UC Davis Law Review, Vol. 6, page 817- 886. December 2022. The Right to Teach – Joshua E. Weishart. Professor of Law, West Virginia University College of Law: “America’s public school teachers are in dire straits; the law offers little solace. The rights teachers have as public employee-citizens do not protect them as educators. A… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Censorship
Unbanning Books: LJ’s 2023 Librarians of the Year
Library Journal: “Brooklyn Public Library’s Nick Higgins, Amy Mikel, Karen Keys, Jackson Gomes, and Leigh Hurwitz have been named LJ’s 2023 Librarians of the Year for their work on Books Unbanned, providing free ebook access to teens and young adults nationwide to help defy rising book challenges across the country. In 2022 Brooklyn Public Library’s Books Unbanned Team began… Continue Reading
Courts Find That Twitter Can Restrict More Than Just Your Character Count
ABA: “The 21st century court system has seen a surge of internet-related cases as websites and social media platforms continue to connect more individuals around the globe. While only 5 percent of adults in the United States reported using social media in 2005, the number has now skyrocketed to more than 70 percent. Today, people… Continue Reading
Journalists and others should leave Twitter
Dan Gillmor, Techdirt – Here’s how they can get started: “Elon Musk has demonstrated contempt for free speech in general, and journalism in particular, with his behavior at Twitter. He is demonstrating why anyone it is foolhardy for anyone to rely on centralized platforms to create and distribute vital information.” Continue Reading
America’s culture warriors are going after librarians
.coda: “…It’s a tale playing out in cities and states across the country, as a book-banning fever courses through the country’s body politic. Nationally, attempts to remove books from school and public libraries are shattering previous records. The effort is being driven by a loose collection of local and national conservative parents’ groups and politicians… Continue Reading
Face Recognition Tech Gets Girl Scout Mom Booted From Rockettes Show — Due to Where She Works
NBC 4 New York: “A recent incident at Radio City Music Hall involving the mother of a Girl Scout is shedding light on the growing controversy of facial recognition, as critics claim it is being used to target perceived enemies — in this case, by one of the most famous companies in the country. Kelly… Continue Reading
Elon Musk, Fox News, and Free Speech Absolutism
Teri Kanefield – “Free Speech Absolutism” – Elon Musk abolished Twitter’s moderation policies and allowed “America’s most prominent Nazi,” Andrew Anglin back onto Twitter along with Donald Trump. He declared himself a “free speech absolutist” and said all voices should be heard. Then, on Thursday, he went on a binge and suspended the Twitter accounts of a number… Continue Reading
Conservative Activist Poured Millions Into Groups Seeking to Influence Supreme Court on Elections and Discrimination
ProPublica – “Newly obtained records show how Leonard Leo, an architect of the right-wing takeover of the courts, has been funding groups pushing to change elections and anti-discrimination laws. Flush with money after receiving the largest-known political advocacy donation in U.S. history, conservative activist Leonard Leo and his associates are spending millions of dollars to… Continue Reading
Here’s When You Should Use Tor Instead of a VPN
How-To-Geek: “If you’ve been looking into the different ways to browse anonymously, two terms will come up regularly: VPNs and Tor. However, when you compare these two, you’ll quickly see that they have very different use cases. To figure out when you should use Tor rather than a VPN, let’s first go over how they… Continue Reading
Growing network of conservative groups is fueling a surge in book bans
The New York Times: “Traditionally, debates over what books are appropriate for school libraries have taken place between a concerned parent and a librarian or administrator, and resulted in a single title or a few books being re-evaluated, and either removed or returned to shelves. But recently, the issue has been supercharged by a rapidly… Continue Reading
Twitter’s Rivals Try to Capitalize on Musk-Induced Chaos
The New York Times $: “New start-ups and other social platforms sense opportunity as Twitter grapples with changes from Elon Musk, its new owner…A race is on to dethrone Twitter and capitalize on the chaos of its new ownership under Elon Musk, the tech mogul who bought the social media company for $44 billion in… Continue Reading
An Uncensored Library Created in Minecraft Defies Authoritarianism
Indubitably Odin: “Censored articles from around the world find refuge in this massive Minecraft map. Reporters Without Borders is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. In order to expand upon this goal, the organization has turned to an unlikely source: the video game… Continue Reading
