We’re Hiring!
Legal Director – Institute for Free Speech – Washington, DC or Virtual Office
The Institute for Free Speech anticipates the need for a highly experienced attorney to direct its litigation and legal advocacy. In September, President Trump announced the nomination of our longtime Legal Director to the Federal Election Commission, and it is likely he would be confirmed this fall. Once the hearing for that nomination is officially announced, the Institute for Free Speech will move forward with interviewing applicants.
This is a rare opportunity to develop and implement a long-term legal strategy directed toward the protection of Constitutional rights. You would work to create legal precedents clearing away a thicket of laws and regulations that suppress speech about government and candidates for political office, that threaten citizens’ privacy if they speak or join groups, and that impose heavy burdens on organized political activity.
The Legal Director will direct our litigation and legal advocacy, lead our in-house legal team, and manage and expand our network of volunteer attorneys.
A strong preference will be given to candidates who can work in our Washington, D.C. headquarters. However, we will consider exceptionally strong candidates living and working virtually from anywhere in the country.
[You can learn more about this role and apply for the position here.]
In the News
Government Executive: The Nation’s Campaign Finance Watchdog Cannot ‘Bark or Bite’ As Election Day Draws Near
By Courtney Bublé
Due to the prolonged loss of quorum, “some people, political committees and campaigns will also become more aggressive in ‘pushing the envelope’ if they believe there is little chance they will face consequences,” said Larry Noble, adjunct professor at American University Law School who served as FEC general counsel from 1987 to 2000.Along-term effect is that “the agency’s reputation as being ineffective will grow.”
Adav Noti, Campaign Legal Center senior director of trial litigation and chief of staff, told Government Executive…[if] the FEC continues to not have a quorum, long-term issues could affect the agency’s ability to enforce and interpret the law…
A lot of campaign finance law “was written 20 to 40 years ago and it needs pretty regular interpretation by the FEC to keep it current,” Noti added. For example, the laws don’t mention social media or digital advertisements specifically…
Institute for Free Speech Chairman and former FEC Chair Bradley Smith noted that the lack of quorum won’t affect the election itself much because the agency “has no role in election administration or voting.” …
Michael Toner, partner at the law firm Wiley Rein LLP who served as an FEC commissioner from 2002-2007 and was the chairman in 2006, said until the commission–that is supposed to have six members– regains a quorum, it will remain in a “holding pattern.”
The Courts
Federal Election Commission: District Court issues opinion in McCutcheon, et al. v. FEC
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order in McCutcheon, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 20-2485) on Monday, denying Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction.
Wall Street Journal: Google Critics Cheer Justice Department Suit, but Skeptics Question Motives
By Ryan Tracy
The Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.’s Google drew bipartisan praise from lawmakers and cheers from the company’s competitors, while prompting skepticism and accusations of political bias from larger technology companies and critics of the Trump administration…
“It cannot escape notice that this suit was hurried out on the eve of an election where the [Trump] Administration has aggressively pressured tech companies to take actions in its favor,” said a statement from the Computer & Communications Industry Association…
Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), the former attorney general of Missouri, told reporters on a conference call that the suit was a sign of growing discontent with tech companies. He recalled how years ago he struggled to recruit other states to join him in an investigation into Google.
“Seeing the case header ‘United States vs. Google’ is a wonderful, wonderful thing,” Mr. Hawley said.
Congress
The Hill: Graham wants to review ActBlue’s source of small-dollar contributions
By Alexander Bolton
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has seen a tsunami of Democratic small-dollar donations flood the South Carolina Senate race, says the sources of the massive amounts of money flowing through ActBlue and other groups need to be reviewed by policymakers…
“Where’s all this money coming from ActBlue coming from? How easy would it be to just have a bunch of pre-paid credit cards?” he asked The Hill…
“Some of these shadowy figures out there running ads, is there any foreign influence afoot?” Graham asked.
“Where is all this money coming from? You don’t have to report it if it’s below $200,” he added, referring to campaign finance rules that don’t require public reporting of individuals who give less than $200. “When this election is over with, I hope there will be a sitting down and finding out, ‘OK, how do we control this?’ It just seems to be an endless spiral.”
Graham suggested that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) may be interested in teaming up on a review of campaign finance practices and the possibility of new regulation.
