August 7, 2025

The Courts

Reuters: US appeals court upholds SEC 'gag rule' over free speech objections

By Jonathan Stempel

.....In a 3-0 decision, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the rule was not unconstitutional on its face, but could violate the First Amendment depending on how it is applied.

The rule, reflecting SEC policy dating to 1972, often requires settling defendants to say at least that they neither admit nor deny the regulator's allegations.

Twelve petitioners had been appealing the SEC's decision in January 2024 not to amend the rule, including eight people whose SEC settlements triggered it.

One petitioner, former Xerox chief financial officer Barry Romeril, took a similar case to the US Supreme Court in 2022 in an appeal backed by billionaire and longtime SEC critic Elon Musk, but that court refused to consider it.

In Wednesday's decision, Circuit Judge Daniel Bress said that while some defendants find the rule coercive, they remained free not to settle, and instead to speak out against the SEC.

Ed. note: Read our amicus brief in support of petitioners and reversal here.

Courthouse News: Stanford newspaper sues over deportation fears of noncitizen writers

By Alan Riquelmy

.....The Stanford University student newspaper sued the Trump administration Wednesday claiming noncitizen, lawful residents declined writing about certain topics over fears they’ll be deported for their views.

The Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation and two unnamed students say they fear U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will revoke student visas over coverage of the conflict in Gaza. They’ve opted against covering pro-Palestinian protests at the Bay Area university and have asked for the removal of stories they’ve written about the subject, fearing the administration would deem them anti-American or anti-Israel.

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Vulgar Signs Condemning City Official, ~1200 Feet from Official's Home, Constitutionally Protected

By Eugene Volokh

.....Some excerpts from today's long decision by Judge Stacey D. Neumann in Roussel v. Mayo (D. Me.):

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Kash Patel Awarded $100K Compensatory + $100K Punitive Damages Default Judgment in Libel Suit Against Substacker Jim Stewartson (Filed in 2023)

By Eugene Volokh

.....Back in June 2023, now-FBI-Director Kash Patel sued Jim Stewartson for libel, alleging that Stewartson had falsely claimed that Patel "attempted to overthrow the government," "planned 1/6," was "guilty of sedition," was a "Kremlin asset," and paid people to "lie to congress"; some of the allegations were also about Patel's Kash Foundation. Stewartson didn't appear to defend himself, so eventually, in March 2025, Patel moved for default judgment.Yesterday, Judge Andrew Gordon (D. Nev.) granted the motion:

Free Expression

Boston Globe Magazine: He wanted to make a patriotic movie. He was prosecuted for it — and then disappeared.

By Mark Arsenault

.....Los Angeles, April 1918

There had never been a criminal trial like it in American history.

For the first time, the United States government was prosecuting a filmmaker for sedition over the contents of a movie, a storytelling medium still so novel in the early 20th century that many called the films “photoplays.”...

The prosecutor in Goldstein’s case rose for closing remarks.

“Gentlemen of the jury,” he began. “When you go to the jury room the first thing you want to do is to put a label on this defendant. Which class does he come in? Is he a traitor or is he a patriot?”

Being called traitor was so uncanny to Goldstein that he experienced a sense of dissociation, as if he were merely part of the audience at this sensational trial, rather than the main character, facing up to 20 years in prison.

With the United States at war, the government said, there were only two classes in America. “Traitors or patriots,” the prosecutor repeated, and then, indicating Goldstein, “Which is he?”

Archive link

Deadline: Thousands Of Writers Sign WGA Open Letter Slamming Trump’s “Unprecedented, Authoritarian Assault” On Free Press

By Erik Pedersen

.....More than 2,300 members of the Writers Guild of America West and East, including no shortage of heavy hitters, have signed the union’s open letter decrying the Trump administration’s “recent threats to the free press.”

“We are members of the Writers Guild of America who speak with one voice to decry the dangerous and escalating attacks on the First Amendment, independent media, and the free press,” the letter reads in part. “[Trump] regularly calls for the cancellation of news and entertainment television shows that criticize him in late-night and, most recently, The View.” ...

Here is the full text of the letter from the WGA West and East:

Candidates and Campaigns

Washington Post: How Apple could send democracy to the spam folder

By Patrick Ruffini

.....By the time 2028 rolls around, high-quality polling of the presidential race may prove very hard to come by. And it won’t be because of a natural evolution in how Americans take polls — something we pollsters are all too familiar with — but because of a switch that’s set to be flipped next month at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Apple’s new mobile operating system, iOS 26, includes a new feature designed to curb unwanted spam calls and text messages. It will do so by segregating texts that come from outside a recipient’s contacts into an unknown senders screen, where they are likely to languish unchecked. For unknown callers, the phone will automatically respond on users’ behalf to request more information before asking if they would like to pick up.

Many will cheer the likely disappearance of political fundraising texts and robocalls around election season. But not all “unknown sender” messages are created equal. The collateral damage from this update is likely to include local businesses — like those that text you to confirm a dinner reservation or doctor’s appointment — and legitimate survey research, encompassing everything from political polls to public health surveys from government agencies.

Online Speech Platforms

New York Times: The Era of A.I. Propaganda Has Arrived, and America Must Act

By Brett J. Goldstein and Brett V. Benson

.....Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections were pretty low-tech. Relying on generic bot messaging, low-quality content and mass targeting, their operations probably had limited impact.

Those days are over. With the exponential rise of generative A.I. systems, the greatest danger is no longer a flood of invective and falsehoods on social media. Rather, it is the slow, subtle and corrosive manipulation of online communication — propaganda designed not to shock, but to slip silently into our everyday digital discussions. We have entered a new era in international influence operations, where A.I.-generated narratives shift the political landscape without drawing attention.

New York Times: China Turns to A.I. in Information Warfare

By Julian E. Barnes

.....The Chinese government is using companies with expertise in artificial intelligence to monitor and manipulate public opinion, giving it a new weapon in information warfare, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents unearthed by researchers.

One company’s internal documents show how it has undertaken influence campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and collected data on members of Congress and other influential Americans.

While the firm has not mounted a campaign in the United States, American spy agencies have monitored its activity for signs that it might try to influence American elections or political debates, former U.S. officials said.

Axios: Onyx Impact launches disinformation lab for Black communities

By Delano Massey

.....Onyx Impact is launching an effort to counter digital disinformation in Black communities — tapping influencers, local Black media, and digital tools to strengthen trust, boost engagement and fight suppression ahead of elections.

Why it matters: Black Americans are disproportionately targeted by mis- and disinformation. With voting rights under pressure and AI disinformation spreading, media leaders are racing to protect trusted news ecosystems — and reclaim control of the digital conversation.

The States

New York Times: Eric Adams Is Again Denied Public Matching Funds for His Campaign

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons

.....Mayor Eric Adams of New York was again denied public matching funds for his re-election campaign on Wednesday, a major setback as he competes against former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to emerge as the strongest challenger to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee.

The city’s Campaign Finance Board said that Mr. Adams was not eligible for public funds because his campaign had provided “incomplete and misleading” information, and the board believed that the campaign had violated the law.