Email from The Institute for Free Speech The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech November 21, 2024 Click here to subscribe to the Daily Media Update. This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected]. In the News New Hampshire Union Leader: Hearing in Bow wristband lawsuit scheduled for Thursday By Paul Feely .....Parties involved in a First Amendment lawsuit filed against the Bow School District will appear in federal court Thursday for a hearing on a preliminary injunction request. The plaintiffs in the suit — three parents and a grandparent — claim their rights were violated when they were barred from school grounds over their silent protest of a transgender athlete playing in a girls soccer game. Supreme Court Ballot Access News: U.S. Supreme Court Asks New York to Respond in Lawsuit Over Discriminatory Campaign Finance Limits By Richard Winger ....On November 20, the U.S. Supreme Court asked New York state to respond to the cert petition Upstate Jobs Party v Kosinski, 24-503. This is the lawsuit that challenges New York campaign finance limits. The law lets individuals give more money to the nominee of a qualified party than to an independent or the nominee of an unqualified party. This is a sign that the U.S. Supreme Court might possibly be interested in the case. The state’s response is due December 20. The Courts Courthouse News: ‘Sword of Damocles’: Media Matters slams Texas AG probe over Twitter advertiser exodus at DC Circuit By Ryan Knappenberger .....A D.C. Circuit panel appeared skeptical on Wednesday of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s effort to sink a First Amendment suit brought by progressive watchdog Media Matters. The challenge stems from an investigation Paxton opened into the organization following its report that major ad campaigns on X, formerly Twitter, ran next to white nationalist and antisemitic content on the app in the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media site. As part of the probe, Paxton issued a civil investigative demand — a type of subpoena commonly referred to as CID — to the organization, seeking documents related to X, Musk or X CEO Linda Yaccarino. Paxton claimed Media Matters had engaged in fraud against X and violated Texas law. Washington Examiner: Colorado to pay $1.5 million for stifling web designer’s free speech By Kaelan Deese .....Colorado officials have agreed to pay over $1.5 million to cover attorney fees for graphic designer Lorie Smith, who successfully challenged the state’s antidiscrimination law at the Supreme Court. The settlement, announced Tuesday, comes months after the high court ruled in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis that Colorado violated Smith’s First Amendment rights by attempting to compel her to create wedding websites for same-sex couples against her religious beliefs. Earlier this year, a federal district court issued a final judgment requiring state officials to cease efforts to compel Smith’s speech, a resolution that brought an end to years of legal and personal hardship. Idaho Mountain Express: Sun Valley sued for alleged civil rights violation By Gabe Barnard .....A lawsuit recently filed against the city of Sun Valley alleges that the city’s Police Department violated a Blaine County resident’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech after “a peaceful religious discussion” at a church booth during the Sun Valley Pride Festival. County resident Darcy Creech filed the lawsuit on Sept. 24 in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho. Creech is being represented by an attorney from the California-based nonprofit conservative law firm Pacific Justice Institute. Creech’s lawsuit names as defendants the city and one of its police officers who she alleges intimidated her at her home after responding to a call to the pride festival after her interaction with the church booth attendants. Trump Administration The Guardian: Don’t assume the first amendment will thwart Trump’s pro-censorious agenda By Jameel Jaffer .....A president who intends to prosecute journalists, deport student protesters, imprison flag-burners, shut down broadcasters and throw the book at whistleblowers – to list just a few of president-elect Donald Trump’s speech-suppressive ideas – is likely to collide very quickly with the first amendment. But whether the first amendment will be a real obstacle to Trump’s censorial agenda is difficult to predict. Some of Trump’s ideas will require the US supreme court to address free speech questions it has long avoided, while others will implicate precedents that the court may be eager to revisit. Trump has already appointed three of the court’s justices and he may have the opportunity to appoint more – at a time when the very meaning of free speech is deeply contested. So, yes, Trump will run up against the first amendment, but don’t take for granted that he will be thwarted by it. Congress New York Times: Trump Tells Republicans to ‘Kill’ Reporter Shield Bill Passed Unanimously by House By Charlie Savage .....President-elect Donald J. Trump on Wednesday instructed congressional Republicans to block the passage of a bipartisan federal shield bill intended to strengthen the ability of reporters to protect confidential sources, dealing a potentially fatal political blow to the measure — even though the Republican-controlled House had already passed it unanimously. The call by Mr. Trump makes it less likely that the bill — the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, or PRESS Act — will reach the Senate floor and be passed before the current session of Congress ends next month. Even one senator can hold up the bill, chewing up many hours of Senate floor time that could be spent on confirming judges or passing other legislation deemed to be a higher priority. Mr. Trump issued the edict in a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday afternoon. Citing a “PBS NewsHour” report about the federal shield