Free speech ‘hero’ Ben Shapiro’s as Alt-right as a Jew can get

David Schraub writes for Haaretz, Sept. 16, 2017 To pretend that Ben Shapiro, Ann Coulter, Milo Yiannopoulos and Steve Bannon represent the ideas wing of the modern conservative movement is a patronizing indulgence that’s hard to imagine anyone actually takes seriously.

Verizon gives away cool freebies, as long as you give away your privacy

Paul Schwartz quoted by Los Angeles Times, Sept.15, 2017 “All sorts of companies — Google, Facebook — are already in the data-collection business,” said Paul Schwartz. “Now we’re seeing older companies — cable companies, cellular companies — placing a greater emphasis on it.”

UF has little choice but to let white nationalist Richard Spencer speak, experts say

Jesse Choper interviewed by Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 15, 2017 Jesse Choper … said universities are allowed “reasonable” restrictions on the “time, place and manner” of speech. What’s reasonable? That depends on the judge, he said. “You can find a federal district judge, or a state judge, for that matter, who will do most anything,” he […]

Fees for parents of incarcerated youth could end with proposed CA bill

Erwin Chemerinsky, Jeffrey Selbin, and Susan Gluss quoted by The Daily Californian, Sept. 13, 2017 These fees disproportionately impact families of Black and Latinx children, who represent more than 70 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system, according to Chemerinsky. Selbin said such fees “undermine both rehabilitation and safety,” which he said are the […]

Why we need total free speech on campuses

Erwin Chemerinsky interviewed by WNYC, Sept. 13, 2017 I think it’s so important for campus officials to respond to and condemn hate speech. Just because the First Amendment protects a right to say something, that doesn’t mean it should be said. Campus officials can describe the type of community they want to create and denounce hate speech […]

The free speech-hate speech trade-off

Erwin Chemerinsky interviewed by The New York Times, Sept. 13, 2017 The central principle of the First Amendment — and of academic freedom — is that all ideas and views can be expressed. Sometimes they are ideas and views that we might consider noble, that advance equality. Sometimes they might be ideas that we abhor. […]