Free Speech Roundup: Week of Feb. 18th, 2018

A summary of the top free speech related news and events from the past week. Freedom of speech is the right from which all other human rights follow because it allows people to address grievances and protest for their other rights. It is therefore of the utmost importance to protect the right to express oneself freely from those who seek to restrict it.

This will be a new series I plan on posting every week. It will be US-focused, but not necessarily exclusive. Major free speech news from other countries may get separate posts instead. Campus free speech bills are working their way through so many state legislatures, I will wait on that news for the bills to actually come to a vote.

Supreme Court to Hear Anti-Abortion/Free Speech Case

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/02/21/supreme-court-to-hear-anti-abortion-and-free-speech-case-breakdown-nifla-v-becerra.html
In NIFLA v. Becerra, a California law is being challenged which requires pregnancy facilities to inform clients that “California has public programs that provide immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services, prenatal care and abortion for eligible women." NIFLA claims the law violates First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The article provides a good breakdown of the arguments for and against the law and what could happen depending on the outcome of the case.

Texas School District Threatens to Suspend Student Protestors

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/education/article/Houston-area-school-district-threatens-to-suspend-12628365.php
The Houston-area Needville Independent School District Superintendent Curtis Rhodes threatened to suspend any students who protest gun laws by disrupting or walking out of school following the Parkland school shooting. National school walkouts are being planned for March 14 and April 20. Students have the right to political speech and protest in school, so long as it does not create a substantial disruption, which a walkout would. Punishment is up to the discretion of administrators. See this other article for more detail on the legality of the situation.

California Judge Strikes Down Law Restricting Information on IMDb

https://www.forbes.com/sites/wlf/2018/02/22/another-california-intrusion-on-businesses-free-speech-fails-in-court/#55a7eb297f8f
Northern District of California Judge Vince Chhabria granted IMDb's motion for summary judgment in the case of IMDb.com Inc. v. Becerra. The law in question required IMDb, upon request, to remove the age of a person from their public biography, if that person is a subscriber to IMDb's Pro service. Judge Chhabria struck down the law based on the reasoning that the restricted information was not commercial speech, could not be restricted based on fears of possible third party discrimination, and only applied to IMDb.

Jared Taylor Sues Twitter Over Ban

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/white-supremacist-jared-taylor-sues-twitter-free-speech-twitter-lockout-a8224056.html
Jared Taylor, founder of the website American Renaissance, is suing Twitter, saying his free speech rights were violated and his reputation harmed, after his account was banned for violating Twitter rules against being affiliated with a violent extremist group. The lawsuit states that "Mr Taylor and American Renaissance were targeted for permanent suspension from Twitter due to nothing more than their controversial views on race and immigration – the subjective perception that they are ‘racist’ and ‘extremist'." Twitter, as a private company, should apply its rules fairly and consistently, but is not obligated to protect free speech and may ban users at its own discretion, while the libel claim seems tenuous at best.

Lecture: Free Speech and the Necessity of Discomfort by Bret Stephens

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/opinion/free-speech-discomfort.html
Watch the full lecture and Q&A HERE, with the main speech starting around 27:45.
Bret Stephens of the New York Times gives a lecture at the University of Michigan on free speech in relation to journalism and how it’s under siege by offense-takers. To summarize his remarks: Journalists shouldn’t be afraid to bring discomfort. Allowing for and listening to divergent views is necessary for discerning truth. Open discourse and philosophical liberalism benefits both society and the individual.

My Recent Free Speech Posts:

Free Speech in Lebanon
Milton's Areopagitica Translated to Modern English
Free Speech News: Map of Free Speech Support
Hitchens on Free Speech - Must Watch

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
~ First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States