Free Speech Roundup: Week of May 13th, 2018

A summary of the top free speech related news and events from the past week. This week we have news on lawsuits and international news from Kenya.

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.

PETA Sues Texas A&M

https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-sues-texas-am-university-violating-petas-free-speech-rights-blocking-group-its
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing Texas A&M University on behalf of PETA for censorship on the university’s public Facebook page. The school blocked the group’s name and related words following a campaign against the university’s medical research lab for muscular dystrophy. According to PETA, the lab breeds dogs with the illness and subjects them to inhumane treatment for the purpose of finding a cure in humans. The lawsuit claims that the Facebook page of Texas A&M, as a public university, is a government-controlled forum for speech subject to the First Amendment and that the blocking of certain words demonstrates intent to silence views opposing animal testing.

Kenya Passes Cybercrimes Law

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-lawmaking/kenyas-president-signs-cybercrimes-law-opposed-by-media-rights-groups-idUSKCN1IH1KX
The President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, signed a new cybercrimes bill into law which critics warn could be used to suppress free speech. The law targets many violations including cyber-espionage, child pornography, computer-borne forgery, cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying. It also outlaws the sharing of false information and hate speech. Critics including the Committee to Protect Journalists warned that the law could be exploited to target journalists and bloggers, stifling press freedoms.

Arkansas Student Sues District For Expulsion

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/may/18/district-answers-ejection-lawsuit-20180/
A federal lawsuit filed against the Huntsville School District in Arkansas alleges the district violated a student’s rights by expelling him for an Instagram post. The post in question shows the student in a trench coat holding a rifle with no accompanying text. The lawsuit claims he was trying to emulate the aesthetic of a 1920s mobster. He was expelled in March and the lawsuit was filed in April. The school district is now moving to dismiss 4 of 6 claims in the suit: denial of "substantive" due-process rights, deprivation of First Amendment free speech rights by the principal, defamation, and the liability of School Board members as individuals. The main 2 claims of deprivation of the right to free speech by the school district and deprivation of due process because the school handbook's rules were vague and overbroad were not addressed.

Contradictory Rulings On Election Ad Lawsuit

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/arkansas-judges-issue-contradictory-orders-election-ads-55274592
Justice Courtney Goodson, running for the Arkansas Supreme Court, sued to block campaign attack ads by the Judicial Crisis Network. The lawsuit claims the ads are misleading and defamatory. One judge ordered Little Rock area stations to stop airing the ad, while another judge revoked a previous order blocking the ad in northwest Arkansas. A third judge will soon be ruling on whether to block the ad in the Fort Smith area. The ad criticizes Goodson for receiving gifts from donors and requesting a pay raise. Lawyers defending the ad make the case that blocking it is an attack on free political speech.

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Recent Free Speech Roundups:

Free Speech Roundup: Week of May 6th, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of Apr. 29th, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of Apr. 22nd, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of Apr. 15th, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of Apr. 8th, 2018

Other Free Speech Posts:

Count Dankula Sentenced
UK Speech Police Offended Again
Lèse-majesté: Archaic Anti-Speech Law
California Bill Threatens Online Press and Speech
UK Parliament Report on Campus Free Speech
Thoughtcrime in the UK?
New Study Shows College Students Conflicted on Free Speech
Who is most supportive of free speech?
Campus Free Speech Zones
Hitchens on Free Speech - Must Watch

Free Speech Resources:

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
The American Civil Liberties Union
Notable 1st Amendment Cases – ALA
Milton’s Areopagitica – Modern English Translation
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill – Audiobook

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