Gizmodo: Democrats Propose ‘Section 230’ Changes, Say Facebook Algorithms Cradle Violent Extremists
By Dell Cameron
A pair of Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday introduced the latest bill proposing to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act on the grounds that algorithms used by social media platforms-namely, Facebook-have facilitated extremist violence across the country resulting in U.S. citizens being deprived of their constitutional rights.
The “Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms Act,” authored by U.S. Representatives Anna Eshoo and Tom Malinowski, targets only companies with more than 50 million users. Companies that use “radicalizing” algorithms, the lawmakers say, should not be given immunity if they programmatically amplify content involved in cases alleging civil rights violations…
In a statement, the lawmakers pointed specifically to a lawsuit brought last month by victims of violence during recent protests against racial injustice in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The suit, reported by BuzzFeed, accuses Facebook of abetting violence in Kenosha by “empowering right-wing militias to inflict extreme violence” and depriving the plaintiffs of their civil rights.
The Hill: House Republicans urge Democrats to call hearing with tech CEOs
By Rebecca Klar
Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are urging the panel’s Democratic chairman to hold a hearing with the CEOs of big tech companies regarding censorship and a law that grants the firms a liability shield.
The Republicans in a letter to Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) called for a hearing with Twitter, Google and Facebook CEOs regarding censorship and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 shields tech companies from being legally held accountable for content posted on their platforms by third parties.
Education Department
Wall Street Journal: Top Universities Took Billions in Unreported Foreign Funds, U.S. Finds
By Aruna Viswanatha and Melissa Korn
The 34-page report provides an update to a broad investigation the Education Department undertook last year into whether U.S. universities are appropriately reporting all foreign contracts and gifts that total more than $250,000 in one year. It isn’t illegal to take such funds, but universities are obligated to disclose them under a statute that is decades old but hasn’t been vigorously enforced in past years.
The department said Tuesday it planned to condition access to participation in federal student-loan programs on compliance with foreign-funding obligations.
The government has expressed concern that foreign money may come with strings attached, provide foreign governments improper access to sensitive research or limit academic freedom in some programs…
The Justice Department has been cracking down on violations of a law that requires lobbyists for foreign nationals and governments to publicly disclose that work. A top Republican fundraiser pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a related charge.
Education Department investigators found that “many large and well-resourced institutions of higher education have aggressively pursued and accepted foreign money,” while failing to comply with reporting obligations, according to the new report.
First Amendment
The Intercept: Is the Traditional ACLU View of Free Speech Still Viable? Ira Glasser Speaks Out.
By Glenn Greenwald
But perhaps the most potent and disturbing trend illustrating how rapidly this erosion [of free speech] is taking place is that it has even infected sectors of the organization that has, for decades, been the most stalwart, principled, and unflinching defender of free speech: the American Civil Liberties Union…
What fascinated me most [about the documentary “Mighty Ira” featuring former ACLU Executive Director Ira Glasser] was Glasser’s recounting of the Skokie controversy [and] how African American civil rights leaders of the 1970s and 1980s were among his staunchest allies and supporters when it came to defending the free speech rights of white supremacists groups – because they knew they would be among the first to be targeted by successfully implemented precedents of state censorship. Equally fascinating is Glasser’s invocation of his experience, as a Jewish leftist, and how it led him to believe that defending the free speech rights of those whose views he found most repugnant was not just ethically right but a matter of self-interest.
Online Speech Platforms
By Joseph A. Wulfsohn
Facebook cracked down on the conservative satirical site The Babylon Bee over an article mocking Hawaii’s Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono’s treatment of Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett during last week’s confirmation hearings.
Last Wednesday, the Bee ran a story with the headline, “Senator Hirono Demands ACB Be Weighed Against A Duck To See If She Is A Witch” …
“Oh, she’s a witch alright, just look at her!” the Bee fictitiously quoted Hirono. “Just look at the way she’s dressed and how she’s so much prettier and smarter than us! She’s in league with Beelzebub himself, I just know it! We must burn her!” …
Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon took to Twitter and revealed the lengthy battle his site has had with Facebook, who took down the satirical piece.
“So after a manual review, Facebook says they stand by their decision to pull down this article and demonetize our page. I’m not kidding,” Dillon wrote. “They say this article ‘incites violence.’ It’s literally a regurgitated joke from a Monty Python movie!”
