First Amendment
Informal Government Coercion and The Problem of "Jawboning"
Genevieve Lakier Mon, Jul 26, 2021, 3:52 PM
At what point does informal coercion raise Constitutional questions?
Latest in First Amendment
First Amendment
The Real Takeaway From the Enjoining of the Florida Social Media Law
Alan Z. Rozenshtein Fri, Jul 9, 2021, 1:35 PM
A federal judge was right to block Florida’s social media law. But that doesn’t mean the First Amendment bars all government regulation of platform content-moderation decisions.
Jan. 6, 2021 Violence in the Capitol
Presidential Immunity, the First Amendment and the Capitol Riot
Bryce Klehm, Alan Z. Rozenshtein Thu, Jun 3, 2021, 3:01 PM
In their motions to dismiss Rep. Bennie Thompson’s suit, Trump, Giulani and the Oath Keepers defend their conduct on Jan. 6.
First Amendment
Eighth Circuit Strikes Down Arkansas’s Anti-BDS Law
Elliot Setzer Mon, Mar 1, 2021, 1:11 PM
A federal appeals court ruled that a state statute requiring government contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel violates the First Amendment. What’s in the decision?
Content Moderation
The Wall Street Journal Misreads Section 230 and the First Amendment
Berin Szóka, Ari Cohn Wed, Feb 3, 2021, 3:43 PM
In a new Wall Street Journal op-ed, Philip Hamburger argues that “the government, in working through private companies, is abridging the freedom of speech.” This argument doesn’t hold water.
Transition 2020-2021
Trump’s War on the U.S. Agency for Global Media
Tia Sewell Tue, Jan 12, 2021, 8:01 AM
How the presidentially appointed CEO of the federal media agency hijacked his agency for the president’s political purposes.
Digital Social Contract
Platform Speech Governance and the First Amendment: A User-Centered Approach
Kyle Langvardt Mon, Dec 7, 2020, 1:47 PM
The First Amendment is a public endeavor—not a mandate for big tech to redefine free speech in America.
State Department
Pompeo’s Right About One Thing: Diplomats Deserve First Amendment Rights
Scott R. Anderson Fri, Sep 4, 2020, 8:01 AM
The secretary of state has accidentally shed light on the burdensome restrictions that the State Department puts on its overseas employees and their families.
Surveillance
Summary: Ninth Circuit Declines to Rehear State Secrets Case
Rachael Hanna Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 8:01 AM
The Ninth Circuit declined to rehear en banc a case concerning the application of the state secrets privilege. What were the various claims made in the case?
First Amendment
Court Declines to Block Release of Bolton's Book
Quinta Jurecic Sat, Jun 20, 2020, 11:53 AM
Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the government's motion for a temporary restraining order to block distribution of the new memoir by former national security advisor John Bolton. Though Judge Lamberth ruled that "Bolton’s unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns," he found that "the horse is out of the barn" regarding Bolton's memoir—which will be published on June 23—and wrote that, "For reasons that hardly need to be stated, the Court will not order a nationwide seizure and destruction of a political memoir."