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Dec 9

Become a FIRE member with a tax-deductible gift of $25 or more at thefire.org/membership. Members ensure that FIRE has the resources needed to defend the free speech rights of all Americans. We’ve already defended the rights of thousands. You can help keep the 🔥 going.

FIRE Retweeted

Nico Perrino

@NicoPerrino

Speech codes are tools for censorship, subject to the whims of those in power. Twitter's speech codes are no different: They are arbitrarily enforced, ripe with double standards, and feature little to no enforcement transparency.

The government cannot jail journalists for asking a question. 👇

Reporters’ rights roll call: Broad ‘friend of the court’ support pours in for citizen journalist...

Texas officials arrested citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal for exercising her core First Amendment right to ask government officials for information as part of her reporting.

In just a few clicks you can help protect holiday spirit, no matter the holiday

19h

This holiday season, teach the Scrooges of King County in Washington the meaning of ... First Amendment rights.

p2a.co

It's getting more dangerous and difficult to criticize the Chinese government on campus. The latest arrest of a Berklee student who stalked an activist and said he'd “chop" her "bastard hands off" if she posted protest signs shows the danger is escalating:

Arrest of student in Boston a grim reminder of the danger facing Chinese dissidents on campus

The FBI arrested a Berklee College of Music student and Chinese citizen accused of stalking a fellow Chinese citizen because the victim publicly posted signs on Berklee’s campus supporting the recent...

's controversial documentary “What is a Woman?” has sparked outrage on a number of university campuses. But nowhere have people lost their shit over this movie quite like a few detractors at UC Davis. 😲

UC Davis feces-flingers lose their shit over movie screening

Sacramento-area chapters of Turning Point USA met at UC Davis to watch a screening of the controversial documentary “What is a Woman?” Then two black-clad masked figures threw a bag of feces into the...

22h

According to FIRE Senior Fellow

@rshibley

, the #TwitterFiles "show nothing more clearly than that those given great power did not exercise great responsibility."

The ‘Twitter Files’ have opened the company's censorship decisions to public scrutiny

Elon Musk's publishing of prior management's internal decision-making processes around the 2020 election reveals how content moderation decisions were made.

Twitter's private information policy and doxxing | Twitter Help

Dec 15

We need free speech defenders whose commitment to principle doesn’t waver when they confront speech they don’t like. Just because you have the power to suspend an account, doesn’t mean you should. /5

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Twitter policy now bans tweets that share someone’s live location regardless of intent and whether that info is publicly available. This overbroad policy will authorize the suppression of all sorts of content of public interest and is ripe for abuse. /4

help.twitter.com

Learn about how Twitter handles unauthorized posting of private information, also known as doxxing, and how to report it.

But yesterday Twitter permanently suspended the

@ElonJet

account. Its 20-year-old creator Jack Sweeney summed up our thoughts on Musk’s hypocrisy perfectly. “I mean, this looks horrible. He literally said he was keeping my account up for free speech.”/3

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Elon Musk

Dec 15

Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info. Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok.

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Dec 15

In November, Musk said he wouldn’t ban

@ElonJet

— which used public info to track Musk’s flights — because of his commitment to free speech. /2

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Elon Musk

Nov 7

My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk

For a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” this is not a good look,

Special Episode: Turning the Tide on Campus Censorship [498]

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109

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Campus Scholars are FIRE's boots-on-the-ground students. Go to thefire.org/CampusScholars to learn more!

0:48

1K views

Good interview with

. It's nice to hear the no drama, no politics defense for a culture of free speech.

open.spotify.com

Listen to this episode from The Editors on Spotify. Sponsor:FIRE

Great opening night at

with

"It’s too early to tell what Musk will make of Twitter, but he has done a public service by opening up the company’s vast censorship regime to public scrutiny." More from FIRE Senior Fellow

@rshibley

and the #TwitterFiles ⬇️

The ‘Twitter Files’ have opened the company's censorship decisions to public scrutiny

Elon Musk's publishing of prior management's internal decision-making processes around the 2020 election reveals how content moderation decisions were made.

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UC Davis feces-flingers lose their shit over movie screening

Margaret Mead 🔥

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Talk 💩 Don't fling 💩

Like the Ghost of Christmas Present, FIRE offers a chance at redemption for the county that ordered staff to keep virtual workspaces clear of religious imagery. Fix the holiday decoration guidelines—because government workers have 1A rights, even at work.

King County, Wash. is this year’s First Amendment Scrooge

The county, where Seattle sits, ordered its staff to keep virtual workspaces clear of religious imagery.

Hey, first-years! Ready to speak up on campus? Take FIRE's Freshman Orientation course to learn about your free speech rights and the principles behind the First Amendment! learn.thefire.org/courses/lesson

FIRE's Spotlight on Speech Codes 2023 is live! How does your school stack up? 🚥

Spotlight on Speech Codes

FIRE surveys speech codes at America’s top colleges and universities, providing readers with key data on individual schools and national trends.

‘The foundation of intellectual discovery’: The role of academic freedom in civil society by Dave Hudson

‘The foundation of intellectual discovery’: The role of academic freedom in civil society

Academic freedom refers to the ability of educational institutions, professors, and other scholars to pursue knowledge without unreasonable interference from the government.

