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Want to know what is on our minds? Find blog posts written here, by the City Club staff, members, and partners. Every week you can find a new edition of #FreeSpeech in the News — a collection of related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century that’s making the news. You’ll also find takes on current events, past forums, and issues surrounding Northeast Ohio. Read on for all things City Club.

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Monday, March 01, 2021

#FREESPEECH in the News March 1, 2021

Bliss Davis, Content and Programming Coordinator, The City Club of Cleveland

#FREESPEECH in the News March 1, 2021

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.) GOP calls to restrict student athlete protests contradicts free speech law, expert says

A letter sent to Tennessee Universities about student athlete protests may violate a law the same senators supported years ago.

State republican senators sent a letter to nine public universities last week encouraging them to put in policies barring student athletes from being disrespectful toward what the flag and National Anthem represents. The letter says they support students’ rights to protest individually, but not when in uniform representing a university.

The ‘Campus Free Speech Protection Act’ promises all students at Tennessee universities full support to free speech, including protests and demonstrations.

It became law in January 2018 and was supported by eight of the same senators who signed this new letter.

2.) Free speech advocates say new bills under consideration in Oklahoma Legislature stifle right to protest

A group of new bills are drawing criticism free speech advocates say would severely limit Oklahomans’ rights under the First Amendment.

“They only serve to make sure that fewer people want to raise their voices in Oklahoma using protests and they very likely ensure that more people go to jail for protest related incidents,” said Abby Henderson, a native Oklahoman and counsel at the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable.

She co-wrote a piece drawing attention to the bills that are being rolled out.

Laws that would make it a felony to protest in public streets, or one that would require that public employees, like teachers, who take part in “unlawful assembly” be fired.

3.) 'Free speech' app Gab allegedly hacked, 70GB of data and millions of posts stolen

A member of a popular whistle-blowing group has claimed to have broken into controversial social network Gab and extracted over 70 GB of user data.

In an interview, Emma Best, the founder of the Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecretcs) group, shared that a hacktivist who self-identifies as "JaXpArO and My Little Anonymous Revival Project" claims to have exploited a SQL injection vulnerability in the alternative social network’s database to get their hands on the data.

"It contains pretty much everything on Gab, including user data and private posts, everything someone needs to run a nearly complete analysis on Gab users and content," Best told WIRED.

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