Ed. note: The Daily Media Update will return Tuesday, July 5. Happy Fourth of July from the Institute for Free Speech!
We’re Hiring!
Senior Attorney – Institute for Free Speech – Washington, DC or Virtual Office
The Institute for Free Speech is hiring a Senior Attorney with a minimum of seven years of experience. The location for this position is either at our Washington, D.C. office or remotely anywhere in the United States.
This is a rare opportunity to work with a growing team to litigate a long-term legal strategy directed toward the protection of Constitutional rights. We challenge laws, practices, and policies that infringe upon First Amendment freedoms, such as speech codes that censor parents at school board meetings, laws restricting people’s ability to give and receive campaign contributions, and any intrusion into people’s private political associations. You would work to hold censors accountable; and to secure legal precedents clearing away a thicket of laws, regulations, and practices that suppress speech about government and candidates for political office, threaten citizens’ privacy if they speak or join groups, and impose heavy burdens on political activity.
FEC
Axios: DeSantis backers plot early 2024 boost
By Lachlan Markay
A new political group led by veteran Republican strategist Ed Rollins is looking to jump-start a potential Ron DeSantis presidential bid with a legally extraordinary attempt to beef up his donor contact list, Axios has learned.
The group, Ready for Ron, says it plans to gather the names and contact information of more than 1 million DeSantis supporters nationwide by the end of the year — then provide that potent political asset, free of charge, to the DeSantis camp.
Campaign finance experts say its proposed tactics are legally questionable, and, if accepted by federal regulators, would remake how candidates “test the waters” before runs at public office.
Ready for Ron, which Rollins founded in May, detailed its plans in a letter to the Federal Election Commission last month. It asked for an official ruling on the tactics it plans to use to boost a potential White House bid by the Florida governor.
By Madison Hall
A Federal Election Commission official appointed by President Donald Trump was billed as a member of the “Trump Elections Team” before speaking at a Republican “election integrity” event in Texas in November 2021, according to an invitation reviewed by Insider.
In a series of Facebook ads promoting FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor’s appearance, the Denton County Republican Party made no mention of Trainor’s service as a duly appointed FEC commissioner — one who regularly votes on campaign finance-related cases involving Trump and his political associates.
Several campaign finance experts, including former FEC commissioners, expressed concern about a commissioner involving himself or herself in overtly partisan activities. They suggested Trainor should recuse himself from adjudicating matters involving the Trump campaign while he continues to serve with the FEC, but disagreed as to whether he broke any rule or law.
Political Giving
Bloomberg: Amazon, Disney, AT&T Gave to Abortion Foes Like DeSantis While Vowing to Help Employees
By Ike Swetlitz and Spencer Soper
Three corporate giants that pledged to pay for employees to travel for reproductive medical care also contributed to the campaigns of anti-abortion governors…
It’s common for companies, their workers or other entities with ties to businesses to give money to politicians on both sides of the aisle…
“In most cases, the companies’ support for the politicians is not because of the abortion issue,” said Jane Sumner, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, who studies the relationship between public opinion and the role of corporations in politics…
Still, companies could face pressure, including from within, to change their strategies. At Amazon, nearly 1,800 employees had signed a petition as of Thursday calling on the company to take “immediate and decisive action against the threat to our basic human rights with the overturning of Roe v. Wade,” according to internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg.
The employees suggest Amazon not “aid or abet anti-abortion causes,” including through donations to public figures. Amazon managers on Wednesday shut down a conversation on the matter on an internal message board dedicated to diversity and inclusion, by saying “we will pass on the feedback shared here to leaders for their consideration.”
Internet Speech Regulation
Politico: Push to rein in social media sweeps the states
By Rebecca Kern
Efforts to police speech on social media are spreading across the country, with lawmakers in 34 states pushing bills that are already setting up court battles with tech giants over the First Amendment.
State legislators have introduced more than 100 bills in the past year aiming to regulate how social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter handle their users’ posts, according to POLITICO’s analysis of data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. However, only three bills have become law…
Blue states are joining the trend as well, though Democrats’ emphasis is pressing social media companies to establish policies for reporting hate speech, violent content and misinformation…
“You cannot have a state-by-state internet,” [Jeff Kosseff, a cybersecurity law professor at the U.S. Naval Academy] said. “When you step back and look at the possibility of having 50 different state laws on content moderation — some of which might differ or might conflict — that becomes a complete disaster.”
The States
Carolina Tails: South Carolina Needs a Good SLAPP Law
By Eric Robinson
In late May, the Judiciary Committee of the North Carolina State Assembly approved a legislative bill, which would allow for early dismissal of lawsuits making libel or other claims that are meant to shut down discussion of important public issues.
The bill is now due to be considered by the Assembly as a whole.
If North Carolina adopts the bill into law, it will become the 34th state to pass a so-called “Anti-SLAPP” statute…
Such a bill should also be seriously considered here in South Carolina.
Ed. note: The Institute for Free Speech’s 50-state anti-SLAPP scorecard is available here. Also, along with 27 other nonprofit organizations and trade associations from across the political spectrum, the Institute for Free Speech recently co-signed an open letter to the Uniform Law Commission endorsing the ULC’s model state law. Read the letter here.
Cleveland.com: East Cleveland’s crusade against political dissent
By Ben Field
If a city passed a law making it a crime to campaign against the incumbent mayor, it would blatantly violate the First Amendment. What happens, though, if that city simply deploys the full force of its police and lawyers to accomplish the same result?
Colorado Politics: Twenty new laws go into effect on Friday, including fentanyl, collective bargaining, state budget
By Marianne Goodland
Campaign finance: As of July 1, campaign contributions to school board candidates, which have been unlimited in the past, will be capped at $2,500 from any individual and $25,000 from a small donor committee, under House Bill 1060.
WVLT: New Tennessee Laws take effect on July 1
By Mary Alice Royse
Increasing transparency and accountability to campaign finance – To provide more sunshine to campaign operations, SB1005 will require state candidates to report all expenditures regardless of the amount and all contributions over $100. It allows for unitemized contributions up to $100; however, if unitemized contributions make up $2,000 or more per statement period, per candidate, then those contributions must be reported.
