Category «Free Speech»

Memorable Quotes from Dan Rather

From the National Journal, this article is worth savouring for those who appreciated what are referred to as “Ratherisms”. Example: “Let’s pause and take a deep breath, appreciate it for what it is. This is the dance of democracy. This is as close as we come to a kind of a sacred time in this …

Subjects: Free Speech

E-Voting Machine Co. Docs. on Product Flaws Published on Web

An EFF advisory addresses a legal challenge (initiated by two Swarthmore students, an ISP and a privacy group) in response to cease and desist orders issued by an electronic voting machine manufacturer. These orders were in response to the publication on the web of some 13,000 pages of internal corporate documents which included extensive discussion …

Subjects: Copyright, E-Government, Free Speech

Coalition of Booksellers, Publishers and Librarians Files Brief Challenging Patriot Act

“On November 3, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and free speech groups representing librarians, publishers, writers and others filed a brief [in support of the ACLU’s complaint filed July 30] that strongly supports a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the provision of the USA Patriot Act that gives the FBI virtually unlimited …

Subjects: Free Speech, Libraries, Patriot Act

CA Court Rules Former Employee’s Spam Protected Speech

From Boston.internet.com: “In a blow for chipmaker Intel, the California Supreme Court Monday found that senders of spam e-mails cannot be sued under state law forbidding property trespass. The 4 to 3 ruling reversed a lower court injunction preventing former Intel engineer Ken Hamidi from sending e-mails critical of Intel to thousands of its employees.” …

Subjects: E-Mail, Free Speech, Intellectual Property

Supreme Court Backs Net Filters For Libraries

In a 6 to 3 decision (56 pages, pdf) released today in United States v. American Library Association (02-361), the Supreme Court ruled that the Children’s Internet Protection Act does not violate the First Amendment, and Congress can thereby require the use of Internet filters by public libraries receiving federal funds. See also: My related …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Libraries, Privacy

CIPA, Net Filtering and the Supreme Court

From Seth Finkelstein’s Infothought blog, this informative posting on Internet software filtering company N2H2’s current 10Q filing which includes the following language: “Free speech and privacy concerns could adversely affect the demand for our Internet filtering solutions.” On a related issue, see my April 10 posting: U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns (MA) dismissed a …

Subjects: Censorship, Free Speech, Libraries, Privacy