Monday, September 24, 2018
#FREESPEECH IN THE NEWS: SEPTEMBER 24, 2018
As the Citadel of Free Speech here in Cleveland, we work to protect and promote the basis of our democracy by sharing related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century. Here's what's making the news – and what you should know about – in the past week.
1.) Prison First Amendment fight goes to U.S. Supreme Court
The right to free speech for inmates has reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
A series of decisions by the Florida Department of Corrections has resulted in inmates not receiving issues of the Prison Legal News since 2009. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May sided with the department, which argues that advertisements in Prison Legal News pose security risks.
Attorneys for the publication argued in the petition that “censorship” by the department violates First Amendment rights to free speech and a free press.
“Publishers, reporters, and advertisers have a constitutionally protected interest in communicating with prisoners, and prisoners have a right to receive those communications,” the 45-page petition said. “These protections are all the more important when the publication at issue is uniquely designed to inform prisoners of their legal rights, and a prison’s decision to silence that speech is all the more suspect when it is applied in a blanket manner to the entire incarcerated population based on bare assertions of security concerns without supporting evidence.”
2.) James Woods bashes Twitter after getting locked out, says it violates his free speech
Actor James Woods, a conservative, is upset with the social media platform Twitter after his account was suspended after a tweet. Woods says being locked out of his account violates his right to free speech.
According to Twitter, Woods tweeted a message that violates their terms of service. The tweet was sent July 20 and included a hoax meme. Twitter says the meme "has the potential to be misleading in a way that could impact an election." In an email, Twitter says he will be permitted to use his account again if he deletes the tweet.
In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press on Sunday, Woods said this means he'll be allowed back on Twitter only if he decides to do what Twitter says. He says he won't do that, and he won't delete the tweet.
3.) Biotech leaders jump into US free speech debate
Following more than 300 publications around the U.S. publishing editorials reiterating the right to free speech and free press, senior figures in the biotechnology industry has done so as well.
A letter upholding free speech was published on the site Nature. The letter includes more than 160 signatures.
We are gravely concerned about trends in the United States that are undermining our news media, such that more than 300 news publications across the country recently found it necessary to run coordinated editorials in defense of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press,” they write.
“Why do we, in particular, feel compelled to speak out? We dedicate our lives to discovering and developing new medicines. In recent years, we have witnessed astonishing advances in medicine, including treating diseases at the level of genes and cells. These modern miracles rely, more than anything else, on the free and public exchange of ideas.”
