Brennan Center for Justice: “In August, a public school district in Iowa reportedly used ChatGPT to help it comply with the state’s controversial book ban law. That law—like counterparts passed in Florida, Texas, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina—seeks to limit discussion of gender identity and sexuality in schools by barring school libraries from carrying books that… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Free Speech
How to fix the internet
MIT Technology Review – If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms. Erik Carter. “We’re in a very strange moment for the internet. We all know it’s broken. That’s not news. But there’s something in the air—a vibe shift, a sense that things are about to change. For… Continue Reading
The Moral Case for No Longer Engaging With Elon Musk’s X
Bloomberg Opinion, David Lee: “The former Twitter is incentivizing violent content, which will only become worse to stand out to users. “…X is now an app that forcibly puts abhorrent content into users’ feeds and then rewards financially the people who were the most successful in producing it, egging them on to do it again… Continue Reading
What’s behind the national surge in book bans?
USAToday: “…It’s impossible to know how many book-ban attempts have been inspired by BookLooks.org, which adds new reviews weekly […The site launched in 2022 to showcase a book-rating system that has also been used by right-wing political activist group Moms for Liberty.] But in one researcher’s national database tallying more than 3,000 challenges to library… Continue Reading
Freedom on the Net 2023 The Repressive Power of Artificial Intelligence
Highlights – Freedom on the Net 2023 Global internet freedom declined for the 13th consecutive year. Digital repression intensified in Iran, home to this year’s worst decline, as authorities shut down internet service, blocked WhatsApp and Instagram, and increased surveillance in a bid to quell antigovernment protests. Myanmar came close to dislodging China as the… Continue Reading
Fact Checkers Take Stock of Their Efforts: ‘It’s Not Getting Better’
The New York Times [read free]: “After President Biden won the election nearly three years ago, three of every 10 Americans believed the false narrative that his victory resulted from fraud, a poll found. In the years since, fact checkers have debunked the claim in lengthy articles, corrections posted on viral content, videos and chat… Continue Reading
SAGE Releases Free-to-Read Collection with Research into Academic Freedom and Censorship
“Sage has launched a new collection of free-to-read research highlighting the effects of academic censorship on democracy, social-emotional learning, higher education, and more. Banned books symbolize the clash between censorship and academic freedom. The suppression of banned books undermines the core principle of academic freedom, where scholars should explore diverse ideas without fear. This freedom… Continue Reading
DPLA launches The Banned Book Club to ensure access to banned books
“Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has launched The Banned Book Club to ensure that all readers have access to the books they want to read. The Banned Book Club makes e-book versions of banned books available to readers in locations across the United States where titles have been banned. The e-books will be available… Continue Reading
ALA Report – Texas leads the nation in book ban attempts
“ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed by library professionals in the field and from news stories published throughout the United States. Because many book challenges are not reported to the ALA or covered by the press, the 2022 data compiled by ALA represents a snapshot of book censorship throughout 2022. A challenge… Continue Reading
Conservative book ban push fuels library exodus ALA
AP: “After parents in a rural and staunchly conservative Wyoming county joined nationwide pressure on librarians to pull books they considered harmful to youngsters, the local library board obliged with new policies making such books a higher priority for removal — and keeping out of collections. But that’s not all the library board has done.… Continue Reading
Federal judge temporarily blocks new Texas book-rating law for schools
San Antonio Press News: “A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a new Texas law that would establish a book-rating system and ban or restrict books with sexual content from Texas public schools. Austin-based Judge Alan D. Albright told lawyers that the state could not enforce the law Friday, when it was planned to take… Continue Reading
Report: Surge of Intrusive Legislation to Intimidate Teachers, Drive Self-Censorship in Schools
Pen America: “A wave of state legislation sweeping the nation is creating the conditions to intimidate educators into self-censorship in schools, according to a new PEN America report released today. “Educational Intimidation: How ‘Parental Rights’ Legislation Undermines the Freedom to Learn” examines the rise of what PEN America has dubbed “educational intimidation bills,” a category… Continue Reading
