1st Amendment
187 Articles
Assange May Have Committed a Crime, But the Espionage Act Is the Wrong Law to Prosecute
Is Wikileaks leader Julian Assange a journalist? If journalism is a profession, it is because, like other professions, it has standards and a code of ethics. As an example, a journalist…
Indictment of Assange for Espionage Directly Threatens Press Freedoms
This article is co-published with The Bulwark. Boy, did I ever get this wrong. Back in mid-April, when the Department of Justice unveiled an indictment of Julian Assange,…
Why the Christchurch Call to Remove Online Terror Content Triggers Free Speech Concerns
In deciding whether to endorse the Christchurch Call, the question for U.S. policymakers was whether the text essentially called on the U.S. or others to act inconsistently with…
Christchurch Calls and Washington Isn’t Answering
One of the more predictable diplomatic rituals since 9/11 has been that when terrorists strike a close American ally, Washington stands in solidarity with that country, offering…
CBP’s New Social Media Surveillance: A Threat to Free Speech and Privacy
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's efforts to map out the networks and activities of American activists and journalists through link analysis and social media monitoring pose…
Assange Indictment Is Shot Across the Bow of Press Freedom
"The indictment seems to have been drafted not just to justify the prosecution of Assange but to tar legitimate journalistic activities by association with Assange’s alleged…
The Government’s Own Documents Show that Prepublication Review is Broken
In First Amendment lawsuit, groups obtain thousands of documents (through Freedom of Information Act litigation) that raise concerns about how the government censors the writings…
Corporations are People, Even When They Boycott Israel
Last week, the Senate passed a bill sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) that would permit state and local governments to deny contracts to corporations and government entities…
Roger Stone Indictment Implicates Trump Campaign in Election Law Violations
"The details of Stone’s allegedly illegal activities laid out in the indictment implicate the Trump campaign, and perhaps President Trump himself, in illegally soliciting a campaign…
New Approach After Charlottesville Violence Protects Public Safety While Preserving Rights
When right-wing nationalists try to weaponize the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, states can use their own constitutional and statutory provisions to prohibit private…
Prosecuting Wikileaks, Protecting Press Freedoms: Drawing the Line at Knowing Collaboration with a Foreign Intelligence Agency
Top law professor on Internet and press freedoms--who was witness for defense of Chelsea Manning--writes why Assange's actions in 2016 may be very different.
Reply to Bauer and Goodman: No, the Government Doesn’t Decide What ‘Legitimate Press Functions’ Are First Amendment Worthy
Former Obama administration lawyers Bob Bauer and Ryan Goodman make a dangerous argument: that coordination with a political campaign is outside the “legitimate press function” and…