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Articles by Gillian Vernick
Eighth Circuit considers constitutionality of electronic device border searches
The last two decades have seen a dramatic expansion of government surveillance as the technological capacity to closely monitor people has grown with the shift to the cloud and the proliferation of digital metadata. In turn, courts have been asked to apply a nearly 250-year-old document, the U.S. Constitution, to law enforcement practices that have evolved faster than the law can keep up.
New York wades into social media regulation waters
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed a legislative package into law that includes new regulations governing how platforms police what the law calls “hateful conduct” online, making New York the latest state to attempt to control how platforms moderate content. While the law takes a different approach, it suffers from a similar constitutional flaw as the measures currently blocked in Florida and Texas that purport to regulate “bias” by platforms.
A close look at Justice Alito’s dissent as SCOTUS blocks Texas social media law
In a very welcome move, the U.S. Supreme Court last week narrowly granted an emergency application by the plaintiffs in NetChoice v. Paxton to block enforcement of H.B. 20, the Texas law that would allow the state to force large social media platforms to host speech they otherwise would not. The Court vacated an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that permitted the law to go into effect. The vote was 5-4.
Federal appeals court decides constitutionality of content preservation
In a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, United States v. Rosenow, the court affirmed the conviction of a man charged with sexual exploitation and possession of child pornography after Yahoo investigated several accounts it suspected were involved in such activity.
EU poised to impose sweeping social media regulation with Digital Services Act
The European Union is on the verge of doing what the U.S. has not done (and, in some cases, could not do) — comprehensively regulate social media platforms. Last week, the European Parliament and EU Council reached an agreement on the Digital Services Act, and while the final text has not been released, the law would impose sweeping new rules for internet platforms, regulating everything from “dark patterns” and algorithms to public safety threats and illegal content.
US Treasury Department tries to avoid Russian ‘splinternet’
As the Russian military offensive in Ukraine rages on, many internet companies and providers have pulled their services from Russia in solidarity with Ukrainians. In addition, many countries have implemented or are considering sanctions that could interfere with Russian internet access. However, the restriction of internet services in Russia has an unintended consequence: the further isolation of Russian citizens and media from the free flow of truthful information online.
A look at Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s record on press freedom
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sat for four days of questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her Supreme Court confirmation hearings last week, fielding inquiries on her judicial record and general legal philosophy. In her final day of hearings, Judge Jackson addressed the First Amendment and the freedom of the press that she stated “undergirds our democracy.” During the hearings, Sen.
Amid ‘Sunshine Week,’ darkness persists in state public records law
As advocates for public access to government information celebrated “Sunshine Week,” five Pennsylvania news outlets, represented by Reporters Committee attorneys, sued the York County Clerk of Courts for infringing on their constitutionally protected rights to access judicial records, moving last week for a preliminary injunction to halt the clerk’s obstructive practices.
Visual forensics merge with traditional war reporting in ‘first social media war’
The internet and, in particular, social media’s critical role in armed conflict and civil unrest is not new (the Arab Spring, in 2011, and the 2014 Ukrainian revolution being especially relevant examples). But something slightly different may be happening with Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine: Social media is merging with rigorous traditional journalism to provide historic public visibility into the conflict.
What the release of the Amir Locke shooting video reveals about Minnesota public access laws
Police body-worn camera footage recently released by the city of Minneapolis shows a SWAT team officer with the Minneapolis Police Department fatally shooting 22-year-old Amir Locke 10 seconds into executing a no-knock warrant at Locke’s apartment in the early morning hours of Feb. 2. In addition, the city released a still-frame of the video showing Locke awakening from the couch he was sleeping on when the officers entered the apartment, holding a pistol facing the floor.
Louisiana State Police used drones to surveil protesters
Louisiana State Police deployed surveillance drones for hours-long flights during protests in New Orleans and Baton Rouge after the killing of George Floyd in 2020, according to reporting from local New Orleans outlet The Lens. Recently obtained flight logs show that state police flew an unmanned aerial drone over protesters in New Orleans for one flight lasting five hours starting at 5 p.m., and another flight for two hours with no clear starting time. The Baton Rouge flight lasted four hours.
Maryland governor uses disappearing messages app, claims public records law doesn’t apply
In December, the Washington Post revealed that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan was using an application to communicate with his political aides and advisers that automatically deletes messages after 24 hours, despite those records potentially being subject to requests under Maryland’s open records law. According to the Post, Hogan uses a messaging app called Wickr to ensure the messages in a private chat with state employees self-destruct after 24 hours.
Well-meaning or not, proposed New York social media bill likely unconstitutional
A New York state bill is seeking to target vaccine misinformation and other speech “that is likely to endanger the safety or health of the public” on social media platforms (h/t Techdirt). While not focused on ideological bias, like the laws passed (and currently blocked) in Florida and Texas, the legislation would nonetheless implicate similar First Amendment concerns. The bill, proposed by New York state Sen.
