Latest Freedom of the press News
Appeals court upholds Arkansas’ Israel boycott pledge law
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld Arkansas’ law requiring state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel, finding the restriction is not an unconstitutional violation of free speech. The full 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a 2-1...
California may make social media firms report enforcement
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Social media companies would have to make public their policies for removing problem content and give detailed accounts of how and when they remove it, under a proposal being considered by California legislators who blame online chatter for encouraging violence and...
UK govt orders Julian Assange's extradition; appeal planned
LONDON (AP) — The British government on Friday ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges, a milestone — but not the end — of a decade-long legal saga sparked by his website's publication of classified U.S. documents. ...
Arizona Supreme Court says anonymous juries constitutional
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that state courts can keep juror identities secret, rejecting a challenge from a southern Arizona journalist who argued that the right to observe trials included access to the names of jurors who decide the fate of people charged with...
Japan toughens defamation penalties after wrestler's suicide
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s parliament approved tougher penalties for criminal defamation Monday in a move prompted by a bullied wrestler's suicide and that is raising free speech concerns. Parliamentary deliberations on toughening the defamation law began in January after Hana Kimura...
Big Tech attacks become rallying cry for GOP candidates
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Shortly after launching his campaign last year for the Republican nomination in Nevada's U.S. Senate race, Sam Brown got into a scrape with Twitter. A Purple Heart recipient who was severely burned by an IED blast in Afghanistan, Brown posted a picture of himself...
Editorial Roundup: United States
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: June 3 The New York Times calls for an independent investigation into the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh In her 25 years as a journalist for Al Jazeera, Shireen Abu Akleh covered...
'Viewpoint discrimination' case may head to Supreme Court
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A lawsuit claiming that New Mexico county commissioner and Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin engaged in “viewpoint" discrimination could be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court in a test-case for free speech rights on social media platforms. Chaplain and...
Editorial Roundup: Florida
South Florida Sun Sentinel. May 31, 2022. Editorial: How Attorney General Ashley Moody failed Floridians The eyes of Texas’ legal establishment are on its disgraced attorney general, Ken Paxton. The Texas Bar has taken steps to discipline Paxton for...
Supreme Court blocks Texas law on social media censorship
WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court has blocked a Texas law, championed by conservatives, that aimed to keep social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter from censoring users based on their viewpoints. The court voted in an unusual 5-4 alignment Tuesday to put the Texas...
