Regulating Smartphones? Jonathan Haidt vs. Libertarians
The author of The Anxious Generation argues that parents, schools, and society must keep kids off of social media.
Christopher Yoo on Regulating Social Media Platforms as "Common Carriers"
The Univ. of Pennsylvania legal scholar makes the most thorough critique yet of this approach to justifying regulations that bar social media firms from engaging in most types of content moderation.
FBI Agent Says He Hassles People 'Every Day, All Day Long' Over Facebook Posts
"It's just an effort to keep everybody safe and make sure nobody has any ill will," he claimed.
The Supreme Court Should Reject Clandestine Government Censorship of Online Speech
The Biden administration’s social media meddling went far beyond "information" and "advice."
Supreme Court Says Officials Who Block Critics on Social Media Might Be Violating the First Amendment
The justices established guidelines for determining whether that is true in any particular case.
SCOTUS Ponders Whether the Biden Administration Coerced Social Media Platforms To Censor Speech
Several justices seemed concerned that an injunction would interfere with constitutionally permissible contacts.
The New York Times Again Worries That Free Speech Endangers Democracy
The newspaper portrays the constitutional challenge to the government's social media meddling as a conspiracy by Donald Trump's supporters.
FIRE Highlights the Blatant Hypocrisy of State Officials Who Decry Government Meddling With Social Media
Even as they attack the Biden administration's crusade against "misinformation," Missouri and Louisiana defend legal restrictions on content moderation.
Supreme Court Looks Poised To Gut Restrictive Social Media Laws
The First Amendment restricts governments, not private platforms, and respects editorial rights.
Texas and Florida Say the First Amendment Must Be Sacrificed to Save It
Supreme Court arguments about two social media laws highlight a dangerous conflation of state and private action.
Most Justices Seem Skeptical of the Florida and Texas Social Media Laws
The Supreme Court seems inclined to recognize that content moderation is protected by the First Amendment.
Government Is Snooping on Your Phone
Many apps collect data that is then accessed by outside entities. Should you care?
Shoshana Weissmann: Online Age Verification Rules Are Unconstitutional and Ineffective
"None of these laws prevent kids from viewing anything. They just prevent kids from posting," argues Shoshana Weissmann.
Nanny State Social Media Mandates Are No Substitute for Effective Parenting
Throughout Republican-run Western states, lawmakers are passing legislation that treats adults as if they are children.
Trump's Terrible, Popular Tariffs
Plus: A listener asks if it should become the norm for all news outlets to require journalists to disclose their voting records.
He Was Arrested for Making a Joke on Facebook. A Jury Just Awarded Him $205,000 in Damages.
The verdict vindicates the constitutional rights that Louisiana sheriff's deputies flagrantly violated when they hauled Waylon Bailey off to jail.
Mark Zuckerberg Is Not a Murderer, Mr. Senator
Republicans and Democrats are using emotional manipulation to push an agenda of censorship.
Parents, Not Government, Should Control How Kids Use Social Media
Free societies generally leave these matters to individuals and families.
Jeff Kosseff: Why False Speech Deserves First Amendment Protections
The former journalist defends misinformation in the Trump era and explains why so many journalists are against free speech.
These Public Officials Blocked Critics on Social Media. Was That Constitutional?
The Supreme Court considers whether and when banishing irksome constituents violates the First Amendment.
Prosecutors Turn Their Extortion Racket Against Facebook and Instagram
The propensity of prosecutors to jump to conclusions before all the evidence is in is very destructive—and nothing new.
The Bipartisan Urge To Control Online Speech
Democrats and Republicans are united in thinking their political agendas trump the First Amendment.
SCOTUS Will Decide When the Government's Social Media Meddling Violates the First Amendment
The justices agreed to consider whether the Biden administration's efforts to suppress online "misinformation" were unconstitutional.
New York's Online Hate Speech Law Raises Serious First Amendment Concerns
Even content creators outside of New York would feel its effects.
The Best of Reason: Competition, Not Antitrust, Is Humbling the Tech Giants
The worst of the antitrust alarmism keeps proving untrue, as tech companies believed by some to be monopolies instead lose market share.
