August 28, 2024

In the News

NTD (Video): Social Media Platforms Juggle Laws Between Countries on the Issue of Free Speech: Expert

By Steve Lance

.....David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech, explores how Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s letter and the recent arrest of Telegram’s founder affect social media free speech. Keating highlights the uncertainty in trusting social media platforms to uphold their commitments and shares why legislation is needed to protect free speech.

ACLU of PA: Good news for free speech and holding powerful entities accountable

By Elizabeth Randol

.....Until this year, the commonwealth did have anti-SLAPP protections on the books, but Pennsylvania’s anti-SLAPP law was needlessly narrow and only protected communications to government agencies about environmental laws and regulations. In fact, the Institute for Free Speech graded PA's anti-SLAPP law a D-minus on their anti-SLAPP report card last year.

Spectrum News 1: UT Austin students back on campus following spring semester protests

By Erin Davis

.....Following the arrests, UT updated its free speech policy to allow outside law enforcement agencies to help regulate violations related to protests. Free speech experts believe the university’s policies allow for flexibility. 

“The idea that this kind of free expression activity is permitted during a wide range of hours, I think, is a plus for the university,” said David Keating with the Institute for Free Speech. 

University officials aren’t concerned about protests this semester, saying, “We’ve been crystal clear for months on where we stand about supporting free speech and at the same time enforcing our rules, including time/place/manner restrictions.” 

Congress

Wall Street Journal: The ‘Tell’ in Zuckerberg’s Letter to Congress

By Philip Hamburger

.....Mr. Zuckerberg isn’t denying that the government caused some of Meta’s censorship decisions. The letter is too carefully drafted to say something so obviously untrue. So in saying that it was “our decision” whether to take down content, Mr. Zuckerberg doesn’t claim that such decisions were unaffected by the government pressure—that was the whole point of the pressure.

In fact, Meta’s decisions often were driven by government pressure, as evident from the extensive record in Murthy v. Missouri. Mr. Zuckerberg’s phrasing about “our decisions,” however, sidesteps the causation question. It avoids any overt concession that the efforts to influence the company actually caused Meta to suppress speech.

The Hill: Lawmakers call for crackdown on AI deepfakes after Grok backlash

By Miranda Nazzaro

.....A group of Democratic lawmakers are pushing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to increase regulation on artificial intelligence (AI) deepfakes following the release of the social platform X’s chatbot Grok.

In a Monday letter to the FEC, Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) and a handful of other House members asked the regulatory agency to clarify whether AI-generated deepfakes of election candidates are classified as “fraudulent misrepresentation.”

In doing so, the lawmakers threw their support behind a July 2023 petition by Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights watchdog group. The group asked the FEC to propose rules on deceptive AI in political campaigns amid rising concerns about the dangers deepfakes pose during the election season…

Sean Cooksey, the Republican chair of the FEC, pushed back against the letter’s demands, writing, “Our First Amendment rights don’t disappear when we use an AI image generator to express ourselves.”

“While the FEC will continue to enforce the campaign-finance laws on the books to promote transparency and accountability, I oppose any effort to suppress political speech by regulating a technology that few agencies even understand,” he wrote in a statement to The Hill. “Our elections should be decided at the ballot box after a free exchange of arguments and ideas.”

Candidates and Campaigns

Wall Street Journal: Biden-Harris Administration: No Remorse for Free-Speech Abuses

By James Freeman

.....If the vice president deigns to sit down for an extended discussion with a member of the news media, the lucky reporter should demand to know why the Biden-Harris administration still won’t repudiate its abuse of First Amendment rights. The government’s refusal to admit fault for pressuring social-media companies to silence dissenting voices virtually guarantees that such abuses will happen again if she’s elected president.

Online Speech Platforms

Associated Press: Social platform X edits AI chatbot after election officials warn that it spreads misinformation

By Christine Fernando

.....The social media platform X has made a change to its AI chatbot after five secretaries of state warned it was spreading election misinformation.

Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter this month to Elon Musk complaining that the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, produced false information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

The States

Texas Tribune: In regulating AI, Texas lawmakers face balancing act between its benefits and harms

By Pooja Salhotra 

.....A group of state lawmakers began wading through the complex world of artificial intelligence Tuesday, providing an early glimpse at how Texas may seek to regulate the booming technology.

During a nearly four-hour hearing, the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee heard a wide range of concerns about the potential risks of AI, including the spread of misinformation, biased decision-making and violations of consumer privacy. By the end of the hearing, at least some of the 11 committee members appeared convinced that the state should enact laws that regulate how and when private companies use artificial intelligence.

South Carolina Daily Gazette: SC attorney general says Democratic donor platform ActBlue may have broken rules

By Abraham Kenmore

.....South Carolina’s attorney general is questioning whether a major fundraising platform for Democrats committed fraud. State Democratic leaders and a representative of the platform contend the allegations are nonsense.

The allegations are outlined in a letter released Monday from Attorney General Alan Wilson to the CEO of Massachusetts-based ActBlue — a platform that processes donations to Democratic campaigns. ActBlue acts as a pass-through, sending donations made online to candidates in exchange for a percentage fee.

Wilson says ActBlue may have split large donations into smaller donations to avoid campaign limits, which he likened to a “smurfing” money-laundering scheme. He also says the platform may have allowed for “straw donors,” when one person makes a donation on behalf of another.

Syracuse.com: Upstate NY judge faces removal after displaying statue with Confederate flag

By Anne Hayes 

.....A town judge in Herkimer County faces removal after several incidents of misconduct, including displaying a statue depicting the Confederate flag on his desk.

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct announced Monday Salisbury Town Court Justice Thomas F. Rathburn, who is not an attorney, should be removed from his office.

The commission listed several concerning issues with Rathburn. In addition to displaying the Confederate symbol, Rathburn made comments on social media that showed support for the Confederacy, disparaged President Abraham Lincoln and failed to complete some of his duties as a town justice.