Buzzfeed News: Mark Zuckerberg Said Facebook Will Have Fewer Bans After The Election
By Ryan Mac and Craig Silverman
Facebook has spent the past few months scrambling to ban Holocaust denial, the QAnon mass delusion, and right-wing extremist groups. To outside observers, it appears the company is finally reckoning with the vast landscape of hate and disinformation it has helped create.
But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told employees at a companywide meeting the real reason the social network was cracking down: the US presidential election.
In an all-hands conference call with Facebook employees last Thursday, the 36-year-old billionaire said that the company made policy changes to address the unstable situation around the US election and its aftermath. There has been no change in the way the company operates, according to Zuckerberg…
“Once we’re past these events, and we’ve resolved them peacefully, I wouldn’t expect that we continue to adopt a lot more policies that are restricting of a lot more content,” Zuckerberg said in audio of the conference call obtained by BuzzFeed News.
The Verge: Twitter is temporarily changing how you retweet
By Jay Peters
Twitter is temporarily changing how you retweet ahead of the November 3rd US presidential election, to help prevent abuse and the spread of misinformation. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to retweet. But until at least the end of election week, it won’t be quite as easy as usual to retweet something to all of your followers.
Starting today, when you click or tap the retweet icon, Twitter will pull up the Quote Tweet composer to encourage you to write something about that tweet before you share it. You don’t have to write anything if you don’t want – just leave the composer blank and hit the retweet button to retweet like you normally would. But Twitter is hoping that by introducing some friction into the process, people might better consider exactly what they’re retweeting or take the opportunity to add their own perspective.
NPR: TikTok Tightens Crackdown On QAnon, Will Ban Accounts That Promote Disinformation
By Bobby Allyn
TikTok is toughening its stance against the QAnon conspiracy theory, expanding its ban to all content or accounts that promote videos advancing baseless ideas from the far-right online movement.
Fox News: Twitter, Facebook have censored Trump 65 times compared to zero for Biden, study says
By Brian Flood
President Trump has been censored by Facebook and Twitter 65 times since May 2018, while Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has gone completely unchecked by the social media giants, according to a new study by the Media Research Center.
The Verge: AOC’s debut Twitch stream is one of the biggest ever
By Jacob Kastrenakes
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) made her Twitch debut tonight to play Among Us and encourage viewers to vote. She also, very quickly, became one of the platform’s biggest broadcasters: her stream peaked at 435,000 viewers around the time of her first match, according to Twitch…
That peak viewership puts her broadcast among the 20 biggest streams ever, according to the third-party metrics site TwitchTracker, and much higher if you’re only looking at broadcasts from individual streamers…
Politicians have increasingly been using tech and games to get out their message. The Biden campaign debuted an Animal Crossing island last week. Last year, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joined Twitch to reach a “potentially supportive audience that we may not be hitting other ways.”
Candidates and Campaigns
Daily Beast: Trump Said He’d Ban Foreign Lobbyist Fundraising. Now They’re Bankrolling His Campaign.
By Lachlan Markay
Four years ago to the day, President Donald Trump pledged to impose a blanket ban on political fundraising by registered foreign lobbyists. Now some of those lobbyists are helping to finance his re-election bid.
The States
Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): Conservative Commentator Candace Owens Sues USA Today and Fact-Checker “Lead Stories” for Libel
By Eugene Volokh
The case is Owens v. Lead Stories, LLC, just filed yesterday in Delaware state court; here’s an excerpt:
- This action arises from the Defendants’ malicious publication of false “fact check” articles charging Plaintiffs with spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic on the internet in “an attempt to downplay the severity” of the pandemic.
…
I haven’t looked at this closely enough to opine on the merits, but I thought it worth passing along to our readers; you can read the entire Complaint.
Associated Press: San Francisco officials let people sue over racist 911 calls
By Janie Har
Fed up with white people calling 911 about people of color selling water bottles, barbecuing or otherwise going about their lives, San Francisco leaders unanimously approved hate crime legislation giving the targets of those calls the ability to sue the caller.
The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday on the Caution Against Racial and Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act, also known as the CAREN legislation. It’s a nod to a popular meme using the name “Karen” to describe an entitled white woman whose actions stem from her privilege, such as using police to target people of color.
All 11 supervisors signed on to the legislation, guaranteeing its passage, despite criticism that the name is sexist and divisive.
