@FirstAmendWatch

Project of New York University. We cover threats to the First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition.

 New York, NY
Firstamendmentwatch.org
Joined March 2017
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433Media
We've released a first-of-its-kind database tracking strategic lawsuits against public participation, potentially meritless or malicious legal actions that chill speech and deter scrutiny. Check out The SLAPP Back Initiative: slappback.org/

The SLAPP Back Initiative

The first national database of alleged strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).

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Lawyers for the BBC say President Donald Trump is trying to delay sitting for a deposition in the defamation case he brought against the British broadcaster until January 2027.firstamendmentwatch.org/bbc-…

BBC Asks Judge To Force Trump To Sit for Deposition in His Own Lawsuit Against the Channel

Trump, who has a history of avoiding depositions, filed the lawsuit against the BBC last December.

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The state of Florida won a key court decision Wednesday that allows it to enforce a ban on social media accounts for kids under 14 and other restrictions. firstamendmentwatch.org/flor…

Florida Wins Key Ruling Allowing It To Enforce a Law That Targets Social Media Use by Kids

The law was one of the most restrictive in the U.S. on social media use by children when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it in 2024.

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A judge extended an order blocking Trump’s administration from banning reporters for three news outlets from the White House, a pivotal operational development for the organizations as the extraordinary case makes its way through the legal system. firstamendmentwatch.org/judg…

Judge Extends Order Blocking Trump From Banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico Reporters From White House

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that CNN, MS NOW and Politico are likely to succeed in their constitutional free speech and due process claims.

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The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether the decision of the White House television press pool to halt coverage of President Donald Trump last month violated antitrust law, an agency spokesperson said Saturday.firstamendmentwatch.org/doj-…

DOJ Says It’s Investigating Whether White House TV Pool’s Coverage Halt Violated Antitrust Law

Emily Covington, a spokesperson for the department, said group boycotts among business competitors might violate U.S. law.

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An attorney for three news organizations told a federal judge Thursday that the Trump administration must be prevented from barring their reporters from the White House. firstamendmentwatch.org/medi…

Media Attorneys Ask Court for Help in Preventing White House Ban Until Legal Case Is Resolved

They argue the ban is a classic example of “viewpoint discrimination” that is punishing people for what they say — and violating the media outlets’ First Amendment rights.

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The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated voices, before November’s midterm elections.firstamendmentwatch.org/fcc-…

FCC Considers Allowing More Political Robocalls Before Midterms, Including Those Created With AI

The petition calls for a waiver that would allow political groups to use artificial or prerecorded voices in unsolicited wireless calls.

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A lawyer for ABC on Tuesday asked a federal judge to prevent the Trump administration from conducting an unusual, early review of its broadcast licenses. firstamendmentwatch.org/abc-…

ABC and Trump’s FCC Battle in Federal Court Over Issues of Free Speech and Jurisdiction

ABC's attorney reiterated the First Amendment argument ABC has been making since the beginning — that it was being targeted for its content.

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Three friends of Nolan Wells, a Black college student who went missing from a Mississippi island during a Fourth of July celebration and was later found dead, are suing NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for defamation.firstamendmentwatch.org/3-of…

3 of Nolan Wells’ Friends Sue NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for Defamation

The lawsuit was among a handful of defamation claims the friends filed this week against content creators.

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Cornell students thronged a campus plaza to protest the university’s response to allegations of sexual assault at a fraternity house, and the school’s main administration building was splashed with graffiti and damaged overnight.firstamendmentwatch.org/a-cr…

A Crowd of Students Protest Cornell’s Response To Gang Rape Complaint

Speakers faulted fraternities, the university trustees and Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, saying he and his administration have prioritized protecting the university’s reputation over students’...

