This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected].  

Common Sense with Paul Jacob: Pro Bono No Bueno

.....The Texas Ethics Commission is considering whether to effectively ban pro bono legal work for candidates. The method? Mandate that such work be regarded as an in-kind contribution subject to campaign finance regulations. 

David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech, observes that most candidates “can’t afford to hire counsel and spend probably hundreds of thousands of dollars challenging the constitutionality of a law where the opinion may not come out until after the election. . . . Basically, the opinion would slam the courthouse door shut to candidates and most political committees.”

Early Returns - Law and Politics with Jan Baran: Evan and Oscie Thomas on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the Supreme Court Then and Today

.....In the past 50 years, there may not have been a more important Justice on the Supreme Court than Sandra Day O’Connor...

The Center Square: Lawsuit alleging government collusion with social media companies to censor speech expands

.....Officials from the White House, Centers for Disease Control, the FBI and 11 other federal agencies are being added to a lawsuit alleging collusion with social media companies to censor speech.

Daily Beast: She’s Trying to Fix the FEC. She May Be Breaking It More.

.....After years of Republican commissioners on the Federal Election Commission refusing to take action against potential violators, Democratic commissioners thought they had a legal end-around: litigants are able to sue the FEC when it’s deadlocked, and when the FEC still doesn’t come to a conclusion, the litigants can then seek remedy in the courts.

But in August, the six-commissioner agency seated a new Democratic member—and when it comes to one key issue, she’s not voting with Democrats.

The bell tolled last week, when the FEC released a batch of decisions on enforcement matters. 

Richmond Observer: When anti-government speech becomes sedition

.....Anti-government speech has become a four-letter word.

Reason ("Volokh Conspiracy"): PayPal Still Threatens $2500 Fines for Promoting "Discriminatory" "Intolerance" (Even if Not "Misinformation")

.....Yahoo! Finance (Adam Sabes) reported yesterday (as did many other sites):

“A new PayPal user agreement that threatens to fine users up to $2,500 if they use the service to 'promote misinformation,' was sent out 'in error,' a PayPal spokesperson tells FOX Business.” …

But it appears that the policy continues to be in effect for other speech, according to PayPal's official Acceptable Use Policy, last updated Sept. 20, 2021:

Washington Post: Political spam is out of control. Now Gmail is about to make it worse.

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

.....Google’s plan to help politicians spam you gives us an opportunity to rethink what’s gone awry about campaigning online.

Washington Post: How social media ‘censorship’ became a front line in the culture war

By Will Oremus

.....“We’re approaching a pivotal moment for online speech,” said Daphne Keller, who directs the Program on Platform Regulation at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center. “The political pressures on content moderation have increased tremendously.”

USA Today: Buy, Elon, buy: Musk's renewed interest in Twitter could be a win for free speech

.....The news that Elon Musk wants to go forward with the purchase of Twitter has led to a virtual panic among media, political and academic figures worried that free speech could shortly break out on the social media platform. Former Politico magazine editor Garrett Graff summed up the collective vapors succinctly: “Be afraid, be actually afraid.”

Axios: Democrats' swing-state local news ploy

By Lachlan Markay and Thomas Wheatley

.....Writers for a D.C.-based media operation run by prominent Democratic operatives are behind a sprawling network of ostensible local media outlets churning out Democrat-aligned news content in midterm battleground states, Axios has learned.

Seattle Times: Judge: Facebook intentionally violated WA campaign finance law 822 times

.....Meta, Facebook’s parent company, intentionally violated Washington’s longstanding campaign finance law 822 times, a King County Superior Court judge wrote Thursday, opening the social media giant up to millions of dollars in potential fines.

Tucson.com: Prop. 211 targets 'dark money' in Arizona campaigns

.....[Prop. 211] is drawing fire from the business-oriented Arizona Free Enterprise Club which contends that this kind of disclosure would lead to harassment of donors.

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