2022, like every other year, was cruel to so-called blasphemers. I wrote about how people continue to suffer under blasphemy laws and norms, and how some countries are currently trying to make it even less safe for dissenters. New post:

sarahemclaugh.substack.com

2022: This Year in Blasphemy

The world isn’t safe for blasphemers. That much has long been clear. One incident from this year’s review of blasphemy arrests and attacks will, of course, stand out: The horrific act of violence...

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"What these government officials seem to forget is their utter lack of authority to demand that private platforms censor constitutionally protected speech." FIRE's

@mharwood31

and

@aaronterr1

on bipartisan calls to regulate social media.

Illiberal and ill-advised calls to censor social media intensify

From jawboning to threats of legislation, government officials and lawmakers disregard the First Amendment and undermine free speech culture.

"Twitter relied on politics, prejudice, and cronyism in how it would treat both fact and opinion, with the shadow of federal law enforcement looming nearby." FIRE Senior Fellow

@rshibley

and the #TwitterFiles 👇

The ‘Twitter Files’ have opened the company's censorship decisions to public scrutiny

Elon Musk's publishing of prior management's internal decision-making processes around the 2020 election reveals how content moderation decisions were made.

Removing and banning books is an erosion of our country's commitment to freedom of expression, as #UniteAgainstBookBans partner

@TheFireOrg

's new billboard campaign reminds us:

Billboard campaign tells Texas officials to respect the First Amendment

We must work to persuade social media companies to respect and encourage a culture of free expression online — not have government dictate what speech is in or out of bounds.

Illiberal and ill-advised calls to censor social media intensify

From jawboning to threats of legislation, government officials and lawmakers disregard the First Amendment and undermine free speech culture.

When it comes to free speech on campus, the % of schools earning an overall red light rating from FIRE increased for the first time in 15 years. This increase was caused, in part, by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. What's happening?

Spotlight on Speech Codes 2023

“Proponents of regulating misinformation underestimate the difficulty of sorting out truth from falsity and fact from opinion, or the dangers of having the government be the arbiter of truth.” -

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From jawboning to threats of legislation, FIRE's @mharwood31 and @aaronterr1 examine how government officials and lawmakers disregard the #FirstAmendment and undermine free speech culture. thefire.org/news/illiberal

King County, Washington prohibits employees from having a Christmas tree or a menorah visible in their workspaces because those are "religious" & could offend. It's stunning how often reality reads like parody.

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Very important issue.

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From jawboning to threats of legislation, FIRE's

@mharwood31

and

@aaronterr1

examine how government officials and lawmakers disregard the #FirstAmendment and undermine free speech culture.

Illiberal and ill-advised calls to censor social media intensify

From jawboning to threats of legislation, government officials and lawmakers disregard the First Amendment and undermine free speech culture.

As bleak as free speech trends on college campus might feel, there is positive change afoot if we step back. These ratings from

are super interesting and easy to follow. Amazing work!

Spotlight on Speech Codes 2023

Dec 13

Almost 90% of colleges maintain policies that infringe on free speech rights. How do they get away with that? Well, people don't know about it. That's why FIRE shines a Spotlight on Speech Codes.

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1.8K views

Dec 13

"As graduate students in the University of California system strike for higher wages, one university is suppressing support for striking students through selective enforcement of its electronic communications policy." - FIRE's

@SabrinaConza

UC Irvine selectively enforces electronic communications policy, suppresses support for striking...

The University of California Irvine is violating student rights by preventing its graduate and undergraduate student governments from expressing support for the campus’s ongoing graduate student...

ICYMI: The Empowering of the American Mind: 9 Principles for Preparing K-12 Students to Thrive in a Diverse Democracy

The Empowering of the American Mind: 9 Principles for Preparing K-12 Students to Thrive in a...

Judicial security is important. But as drafted, section 5934 poses overbroad restrictions on speech, including that which could reveal judicial conflicts.

Daniel Schuman | @danielschuman@mastodon.social

joined this letter & hopes the Senate will keep the section out of the #NDAA until its problems are fixed.

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@danielschuman

Dec 12

The #NDAA internet censoring provision is set for Senate consideration this week. It allow federal courts to order anyone to remove info about fed'l judges from the internet. Let's hope @SenSchumer @LeaderMcConnell @SenJackReed @JimInhofe read our letter and cut section 5934.

A letter concerning an internet censoring provision of the NDAA. It starts:

Dear Senators:

We are deeply concerned that the National Defense Authorization Act will severely undermine accountability for federal judges regarding ethical and conflicts-of-interest matters. Accordingly, we call upon the Senate to remove Section 5934 from the NDAA prior to passage.

The "Judicial Security and Privacy Act" contained in Title LIX Subtitle D of the NDAA empowers federal judges to order websites and data brokers to remove information that concern federal judges off the internet and out of their databases, backed by the threat of a penalty and damages for noncompliance. While the entirety of Subtitle D is intended to protect federal judges, Section 5934 seriously infringes upon the First Amendment and impinges upon public oversight of ethics matters concerning the federal judiciary.

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Dec 13

The 2023 edition of Spotlight on Speech Codes — out today — shows that 88% of American colleges restrict student free speech. Read the full report:

Spotlight on Speech Codes 2023

For 15 years, the number of colleges maintaining our worst rating for free speech has been in decline. Until now. FIRE’s new ratings of almost 500 colleges across the country are out today. See how your school stacks up.

Find all the information FIRE has compiled about a school you care about, giving you the full picture of the state of free speech on campus.

Colleges (Find a School)

The background 👇

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