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Internet Speech: A Boon to Civic Engagement

January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

The internet is an empowering and diversifying medium capable of uplifting marginalized voices. It has allowed more Americans to meaningfully participate in political dialogue and access more information and speech than ever before. It has enabled the average person to initiate and participate in movements for political and social change and to challenge power and authority. In the internet age,…

Alec Greven: A moral panic in Montana comes for free speech

June 12, 2023   •  By Alec Greven   •  ,

A moral panic has descended upon Montana. Lawmakers here have rammed through overly broad laws in response to vague and unsubstantiated threats.

Twitter’s New CEO Should Create Checks and Balances to Protect Speech

June 7, 2023   •  By Alec Greven   •  ,

We have a changing of the guard at Twitter. The company’s announcement of a new CEO provides a golden opportunity to enshrine its commitment ...

Gonzalez v. Google

December 8, 2022   •  By Scott Blackburn   •  ,

Large social-media platforms predictably favor an expansive reading of section 230 immunity that maximizes their discretion while minimizing their potential liability. But while section ...

PayPal’s Policy Change Demonstrates Users Won’t Tolerate Vague Speech Taxes

December 1, 2022   •  By Alec Greven   •  ,

It has not been a good month at PayPal. On November 3rd the online payment platform would have brought into effect a policy change ...

FEC Draft Rule on Internet Communications Disclaimers Needs More Work

November 16, 2022   •  By Brad Smith and David Keating   •  , , ,

Update: On November 28, FEC Chairman Allen Dickerson and Commissioner Shana Broussard submitted a revised draft of the proposed final rule. The revised draft, ...

Washington state wages an unconstitutional war on political free speech

November 9, 2022   •  By Eric Wang   •  , ,

Washington’s prosecution of Meta and the resulting judgment is a miscarriage of justice. The unreasonable fine is the largest by far ever imposed for a campaign ...

DONNELLY: PayPal’s Speech-Chilling Regulations Incentivize Financially Ruining Users To Squelch Dissent

October 14, 2022   •  By Tiffany Donnelly   •  ,

Online financial giant PayPal jumped on — then quickly jumped off — the bandwagon of companies using “misinformation” concerns to justify punishing speech. But they added ...

Gilley v. Stabin

August 12, 2022   •  By Scott Blackburn   •  ,

A local university professor filed a federal lawsuit against an officer in the University of Oregon’s Division of Equity and Inclusion for blocking him ...

Big Tech’s court wins risk a big backlash against Section 230

August 8, 2022   •  By Brad Smith   •  ,

Within these victories, however, lie the seeds of disaster for the platforms — the possible repeal, or substantial alteration, of Section 230 of the ...

To Protect Free Speech, Social Media Platforms Must Stop their Overreach

August 3, 2022   •  By David Keating   •  ,

Assaults on the culture of free speech grow by the day. Unfortunately, much of the assault is coming from the major social media platforms. 

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