The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech February 7, 2023 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 Reason ("Volokh Conspiracy"): School District Consents to Protecting Citizens' Rights to Read from School Library Books at Board Meetings By Eugene Volokh .....From the Jan. 30 Consent Judgment in Mama Bears of Forsyth County v. McCall (N.D. Ga.): "As part of the Parties' settlement of this matter, … the Court[s] enter the following order, which the Court finds appropriate and consistent with the Court's prior order issuing a preliminary injunction[:] … [a.] The Court permanently enjoins the District … from enforcing any current or future FCS public participation policy to prohibit … any … speakers entitled to speak at an FCS school board meeting … from reading or quoting verbatim from the text of any book or written works available in any FCS library or classroom, while addressing the school board during the public-comment period at school board meetings. [b.] Plaintiffs are each awarded nominal damages in the amount of $17.91 [plus costs and fees to be calculated later]" …. The $17.91 in nominal damages seems to be a little bit of symbolism offered by plaintiffs' lawyers, Institute for Free Speech, in this case and in others. Congratulations to Endel Rohe Kolde (Institute for Free Speech) and Erika Birg (Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough). DOJ New York Times: FTX Inquiry Expands as Prosecutors Reach Out to Former Executives By Matthew Goldstein and David Yaffe-Bellany .....One aspect of the investigation that could soon expand is the inquiry into FTX’s campaign finance activities. Prosecutors are particularly interested in whether FTX engaged in an illegal scheme to funnel tens of millions of dollars to so-called straw donors who made disguised campaign contributions on behalf of the company, as it sought political influence in Washington. Soon after Mr. Bankman-Fried was arrested in December, federal prosecutors began reaching out by email to some of the campaigns and political action committees that had received donations from FTX employees to seek information about those contributions, The New York Times has previously reported. The authorities are also looking into whether Mr. Bankman-Fried’s younger brother, Gabe Bankman-Fried, played any role in the suspected campaign finance scheme, said four people briefed on the investigation. Gabe Bankman-Fried ran an advocacy group, Guarding Against Pandemics, that was bankrolled by FTX. The organization donated to other groups and opened a headquarters in a nearly $3.3 million townhouse in Washington, D.C. The townhouse, a few blocks from the Capitol, is now listed for sale. The Courts Daily Caller: Man Sues JetBlue Over ‘Lets Go Brandon’ Mask By Kay Smythe .....A man who was removed from a JetBlue flight in March, 2022, for wearing a “Let’s Go Brandon” mask filed a federal suit against the airline on Friday. Free Expression Wall Street Journal: How ‘Diversity’ Policing Fails Science By John D. Sailer .....Amidst the explosion of university diversity, equity and inclusion policies, Texas Tech’s biology department adopted its own DEI motion promising to “require and strongly weight a diversity statement from all candidates.” These short, written declarations are meant to summarize an academic job seeker’s past and potential contributions to DEI efforts on campus. The biology department’s motion mandates that every search committee issue a report on its diversity statement evaluations. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, I have acquired the evaluations of more than a dozen job candidates. To my knowledge, these documents—published in redacted form by the National Association of Scholars—are the first evaluations of prospective faculty DEI contributions to be made publicly available. They confirm what critics of DEI statements have long argued: That they inevitably act as ideological litmus tests. Online Speech Platforms Washington Post ("Technology 202"): Twitter curbs researcher access, sparking backlash in Washington By Cristiano Lima .....On Thursday, Twitter announced that it will shutter the ability to freely access its API, or application programming interface — software tools that allow outside researchers and developers to collect and analyze data from a site. Instead, Twitter’s development team tweeted, the company will begin charging for it, without specifying how much. The decision will likely price out academics and journalists looking into Twitter’s practices and the spread of harmful content on the platform, Democratic lawmakers said. “This move will make it more difficult for researchers to access the information necessary to understand harms on Twitter, including misinformation, foreign influence operations and more,” said Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), who led a letter last year calling on Musk to pledge to keep Twitter data open to researchers, as we reported. Washington Post: Harvard is shutting down project that studied social media misinformation By Drew Harwell and Joseph Menn .....Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government said Thursday that it will shut down a prominent research center that studied online misinformation next year, marking the latest turning point for the study of social media’s impact on American society and politics. Candidates and Campaigns Daily Beast: The Democratic Party’s Tortured Relationship With Corporate PAC Money By Roger Sollenberger .....When progressive Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was briefly entertaining a run for the White House in early 2019, he promised that if he took the plunge, his campaign would reject corporate PAC money. But Brown—who since declining to seek the presidency has accepted more than $1 million in corporate PAC donations—will not make that same promise as he gears up for what’s sure to be a contentious re-election fight in 2024. The States Courthouse News: Limits on super PACs stump top Massachusetts court By Thomas F. Harrison .....The Massachusetts Supreme Court seemed flummoxed Monday by a proposed ballot question that would cap contributions to super PACs at $5,000 a year, with one justice calling it “an incredibly complex First Amendment case” and several seemingly looking for an excuse to avoid deciding it... The ballot question was scotched last year by state Attorney General Maura Healey, who is now the governor. Healey ruled that it violated free speech, noting that limits on PAC contributions have been struck down as unconstitutional by the Second, Seventh and D.C. Circuits. The Department of Justice declined to appeal the D.C. Circuit decision to the Supreme Court, and the Federal Election Commission ruled that any such limits are invalid. But Massachusetts law says that a ballot question can go forward unless it’s “reasonably clear” that it’s unconstitutional, and the plaintiffs argue that the law is not “reasonably clear,” with no U.S. Supreme Court or Massachusetts precedent on the issue and the state’s citizens should get a chance to vote on it. Des Moines Register: Speaker charged for comments against police at Newton council meeting acquitted By William Morris .....A Newton resident arrested after upsetting city officials with critical comments at City Council meetings has the First Amendment right to criticize city employees, a judge has ruled. Noah Petersen, 22, was arrested repeatedly at Newton City Council meetings in October 2022 and charged with disorderly conduct after harshly criticizing city police officials. Ruling Wednesday in the first of those cases to go to trial, Judge Peter Lahn issued a written decision finding Petersen not guilty. "The court finds the defendant's statements and actions did not exceed any authority he may lawfully claim under the free speech provision of the United States Constitution," Lahn wrote. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. For email filters, the subject of this email will always begin with "Institute for Free Speech Media Update." The Institute for Free Speech is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and defends the First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government. Please support the Institute's mission by clicking here. For further information, visit www.ifs.org. Follow the Institute for Free Speech ‌ ‌ ‌ The Institute for Free Speech | 1150 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]