legislation, he wrote: “REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!” Free Expression New York Times: On Trial at 77, Hong Kong Media Mogul Denies Conspiring With U.S. By David Pierson and Tiffany May .....Mr. Lai, 77, is accused of being the mastermind behind anti-government protests that swept across Hong Kong in 2019. Prosecutors have charged him with conspiring and colluding with “foreign forces” to undermine Beijing’s authority over Hong Kong. Mr. Lai, who has pleaded not guilty, has been in jail for nearly four years. Until Wednesday, he hadn’t spoken publicly about the accusations against him through multiple trials, and his testimony, expected to last several weeks, could be the last time he is able to do so. His case has captured worldwide attention as a symbol of Hong Kong’s political transformation since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 to bring an end to the social unrest. The authorities have used the law to crack down on rights that had long distinguished Hong Kong from mainland China, such as freedoms of speech and assembly. Billboard: Morrissey Claims War on ‘Free Speech’ Is Preventing Him from Releasing Music By Tyler Jenke .....Morrissey has asserted that his lack of recorded output in recent years isn’t due to a lack of inspiration or ideas, but rather due to a war on “free speech”. The comments were made by the former Smiths frontman at a concert in Newark, New Jersey last Wednesday (Nov. 13), with the Asbury Park Press reporting that the musician vented his frustrations in the midst of his 20-song set. “As you know, nobody will release my music anymore,” Morrissey told the crowd. “As you know because I’m a chief exponent of free speech. In England at least, it’s now criminalized. “You cannot speak freely in England. If you don’t believe me, go there. Express an opinion, you’ll be sent to prison. It’s very, very difficult.” Online Speech Platforms Fox News: Jordan Peterson calls on Trump FCC pick to unmask 'real danger' of Big Tech censorship: We need 'transparency' By Taylor Penley .....President-elect Trump's FCC chair pick Brendan Carr has a monumental task ahead of him, Dr. Jordan Peterson warned Wednesday, and exposing Big Tech's algorithmic grip on free speech is a good place to start. "At minimum, he should ensure that we know how the algorithms operate on social media networks and how things are promoted and how things are hidden," Peterson told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade in an interview that aired Wednesday on "Fox & Friends." "Because the real danger, one of the real dangers that confronts us is that our discourse is going to be mediated by intelligence systems whose mechanisms are completely hidden from us, and that actually interferes with our perception, not just our conceptions, because what we see is pre-screened in ways that are invisible to us and increasingly automated, and that's not that's not a good harbinger for the future, let's say. So transparency with regards to how things are promoted and demoted, that would be real helpful." The States The Federalist: Michigan Senate Democrats Push To Ban Unapproved Election Speech By Logan Washburn .....Democrats in the Michigan state Senate are pushing a last-minute measure to ban election speech deemed false. SB 707 would outlaw “intentionally and knowingly” making a “false statement or misrepresentation” about elections, fining anyone who violates the law $1,000. An employer of the accused “for an election-related purpose” would face $10,000 in fines. The bill passed from the majority-Democrat Elections and Ethics Committee on Nov. 13 on “a party-line vote,” said Republican state Sen. Ruth Johnson in a statement to The Federalist. State Sen. Ed McBroom and Johnson were the two Republicans on the committee, and they voted to “pass,” a third option that is not yes or no. “The two Republican members passed hoping to get more clarity on the standards that would be used to prove that something is done ‘intentionally and knowingly with intent,’” Johnson said. The Floridian: Florida Dems Move to Ban Taxpayer-Funded Political Ads After Gov's Pricey Alleged 'PSAs' By Liv Caputo .....Florida Senate Democrats plan to file a bill this session banning the use of taxpayer money for political advertising, prompted by Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration using millions of Florida dollars to fund ads against abortion and marijuana initiatives. Though Sen. Tina Polsky (D-Boca Raton) doesn't know which member will file the legislation, she feels her party must make a statement against the DeSantis administration and the Legislature's Republican supermajority... While the Florida Constitution bans the state government from using taxpayer dollars to influence elections, and Florida statute bans local governments from using public funds on political ads, using taxpayer dollars on public information campaigns or public service announcements is legal. And that's exactly what the DeSantis administration claims they did. Reason: Texas Bill Takes Aim at Online Speech About Abortion Pills By Elizabeth Nolan Brown .....A bonkers new Texas bill would ban a bunch of activities related to abortion, including taking abortion pills in other states and facilitating or hosting online speech about procuring abortions. It would also hold all abortion pill manufacturers liable for violations when a specific manufacturer could not be ascertained. "Wait—that's all constitutional?" you might be wondering. To which I say: Ha! This is clearly a bill unburdened by thoughts of constitutionality. Texas Rep. Steve Toth (R–The Woodlands) introduced the legislation, which is called the Women and Child Safety Act. "If passed, the law would allow citizens to bring civil suits against internet service providers that don't block [certain] websites," writes the feminist pundit Jessica Valenti on Substack. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. 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