Freedom of Speech?

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September 2008
- Va. Court Voids Spam Law
  
  Richmond Times Dispatch (VA) | Sep 12, 08 1:32 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Virginia’s anti-spam laws are unconstitutional because they prohibit behavior shielded by the First Amendment, the state’s supreme court ruled today. The ruling overturns the conviction of Jeremy Jaynes, who received the nation’s first felony spam conviction in 2004, the Richmond Times-Dispatch says. Prosecutors alleged Jaynes sent up to 10 million emails a day from his North Carolina home. More »
August 2008
- Denver Can 'Corral' Convention Protesters: Court
  
  Reuters | Aug 7, 08 4:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A federal judge has ruled that protesters can be confined to a fenced-in zone at the Democratic National Convention because security concerns outweigh activists' right to free speech, Reuters reports. The ACLU and a coalition of protest groups had brought a lawsuit against Denver and the Secret Service over plans concerning what activists have labeled a"freedom cage." More »
July 2008
- French Fight Ban on Insulting Civil Servants
  
  Times (UK) | Jul 26, 08 7:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Paris publisher has launched a high-profile crusade to legalize an increasingly popular crime: the insulting of public officials, the London Times reports. After being fined €150 for calling a cop a connard —or stupid bastard—Jean-Jacques Reboux got even angrier, and accused civil servants of abusing the law to make money. "It's like something from the ancien régime," Reboux said. More »
- Teenagers Have Rights, Too
  
  Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Jul 12, 08 7:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - "Teenagers have constitutional rights." That shouldn’t be controversial, but several schools are in court arguing that the First Amendment doesn't apply to students, writes Frank LoMonte in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Morse v. Frederick set a precedent last year, when Supreme Court judges ruled that students could be punished for a “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” banner—even though it was off school grounds. More »
- Online Spaces Snub Free Speech That Offends
  
  Associated Press | Jul 7, 08 6:52 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A variety of websites are deleting postings that could offend, and with full legal protection—sparking debate about whether free speech exists online. Case in point: an image of a young smoker posted on Yahoo's photo service. It was cut for promoting underage smoking, but the photographer calls it a comment on Romanian street life. "I never thought of it as a photo of a smoking kid," he said. More »
- Real Patriots Criticize the Government
  
  Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Jul 4, 08 6:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Patriotism is the word of the day, but what does it mean? For Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , it means fighting for your country’s ideals. "I believe I'm lucky to be an American because our founding document embraces the revolutionary idea that any citizen should be able to criticize his government without fear of retaliation," she writes. More »
- Philly Guides Seek Liberty From Licensing Law
  
  Philadelphia Inquirer | Jul 3, 08 10:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Three tour guides in the cradle of democracy are taking the city to court over a law they say tramples on their constitutional rights, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer . The law compels Philadelphia guides to pay a fee and take a test to get a tour license—and the plaintiffs argue the requirements violate their First Amendment right to free speech. More »
June 2008
- Court Limits Bosses' Access to Staff Emails
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 19, 08 2:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A federal court has ruled that emails and text messages on work accounts—routinely monitored by some employers—are protected by constitutional safeguards against unreasonable search and seizure. The ruling only applies to electronic communications supplied through outside servers, not internal systems. The ruling forbids service providers from handing over records to employers, and requires police to obtain search warrants to access messages, reports the Los Angeles Times . More »
- Hate Speech: Is US Protection Too Broad?
  
  New York Times | Jun 12, 08 8:39 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Several years ago American conservative journalist Mark Steyn published a piece denigrating Islam in Maclean's , the leading newsweekly in Canada. While its tone was sharp, its content was no more inflammatory than the material in American rightwing publications. But now Maclean's is facing trial for publishing hate speech, writes Adam Liptak in the Times , in a story highlighting the uniqueness of US free speech protections, and questioning whether they're out of date. More »
- Studios Want to Keep Certain Movies Off Your DVR
  
  Ars Technica | Jun 9, 08 4:01 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hollywood is pressing the Federal Communications to allow studios to block digital video recorders from copying high-definition films before they're released to DVD, Ars Technica reports. In return, the studios promise to shorten the time it takes movies to get from theater to home TVs. The feds would need to waive rules barring cable providers from transmitting digital codes that block such copying. More »
- Russian TV Rubs Out Putin Foes
  
