Category «Free Speech»

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 …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

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 …

Subjects: Censorship, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

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 …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

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 …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

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 …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

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 …

Subjects: Censorship, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet, Legal Research

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 …

Subjects: Censorship, Courts, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries, Social Media

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. …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Libraries

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 …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Courts, Education, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research, Libraries

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 …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries

Dan Rather and Elliott Kirschner: The War to Destroy Public Education

“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 …

Subjects: Censorship, Education, Free Speech, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

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 …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries