[Official] Censorship from governmental actors thread

https://www.wsj.com/articles/south-...p-noem-11670277776?mod=hp_opin_pos_2#cxrecs_s

South Dakota Bans TikTok
The app can no longer be accessed on state-owned or state-leased devices.
By Kristi Noem
Dec. 5, 2022 5:58 pm ET

The first responsibility of government is the security of its people. This is why I recently signed an executive order prohibiting the use of TikTok by South Dakota’s government agencies. As of last week, TikTok can no longer be accessed on state-owned or state-leased devices.

We know that TikTok makes available to the Chinese Communist Party the personal information of its users, which may include internet browsing data, keystrokes and location information. Given that government workers often access the personal information of South Dakotans on their work devices, this presents a serious vulnerability to a hostile foreign power.

The federal government exists in part to protect us from foreign adversaries. But the Biden administration has lost sight of this responsibility. Mr. Biden hasn’t demanded that Beijing or TikTok cease gathering the data of American citizens, and he hasn’t pushed Congress to ban the app nationally. By refusing to respond to this threat, the president is allowing China’s communist leaders to continue their attack on American security.

Similarly Mr. Biden hasn’t tackled the threat posed by China’s purchase of American farmland. I will soon be announcing plans to work with our legislature to address this threat in South Dakota, as well.

Many American intelligence officials believe that the Chinese Communist Party poses the greatest threat to the U.S., and most American people agree. If Mr. Biden won’t take this threat seriously, then Congress and state governments must fill the gap.

South Dakota is showing the nation how to create a state-led response to threats from communist China. We are taking the lead on preventing Beijing from accessing the private data of our citizens and throttling our food supply. South Dakota will continue to defend its citizens. I encourage other states to follow our lead. America’s security depends on it.

Ms. Noem, a Republican, is governor of South Dakota.

Appeared in the December 6, 2022, print edition as 'South Dakota Bans TikTok'.
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Government–Tech Collusion Threatens Free Speech
Three plaintiffs credibly allege that Twitter became a government tool by censoring their speech at the behest of the Department of Health and Human Services.

https://www.city-journal.org/government-tech-collusion-threatens-free-speech

 

Hogan orders TikTok ban for Maryland government employees

https://thehill.com/policy/technolo...tiktok-ban-for-maryland-government-employees/

 

good conversation. here's the description:

“With Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, we are in the middle of a national debate about the tension between censorship and free expression online. On the Right, many people are calling for government to rein in what they perceive as the excesses of Big Tech companies, while the Left wants the government to crack down on speech they deem dangerous. Both approaches make the same mistake of giving politicians authority over what we are allowed to say and hear. And with recent revelations about government agents leaning on social media companies to censor speech, it’s clear that when it comes to the online conversation, there’s no such thing as a purely private company.”
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I believe that's five states now

Texas bans use of TikTok for all state employees
Governor Greg Abbott announced the directive Wednesday citing alleged cybersecurity threats posed by China.

https://www.chron.com/politics/article/texas-tiktok-ban-17638404.php

 

this one's pretty big
Federal Court Rules in Favor of Former Virginia Tech Soccer Player in Free Speech Case
https://jonathanturley.org/2022/12/12/virginia-tech/

excerpt:

We previously discussed the case of Hening v. Adair, in which a former Virginia Tech women’s soccer player sued over the alleged retaliation of her former coach, Charles “Chugger” Adair for her refusal to kneel while a “Unity Statement” was read over the loudspeakers. In an important ruling, Judge Thomas Cullen correctly held that the case should go forward to trial.

The lawsuit alleges that when Hening refused to kneel and support Black Lives Matter, she was benched, harassed and ultimately forced off the team. If the allegations are true, she could have not only a winning case but a case that could set important precedent for the freedom of speech. Adair is being sued in both his individual and his official capacity.

Adair implemented changes after a mandated diversity training order from the Atlantic Coast Conference. We have seen such mandated training programs in colleges and corporations — programs that can raise concerns over compelled speech and viewpoint discrimination. As a state school, Virginia Tech is subject to the limitations imposed on the government under the First Amendment.

Hening alleges that Adair wanted the student to emulate former NFL Colin Kaepernick in kneeling before games and wanted to replace the name “Hokies” on the back of their jerseys with the names of people killed by police.

During meetings, Hening objected to the changes as compelled speech and said that she disagreed with aspects of the BLM movement. She was then allegedly labeled a “racist” by some on the team.

The complaint states that only two students objected to kneeling but their other student was on a scholarship and her parents called Adair to warn him not to harass their daughter for her political views. Instead, Hening alleges, Adair singled her out as well as speaking negatively about some people who believe “all lives matter.” She says that her refusal to kneel led to her benching and eventual removal from the team. It also allegedly resulted in a torrent of abuse verbally and on social media.

The complaint alleges that, during the halftime in a game with Virginia, Adair singled out Hening and ridiculed and denounced her in front of the team as being selfish and “b****ing and moaning” rather than being a team player in supporting the diversity displays. She was pulled as a starters in the next game against Clemson and again Adair allegedly berated her publicly. She was also left off the starters in the next game against North Carolina. She claims that the abuse and shunning became so great that she was forced to resign.
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more at the link

 

New York is thinking about it

NY may ban TikTok from government-issued phones over China spying threat

https://nypost.com/2022/12/12/propo...ate-to-ban-tiktok-on-state-government-phones/

 

Senate Passes Bill Banning TikTok From Government Devices
Social-media app has come under scrutiny over China-based parent ByteDance

https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate...ces-11671066166?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1

excerpt:

WASHINGTON—The Senate passed by unanimous consent a bill that would ban federal employees from downloading or using the social-media app TikTok on government devices, in the face of mounting national-security concerns.

The legislation would still have to pass the House and be signed by the president to become law. A similar bill passed the Senate in a previous Congress but never moved forward in the House.

U.S. officials and lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about the app’s owner, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. In just five years, the application, which allows users to post short videos with music, has exploded into a pop-culture phenomenon. It is the world’s most popular app, used by two-thirds of American teens.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) co-sponsored the legislation with Sens. Rick Scott (R., Fla.), Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Tom Cotton (R., Ark.).

TikTok has repeatedly said that it has never shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government and wouldn’t if asked.

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said Mr. Hawley’s bill “does nothing to advance U.S. national security interests. We hope that rather than continuing down that road, he will urge the administration to move forward on an agreement that would actually address his concerns.”

Biden administration officials have been negotiating with TikTok executives on measures aimed at preventing information TikTok collects on American users from being shared with Beijing.

“TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party. It’s a major security risk,” said Mr. Hawley in a statement after the bill passed. He said that until TikTok “is forced to sever ties with China completely, it has no place on government devices.”

A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) didn’t immediately respond to a question on whether the bill would be brought up in the House before the new Congress begins next year.
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more at the link

 

Without a Hope or a Prayer: Why the Arrest of a British Woman Outside of Abortion Clinic is a Wake-Up Call for Free Speech
https://jonathanturley.org/2022/12/...ion-clinic-is-a-wake-up-call-for-free-speech/

excerpt:

This week, the arrest of British Catholic woman for ‘praying’ outside an abortion clinic has attracted international attention. However, the jailing of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of anti-abortion group March for Life UK, is neither surprising nor particularly rare as a denial of free speech in Great Britain. While this form of “protest” is uncommon as the basis for an arrest, free speech has been in a free fall in the UK for years. It is also a cautionary tale for those in the United States, which is facing arguably the largest anti-free speech movement in its history.

Pictures from Birmingham show Vaughan-Spruce, 45, simply standing near the abortion clinic silently praying when an officer confronts her. She was not blocking access or displaying any protest signs or material. Nevertheless, she was arrested, jailed, interrogated, and ultimately charged with four counts of violating the abortion clinic “buffer zone.”

According to reports, the West Midlands Police officer asked her “are you praying?” She responded “I might be praying in my head, but not out loud.”

That was it. She was arrested for praying “in her head” near an abortion clinic.

A recent order from September 7 made clear that praying near an abortion clinic is now a criminal act in the country. The Birmingham City Council order says that prohibited acts includes “but is not limited to graphic, verbal or written means, prayer or counselling.”

Various individuals heralded the arrest. Dr. John Michael Leslie went on Twitter to declare “No, you’re in violation of it you repeatedly harass women going to a Family Planning Clinic who might be asking for Abortion Advice. “Praying in her head” is the spin from her supporters.”

However, legally, that is itself a dangerous pin. She was not arrested for past conduct but her current conduct, which was praying in her head.

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Once you start as a government to criminalize speech, you end up on a slippery slope of censorship. What constitutes hate speech or “malicious communications” remains a highly subjective matter and we have seen a steady expansion of prohibited terms and words and gestures.

It is easy for Americans to wave off such European prosecutions by pointing to our First Amendment. However, there is a growing movement in the United States to replicate such European laws. Indeed, Democratic leaders such as Hillary Clinton have enlisted European governments to force Twitter to censor fellow citizens. Likewise, Democratic members have pushed for a new law that could be used to crackdown specifically on right-wing groups based on their ideology.

The United Kingdom is an example of the slippery slope of speech criminalization that inevitably took them to “thought crimes,” even criminal prayers. These cases should be a wake up for all who value free speech. If such prosecutions stand, free speech literally does not have a prayer in the Western world.
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more at the link

 

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit says wearing a MAGA hat is free speech:

https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/21-35400/21-35400-2022-12-29.pdf?ts=1672335050

 

In Defense Of Free Speech Pedantry
Why You Should Clarify Which Free Speech Value You’re Debating

https://popehat.substack.com/p/in-defense-of-free-speech-pedantry

 

Auburn Banned TikTok, and Students Can’t Stop Talking About It
The school’s prohibition brings a geopolitical fight front and center for TikTok’s biggest fans: young Americans.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/business/auburn-tiktok-ban-students.html

 

court rules against the Hochul/New York hate speech law

Court Blocks N.Y. Law Mandating Posting of "Hateful Conduct" Policies by Social Media Platforms (Including Us)

https://reason.com/volokh/2023/02/1...icies-by-social-media-platforms-including-us/

discussing the opinion in Volokh v. James, decided on Feb 14 by Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. (S.D.N.Y.)