  New York Times | Jun 3, 08 9:17 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Russian TV stations have just the solution for pesky opposition commentary—they simply keep it off the airways, even digitally erasing one anti-Putin analyst, the New York Times reports. Putin’s opponents are included in what some call a “stop list” of figures banned from television coverage. It’s “an excellent way to stifle dissent,” said the erased analyst. More »
May 2008
- Teen Calls Scientology a 'Cult,' Faces Charges
  
  Guardian (UK) | May 20, 08 3:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A 15-year-old is facing charges for holding a sign calling Scientology a "cult" during a peaceful protest. A London policewoman asked the teen to remove the sign; when he refused, she handed him a court summons, the Guardian reports. Free speech and anti-cult groups are furious, particularly in light of recent gifts from the Church of Scientology to the London Police Department totaling thousands of pounds. More »
- China Won't Stop Censoring Web for Olympics
  
  Ars Technica | May 8, 08 2:37 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - China apparently will continue to censor the Internet during August's Olympics, but says the international press will have the access it needs to function, Jacqui Cheng writes on Ars Technica. Officials said they would guarantee as much access “as possible,” but “controls on some unhealthy websites” would continue. In defense, they said, “every country limits access to some websites.” More »
April 2008
- Turkey Eases Controversial 'Insult' Statute
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Apr 30, 08 8:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Turkish parliament has approved changes to a notorious law that makes it a crime to "insult Turkishness," reports the Financial Times . Ankara legislators today amended the notorious Article 301, reducing the maximum sentence and requiring the justice minister to approve all prosecutions. But while nationalists are outraged, civil rights lawyers call the changes cosmetic at best. More »
- China Sends 30 to Prison in Mass Tibet Trials
  
  New York Times | Apr 30, 08 7:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Chinese court sentenced 30 people yesterday, including six monks, for taking part in the March protest riots in Tibet, the New York Times reports. The sentences ranged from three years to life in prison. Human Rights Watch watch said the trials were secret and defendants weren’t allowed representation, calling them “political punishment masquerading as a legal process.” More »
- Russia to censor extremist sites - The INQUIRER
  
  The Inquirer | Apr 23, 08
  
  Not that media censorship is a new thing in Russia; both television and newspapers have long been under the iron grip of state control, but the Internet had thus far managed to remain fairly open, spreading its wikipedia like Pravda to all who cared to read it.
- Study Finds Mass Rigging in Russian Vote
  
  Times (UK) | Apr 18, 08 6:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As many as one in three votes for Dmitry Medvedev in Russia's presidential election were fraudulent, according to a comprehensive study by a computer analyst. Not only was Medvedev's total inflated by about 7 points, but the turnout was also exaggerated, reports the Times of London. That means that only a third of Russia's 100 million voters actually backed Vladimir Putin's successor, according to the analysis. More »
- Chinese Rights Advocate Jailed
  
  New York Times | Apr 3, 08 8:18 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A top Chinese human-rights activist has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for writings and comments considered subversive, the New York Times reports. The case of Hu Jia, 34, been watched closely around the world; critics see it as part of a government crackdown on dissidents in advance of the Beijing Olympics. The US pronounced itself “dismayed” by the move and the EU called for his release. More »
March 2008
- Host Blocks Anti-Koran Film's Website
  
  Associated Press

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Stories

Va. Court Voids Spam Law

Denver Can 'Corral' Convention Protesters: Court

French Fight Ban on Insulting Civil Servants

Teenagers Have Rights, Too

Online Spaces Snub Free Speech That Offends

Real Patriots Criticize the Government

Philly Guides Seek Liberty From Licensing Law

Court Limits Bosses' Access to Staff Emails

Hate Speech: Is US Protection Too Broad?

Studios Want to Keep Certain Movies Off Your DVR

Russian TV Rubs Out Putin Foes

Teen Calls Scientology a 'Cult,' Faces Charges

China Won't Stop Censoring Web for Olympics

Turkey Eases Controversial 'Insult' Statute

China Sends 30 to Prison in Mass Tibet Trials

Russia to censor extremist sites - The INQUIRER

Study Finds Mass Rigging in Russian Vote

Chinese Rights Advocate Jailed

Host Blocks Anti-Koran Film's Website