First Amendment
Highlights:
Justice Department Fails to Address Central Point in VOA Case
A federal judge halted the shutdown of VOA, citing violations of administrative law and congressional authority, not press freedom.
States in the Vanguard: Social Media Policy Today
The states have stepped up to regulate consumer-facing online services where the federal government has been utterly silent. But the tech companies are not sitting idly by.
Unpacking the Voice of America Litigation
Recent rulings by federal judges provide templates for opposing the destruction of congressionally-created agencies like the Voice of America.
Regulating Social Media Platforms: Government, Speech, and the Law
Launching a new series with leading experts on regulating the information environment, co-organized by NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights and Tech Policy Press.
The Just Security Podcast: Regulating Social Media — Is it Lawful, Feasible, and Desirable?
Is it lawful, feasible, and desirable for government actors to regulate social media platforms? A conversation with leading experts at the NYU Law Forum.
What Happens After the Most Powerful Media Institutions Keep Surrendering to Trump
U.S. media institutions are abandoning their own First Amendment rights by settling lawsuits with Trump, writes Jaffer for the New York Times.
44 Articles
The Just Security Podcast: The Supreme Court’s Decision on TikTok
Marty Lederman, Asha Rangappa, and Xiangnong (George) Wang discuss how the Supreme Court balanced free speech rights and national security concerns in the TikTok case.
How Not to Decide TikTok: U.S. press freedom hangs in the balance
"If the Court were to accept the Solicitor General’s rationale ... the government would be free to force the removal of owners of any media outlet whose fealty it did not trust."
Rising Authoritarianism and Plutocracy Are a Dangerous Mix for Press Freedom
U.S. democracy appears so strong as to be unbreakable. But the billionaire class is its weakest point: small, concentrated, and all too often uninterested in following the rules…
On Dictatorship and Self-Censorship: Lessons the Owner of a Sudanese Newspaper Could Give Jeff Bezos
"It is vital that we discuss the Washington Post’s and L.A. Times’s non-endorsement in the U.S. presidential election, plainly and openly, as what they actually are."
The New Intelligence Community Directive on Prepublication Review: Important Reforms and Critical Omissions
The ODNI's prepublication review directive improves several important aspects of the system, but fails to make certain critical changes.
History Has Already Discredited the TikTok Ban
The TikTok ban is a reincarnation of past reactionary efforts to limit Americans from accessing media from abroad.
The Growing Threat of State Domestic Terrorism Laws to the First Amendment
Since political violence is already criminalized under other state and federal laws, state domestic terrorism laws are arguably unnecessary. These laws create serious, and often…
Civil Society, Under Threat Worldwide, Needs a General Comment on the Right to Freedom of Association
Civil society and its allies need tools to push back against rising threats worldwide, and the U.N. Human Rights Committee can furnish an important one: a General Comment on the…
The Supreme Court Seemed to Punt on Social Media and the First Amendment. It Actually Protected Content Moderation.
The NetChoice ruling points to increased oversight by using narrow disclosure laws to shed light on how social media companies operate.
Meta’s Oversight Board in a Historic Election Year: Nine Key Lessons for Industry
Meta's Oversight Board released a policy paper with recommendations for Meta and other social media companies on election content moderation.
How to Combat Emerging Global Social Media Manipulation in 2024
Civil society and academia can work with small and emerging social media platforms to promote democratic values and prevent disinformation.
Video: Social Media, Government Jawboning, and the First Amendment at the Supreme Court
A video of expert panel discussion on Supreme Court case of Murthy v. Missouri, which poses several questions that defy easy answer, driving at the heart of how we wish to regulate…