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The U.S. can deport the leader of Wisconsin’s largest mosque — an outspoken advocate of Palestinian rights — on the grounds that he is a threat to national security, an immigration judge ruled Wednesday.firstamendmentwatch.org/us-c…

US Can Deport the Leader of Wisconsin’s Largest Mosque on National Security Grounds, Judge Rules

“I will continue fighting to defend the right to free speech and to stay in the country I have called home for more than three decades,” Salah Sarsour said in a statement.

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Three news outlets that President Donald Trump abruptly banished from White House grounds this month asked a federal court to block the action until the case is resolved. firstamendmentwatch.org/cnn-…

CNN, MS NOW and Politico Ask a Court To Block Trump From Enforcing His White House Media Ban

It was the latest development in the back-and-forth saga of the Trump administration and the news media during the second term of his presidency.

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Journalists from three news outlets that Trump banned from White House grounds are back at the executive complex with TV cameras, laptops and microphones in hand. But the legal battle between Trump and some of the media that cover him is far from over.firstamendmentwatch.org/a-wh…

A White House Press Ban Was Lifted This Week. But the Tensions and Legal Battle Aren’t Over Yet

Here are some things to know about the White House press corps, lawsuits over press access, and the increasingly contentious relationship between the president and the Fourth Estate.

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The White House left CNN off Air Force One for President Donald Trump’s trip Saturday to a college football game in Tennessee, marking the latest media restriction from the administration in an ongoing dispute with First Amendment implications. firstamendmentwatch.org/cnn-…

CNN Says It Was Left off Air Force One for Trump’s Saturday Trip to a College Football Game

The spot meant for CNN on the flight has long been saved for a member of the U.S. network video pool; Real America’s Voice is not a part of that group.

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A New Mexico jury on Friday found Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections on the platform in the latest legal setback against the social media giant that has already cost it billions of dollars. firstamendmentwatch.org/new-…

New Mexico Jury Finds Facebook Liable for Deceiving Users About Privacy Protections

Jurors sided with prosecutors, finding Facebook made deceptive statements about protecting users’ data that affected New Mexico’s entire population of more than two million people.

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We spoke wth @acluct's legal director Dan Barrett about the Second Circuits recent decision affirming the First Amendment right to record police. Watch the full interview: firstamendmentwatch.org/news…

ACLU of CT Legal Director Dan Barrett on the Right to Record Police in the Second Circuit - First...

Barrett celebrated the ruling, explained how filming is just a different way to newsgather and share information, and examined the tension between qualified immunity and officer accountability.

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We spoke with Brian Klosterboer, senior staff attorney at @aclutx, about the recent decision finding the state's drag ban unconstitutional. Klosterboer described the state’s argument that drag is not protected speech as “dangerous." Watch the interview: firstamendmentwatch.org/news…
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A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban of three news outlets from the White House, ordering early Thursday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico must have their access restored. firstamendmentwatch.org/judg…

Judge Orders White House To Restore Access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico. Reporters Still Blocked

The back-and-forth is the latest in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

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The tense moment was a stark reminder of how dramatically the bitter conflict between Trump and news outlets whose coverage he objects to as “fake news” has escalated in just a few days. firstamendmentwatch.org/you-…

‘You Should Not Be Here,’ Trump Tells CNN at UN as Standoff With Media Outlets Persists

The tense moment was a stark reminder of how dramatically the bitter conflict between Trump and news outlets whose coverage he objects to as “fake news” has escalated in just a few days.

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We spoke with Brian Klosterboer, senior staff attorney @ACLUTx, about U.S. District Judge David Hittner's Aug. 25 decision in which he found that a Texas law restricting public drag performances is an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of expression.
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The White House press pool, a rotating cast of news outlets that covers the president, is now a battleground over free speech rights between President Donald Trump and the media. firstamendmentwatch.org/what…

What Is the White House Pool? These Days, It’s a Battleground Between Trump and Free Press Rights

The pool is a proxy for the wider fight over whether the president, or anyone, can control the content of news reports — a type of free speech, pillar of American democracy.

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