Jan. 6 House committee issues subpoena for photojournalist's records
On Wednesday, freelance photojournalist Amy Harris sued the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol after it served a subpoena on her phone provider for three months worth of call records, which would disclose who called whom and when, and could thus be used to identify confidential sources. Harris had done extensive reporting on the Proud Boys, and covered the Capitol attack.
Missouri officials were ready to thank reporter before issuing threats
New emails obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch show that before Missouri’s governor accused Post-Dispatch reporter Josh Renaud of being a “hacker” and threatened him with criminal and civil action, state officials had proposed thanking Renaud for uncovering a mistake that led to a possible exposure of thousands of teachers’ social security numbers in the HTML code of a state agency website.
SCOTUS, Bivens remedies and the First Amendment
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided to hear a case asking whether a person can sue an agent of the federal government for money damages to remedy a violation of his or her First Amendment rights, absent an express statutory grant. The case, Egbert v.
‘Actual malice’ and internet speech
Update: In an order issued on Nov. 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Pace v. Baker-White and Tah v. Global Witness Publishing, Inc. The U.S. Supreme Court considered whether to hear appeals in two libel cases at its latest conference last week. In both, the petitioner is asking the Court to walk back the landmark First Amendment precedent, New York Times v. Sullivan.
The Supreme Court, pole camera surveillance and the Fourth Amendment
Last week, a defendant in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit who lost his appeal filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether warrantless long-term pole camera surveillance of a private residence violates the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable government searches. In the Seventh Circuit case, United States v.
Not much news for media law out of the Supreme Court's 'long conference'
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held its “long conference” in advance of the start of a new term on Oct. 4. At the conference, the justices considered all new petitions since the beginning of July, a total of 1,296. Usually, the Court will agree to hear a handful of these cases. Last year, it granted seven new petitions. This year it granted four, including only one First Amendment case — involving the government speech doctrine and the religion clauses.
Troy Brouwer - Inside Hockey
by Rachel Lewis | Nov 15, 2018 | Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, NHL, Photo Galleries The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Florida Panthers 7-3 Thursday, November 15, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. (Rachel Lewis – Inside Hockey) by Rachel Lewis | Nov 22, 2017 | Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL, Photo Galleries The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 in overtime Wednesday, November 22, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.
Brooks Laich - Inside Hockey
by Bob Fina | Apr 7, 2016 | Philadelphia Flyers, Photo Galleries, Toronto Maple Leafs The visiting Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 4-3 in overtime.
Nail Yakupov - Inside Hockey
by Rachel Lewis | Mar 4, 2016 | Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Photo Galleries The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 Friday, March 4, 2016 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. (Rachel Lewis – Inside Hockey) by Bob Fina | Mar 3, 2016 | Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Photo Galleries The visiting Edmonton Oilers shutout the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 4-0 during regulation.
Jonas Hiller - Inside Hockey
by Bob Fina | Feb 29, 2016 | Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers, Photo Galleries The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the visiting Calgary Flames by a score of 5-3 during regulation. Three Star Selections: 1st Brayden Schenn (#10 PHI) 2nd Claude Giroux (#28 PHI) 3rd Wayne Simmonds (#17 PHI) by Mike Stern | Apr 2, 2015 | Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, NHL, Winnipeg Jets Playoff hockey – and not golf — is the desired game of choice for the Dallas Stars for mid-April.
Calle Jankronk - Inside Hockey
Caps fall in Trotz’s return to Nashville by | Jan 17, 2015 | Homepage, Inside Hockey, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals It was a homecoming coach Barry Trotz had circled on the calendar, returning to his former team in a building he knows very well. After coaching in Nashville for 15 seasons, the first 15 years of the Predator’s existence in the league, the Predators and their...
Seth Jone - Inside Hockey
Caps fall in Trotz’s return to Nashville by | Jan 17, 2015 | Homepage, Inside Hockey, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals It was a homecoming coach Barry Trotz had circled on the calendar, returning to his former team in a building he knows very well. After coaching in Nashville for 15 seasons, the first 15 years of the Predator’s existence in the league, the Predators and their...
Adam Oates - Inside Hockey
Elias Hits 1,000 by | Jan 11, 2015 | Buffalo Sabres, Homepage, New Jersey Devils With their first back to back win since November 11-14, 2014, the New Jersey Devils are starting to make a turnaround after the firing of coach Peter DeBoer. With Scott Stevens, Adam Oates and New Jersey Devils’ President/General Manager Lou Lamoriello behind the...
Peter Bondra - Inside Hockey
by Alexandra Nseir | Jan 1, 2015 | Chicago Blackhawks, Homepage, Washington Capitals During the first intermission of the Winter Classic, with pop-rock singer Gavin DeGraw performing and pyrotechnics lighting up the infield of Nationals Park, a group of about 20 youth hockey players tossed around a puck on an auxiliary rink in what is usually center...
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