now attributing to the technology powering its chatbot and others.

In a company blog post published on Tuesday, Joel Kaplan, Meta’s global head of policy, calls the responses of its AI to questions about the shooting “unfortunate.” He says Meta AI was first programmed to not respond to questions about the attempted assassination but the company removed that restriction after people started noticing. He also acknowledges that “in a small number of cases, Meta AI continued to provide incorrect answers, including sometimes asserting that the event didn’t happen – which we are quickly working to address.”

Wall Street Journal: Iran Is Working to Undercut Trump in Presidential Election, U.S. Spy Agencies Say

By Dustin Volz

.....Iran is seeking to harm Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in covert online influence operations, fearing a return to power by the Republican nominee would inflame relations with Washington, U.S. intelligence officials said Monday.

Candidates and Campaigns

Washington Post (Tech Brief): Tech group asks Trump to clarify Section 230 stance

By Will Oremus

.....In an open letter to Trump shared with Tech Brief ahead of its publication Thursday, the Chamber of Progress — a center-left group that receives funding from Google, Apple and Amazon and supports keeping Section 230 intact — presses Trump to explain “whether you would pursue changes to or the repeal of this important law should you win the election.” (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Washington Post: Democratic convention will host hundreds of online influencers

By Taylor Lorenz

.....More than 200 creators with large followings on TikTok, YouTube and other platforms have already been issued credentials to attend the Chicago event, according to convention organizers.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties have been making intense efforts to capture online attention and generate viral hype around their presidential campaigns. The Republican National Convention, which took place in Milwaukee in July, issued credentials to more than 70 content creators.

Axios: Zoom is the new political rally

By Jacob Knutson

.....It's a new era of virtual rallies. These online events are cheaper to organize, easier to attend, and they're poised to become a powerful tools for fundraising and voter outreach this fall.   

The States

Gothamist: Mayor Adams' 2021 campaign flagged for $2.3 million gap in fundraising records

By Brigid Bergin

.....Mayor Eric Adams faces the threat of significant financial penalties that could hinder his re-election efforts after a city watchdog said his 2021 campaign failed to document $2.3 million in expenses.

The New York City Campaign Finance Board’s 900-page draft audit, dated May 31 and obtained by Gothamist through a public records request, provides an unprecedented look at extensive problems with the campaign’s record-keeping. Experts say the sheer length of the report suggests careless financial management by the Adams campaign and a failure to comply with laws and rules required of candidates who take taxpayer-funded matching money.

“It is unacceptable to treat public money so casually,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of the good government group Common Cause New York. “It’s not sufficient to direct your staff to comply with the law. You have to hire people who know the law inside out and who are meticulous in keeping track of the details.”

Center Square: Michigan AG urges media to combat misinformation, work with state

.....Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently highlighted the need for the state government and the media to work together in combating election misinformation, as public trust in the media has hit an all-time low.