Villareal to get her day in (the Supreme) Court… again, Trump threatens CNN w/ lawsuit over coverage of ICE-tracking app, me on the Glenn Show, & more!
Bringing you the latest free speech news (7/13/25)
Stories of the week
So Priscilla and FIRE are doubling down, too. We’re heading back to the Supreme Court, asking it to make crystal clear that Americans have every ability to hold officials accountable for violating core First Amendment rights — like the right to ask government officials questions, and publish what they share.
This week in ERI
This week in
Extortion in plain sight by Bob Corn-Revere
Speech is not a crime — even if it complicates ICE’s job by
This episode is just the latest example of the administration trying to stretch the meaning of “obstruction” to cover nearly any speech that might complicate immigration enforcement. Back in February, Homan asked the Department of Justice to investigate Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for “impeding our law enforcement efforts” by releasing a webinar and flyer that reminded people of their constitutional rights when interacting with ICE.
This week on
This week on
FIRE EVP and host sat down with FIRE Lead Counsel on Tech Policy and Tech Freedom Internet Policy Counsel to discuss the latest breaking news at the intersection of free speech, AI, and tech.
This week in FIRE’s blog
All that glitters is not gold: A brief history of efforts to rebrand social media censorship by John Coleman
Missouri governor signs legislation securing students’ rights to freely associate on campus by Sofia Lopez
Purdue fails its own test in institutional neutrality by Ross Marchand
In other words, the mere act of taking an official position on an issue may stifle dissent because anyone who disagrees is now not only disagreeing with the position, but with the university itself. That ends up undermining the primary reason for the university’s existence in the first place. The idea is for the university to avoid offering its own opinions in order to give community members space to freely offer theirs. That includes publications like The Exponent, which may report or editorialize in a way that favors certain viewpoints.
London Calling: Ronnie’s First Amendment Roundup
Lackie v. University of Minnesota Student Union Association & Los Angeles Press Club v. City of Los Angeles
Two quickies for a slow week, more in the way of reminders than anything else: First, the federal court in Minnesota reinforces that where a state university’s board of trustees cloaks a student association with authority to act statewide on behalf of university students by explicitly delegating the power to set amounts of fees collected from students and to dispense the fees, the association is a state actor subject to the First Amendment. Second, cops shouldn’t in the absence of imminent threat to themselves or others direct less-lethal munitions like rubber bullets, flash-bangs, and tear gas to clear out journalists covering protests from public streets and sidewalks. Really, don’t do it—it violates the First Amendment (uh, obviously)—thus spoke the federal court for the Central District of California to the LAPD in issuing a temporary restraining order to that effect.
International free speech stories of the week
Turkey blocks X's Grok content for alleged insults to Erdogan, religious values (Reuters)
Google wins free speech case over massive Russian fines and takedown orders (Courthouse News Service) by Eunseo Hong
Europe’s Crackdown on Speech Goes Far and Wide (WSJ) by Natasha Dangoor, Bertrand Benoit, & Max Colchester
The Connolly case is helping fuel a debate about free speech in the U.K., a debate also playing out across Europe. While the U.S. First Amendment stipulates that Congress “shall make no law” to restrict free speech, and hate speech is generally protected, governments aren’t so constrained in Europe. In a continent scarred by the Holocaust, loosely defined hate-speech laws and the rise of social media have created fertile ground for authorities to crack down on those seen to be stirring up trouble. Rarely a week goes by without a tale of zealous policing.
Shameless TED Talk plug of the week
By now, readers have likely heard that I gave a TED Talk in Vancouver back in April. But on the off-chance that this is in fact news to you, you may be pleased to learn that it was remarkably well received by those in attendance. TED released the full video a couple weeks ago and it’s now available to watch on YouTube.
Great to see you on Glenn's show, and even better to hear the good news about UVA, which I worked at a couple of years.