“Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner wrote in their blog Steady about the importance of saving public education from the forces trying to destroy and privatize it. They remind us and the general public that public schools unite us; privatization is inherently divisive. It is ironic that the red states are implementing voucher plans as the… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Free Speech
An Iowa school district is using AI to ban books
“It certainly didn’t take long for AI’s other shoe to drop, what with the emergent technology already being perverted to commit confidence scams and generate spam content. We can now add censorship to that list as the Globe Gazette reports the school board of Mason City, Iowa has begun leveraging AI technology to cultivate lists… Continue Reading
Freedom of Speech and AI Output
Lemley, Mark A. and Henderson, Peter and Volokh, Eugene, Freedom of Speech and AI Output (August 3, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4531003 Is the output of generative AI entitled to First Amendment protection? We’re inclined to say yes. Even though current AI programs are of course not people and do not themselves have constitutional rights,… Continue Reading
Booklash: Literary Freedom, Online Outrage, and the Language of Harm
“In a new report, Booklash: Literary Freedom, Online Outrage, and the Language of Harm, PEN America warns that social media blowback and societal outrage are imposing new moral litmus tests on books and authors, chilling literary expression and fueling a dangerous trend of self-censorship that is shrinking writers’ creative freedom and imagination. Offering a forceful… Continue Reading
Authors Like Me Are Fighting the Book-Ban Zealots. We Need Help.
Mother Jones – Dashka Slater: “…The American Library Association reports that more than 2,500 books were challenged in 2022, a big uptick from the already astonishing 1,858 challenged in 2021, which was already five times the number challenged in 2019. Last year, some 41 percent of challenged books were by or about LGBTQ people, and… Continue Reading
Florida ‘effectively’ bans Advanced Placement Psychology course
“The Florida Department of Education has effectively banned A.P. Psychology in the state,” the College Board said in a statement….The American Psychological Association recently reaffirmed that any course that excludes these topics would violate their guidelines and should not be considered for college credit. The APA has given this direct guidance to organizations that have… Continue Reading
Holding Trump Accountable Has Not Threatened American Democracy
Source – Polarization Research Lab – Holding Trump Accountable Has Not Threatened American Democracy PhysOrg: “With a Fulton County indictment of former President Donald Trump possible at any time, law enforcement in Atlanta is bracing for potential violence, with orange barricades restricting access to the entrance of the county courthouse. With the anticipation of each… Continue Reading
How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians
Via LLRX – How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians – Nicole A. Cooke, Augusta Baker Endowed Chair and a Professor at the School of Library and Information Science, at the University of South Carolina, identifies the significant and socially charged work of librarians who are defending the rights of readers and… Continue Reading
Digital Public Library of America Launches The Banned Book Club to Ensure Access to Banned Books
PR Newswire: “The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has launched The Banned Book Club to ensure that readers in communities affected by book bans can now access banned books for free via the Palace e-reader app. The Banned Book Club makes e-book versions of banned books available to readers in locations across the United States where… Continue Reading
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