The Social Media Moral Panic Won't Help Teens
We should all be skeptical that the same government that can't balance a budget can revamp the dominant form of modern communications and boost young people's self-esteem.
Defenders of the Florida and Texas Social Media Laws Contradict Themselves
If Facebook et al. are pushing a "radical leftist narrative," why don’t they have a constitutional right to do that?
Competition, Not Antitrust, Is Humbling the Tech Giants
The worst of the antitrust alarmism keeps proving untrue, as tech companies believed by some to be monopolies instead lose market share.
The 5th Circuit Agrees That Federal Officials Unconstitutionally 'Coerced' or 'Encouraged' Online Censorship
The appeals court narrowed a preliminary injunction against such meddling but confirmed the threat that it poses to freedom of speech.
Jared Polis: Democrats Are 'More Pro-Freedom Than Republicans'
The Colorado governor finds common ground with many libertarians. But does he really stand for more freedom?
Don't Bring Back COVID Authoritarianism
People should be free to choose how cautious to be. Mask mandates, lockdowns, and closing schools won't stop the virus.
A Ruling Against a Man Arrested for a COVID-19 Joke Highlights the Influence of a Pernicious Analogy
A federal judge compared Waylon Bailey’s Facebook jest to "falsely shouting fire in a theatre."
'No Reasonable Officer' Would Have Arrested a Guy for a COVID-19 Joke, the 5th Circuit Says
The appeals court ruled that a Facebook post alluding to World War Z was clearly protected by the First Amendment.
The Washington Post Says Democracy Demands Less Freedom of Speech
The paper worries that "social media companies are receding from their role as watchdogs against political misinformation."
Jay Bhattacharya & John Vecchione: Biden's Social Media Meddling Was Illegal
Plaintiffs in Missouri v. Biden allege that federal pressure to remove and suppress COVID-19 material on Facebook and Twitter violates the First Amendment.
Was Biden's Social Media Meddling Illegal?
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern for a live discussion with Jay Bhattacharya and John Vecchione about their legal case against the Biden administration.
Studies Keep Finding That Social Media Algorithms Don't Increase Polarization. Why Is the Press So Skeptical?
New research on Facebook before the 2020 election finds scant evidence to suggest algorithms are shifting our political views.
Biden White House Pressured Facebook To Censor Lab Leak Posts
"Can someone quickly remind me why we were removing—rather than demoting/labeling—claims that Covid is man made," asked Meta's president for global affairs.
Nearly 200 School Districts Are Suing Social Media Platforms
Plus: court strikes down Arizona law against filming cops, GOP candidates want to cut Social Security for young people, and more...
Attack of the Twitter Clones
Plus: Groups ask Supreme Court to say public officials can't block people, latest jobs report shows openings down, and more...
Federal Judge to Biden Administration: Stop Telling Social Media Sites To Limit Free Speech
Plus: Teaching A.I. about the Fourth of July, and more...
Supreme Court Refuses To Expand the 'True Threats' Exception for Free Speech
Plus: Maine prostitution measure becomes law, "significant misconduct" in jail where Epstein hung himself, Mike Pence defends free markets, and more...
FTC Chair Lina Khan Ignored Ethics Official's Advice About Meta Case, Then Said She Didn't
Plus: RIP Daniel Ellsberg, the Pioneers of Capitalism, and more...
Congress Had Questions About the CDC Stifling Dissent. Rochelle Walensky Refused To Answer.
Plus: Court using anti-pornography software to track a criminal defendant, $25 million verdict against Starbucks over fired employee, and more...
California Lawmakers Want To Make Tech Companies Subsidize News Media
Plus: Debt ceiling deal passes House, Congress wants to childproof the internet, lactation consultant licensing law is unconstitutional, and more...
European Union Fines Meta $1.3 Billion Because of NSA Spying Programs
The record penalty seems to be based less on the Facebook parent company's lax data practices than the U.S. intelligence community's data-collection programs.
The Future of Media Literacy Education
Media literacy education invites a slew of nonprofit organizations and consultancies into the public school system, many of whom may have their own political agendas.
