The New York Times Opinion – “The headlines that emerged from the 2022-23 term of the Supreme Court conveyed the brutal impact of several big decisions, but they sometimes missed the human elements that made these opinions so startling — how the conservative majority favored one oppressed group but not another or imposed conflicting rules… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Censorship
Why parents are trying to ban so many picture books
Children’s picture books are the next targets for book bans [free link] – The Washington Post – “The Post requested and analyzed roughly 2,500 pages of book challenges filed in more than 100 districts nationwide throughout the 2021-2022 academic year. Picture books made up nearly 10 percent of all the titles challenged in the 1,000-plus… Continue Reading
How Threads’ privacy policy compares to Twitter’s (and its rivals’)
Ars Technica: “Here’s what is collected by Threads, as well as by Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon, Spill, and Hive Social. Meta’s long-awaited Twitter alternative is here, and it’s called Threads. The new social media app launches at a time when alternatives, like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Spill, are vying for users who are dissatisfied with Elon Musk’s… Continue Reading
How book bans threaten democracy
Vox: “A popular saying is that public libraries are the last bastion of true democracy.At the library, patrons aren’t really expected to pay for anything; they can use the library’s free services, from unlimited wifi to job application support; and, of course, the thousands of books libraries hold are available to anyone. But in recent… Continue Reading
Video Game Law
Lemley, Mark A. and Maitra, Sonali, Video Game Law (June 1, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4466453 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4466453 “This is the complete text of Video Game Law: An Open Access Casebook, the first law school casebook to cover video game law. It includes chapters on the history of video games, copyright, patents, trademarks, the right… Continue Reading
Election Worker Safety and Privacy
CRS Insight – Election Worker Safety and Privacy, June 21, 2023: “Concerns about election workers’ safety and privacy have been reported since the 2020 election, in news reports and testimony before House and Senate committees. Some election workers have raised concerns about their physical safety while performing official duties, as well as threats to their… Continue Reading
Everyone Likes Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It?
The New York Times: Book bans, chatbots, pedagogical warfare: What it means to read has become a minefield. “Everyone loves reading. In principle, anyway. Nobody is against it, right? Surely, in the midst of our many quarrels, we can agree that people should learn to read, should learn to enjoy it and should do a… Continue Reading
These ten books are considered pornography in Ron DeSantis’ Florida
Popular Information: “On March 8, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) conducted a press conference in which he purported to debunk the “book ban hoax.” During the event, DeSantis claimed that Florida schools, under his leadership, were not banning educational materials. Rather, they were simply removing “pornography” from school libraries and classrooms. DeSantis claimed the notion… Continue Reading
1,626 Books Were Banned in America Last Year…We Reviewed All of Them
Statecraft: What do these books have in common? By Arman Madani – “The non-profits PEN America and the American Library Association keep a catalog of banned books in the United States up to the 2021-22 academic year. In this 1 academic year alone, 1600+ books were irregularly banned from 138 school districts across America; 3.8… Continue Reading
21st-century editors should keep their hands off 20th-century books
Washington Post Opinion & alt free link: “A number of beloved novels, for both children and adults, are being “retouched” — updated to remove overtly racist, sexist or otherwise offensive language. Publishers and literary estates — including those of best-selling mystery writer Agatha Christie, children’s author Roald Dahl and James Bond creator Ian Fleming —… Continue Reading
Illinois first US state to prohibit banning books in public libraries
Quartz: “Illinois has become the first US state to prohibit banning books in public libraries. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB 2789 into law in a public library in Chicago, amid a dramatic nationwide increase in book bans. The governor, a Democrat, called them an affront to free speech. “Young people shouldn’t be kept from learning… Continue Reading
How AI could take over elections and undermine democracy
Via LLRX – How AI could take over elections and undermine democracy – Archon Fung, Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, Harvard Kennedy School, and Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard University, pose the question: “Could organizations use artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT to induce voters to behave in specific ways? Sen.… Continue Reading
