The Powerful anti-SOPA protests show why corporations, too, need First Amendment rights

BY PETER SCHEER—Some thoughts on the dramatic and remarkably effective demonstrations by Google, Wikipedia, et al. against federal anti-piracy legislation (the Stop Online Piracy Act, “SOPA,” and companion legislation in the Senate): Successful technology firms pride themselves on their capacity to disrupt the established order. The reference is usually to a technological advance that poses [...]

Out-sourcing the job of muzzling the media

BY EDWARD WASSERMAN–A comment posted to London’s Guardian newspaper said it best: “Censorship, like everything else in the West, has been privatized.”  The writer, somebody called “edensasp,” was referring to news that Wikileaks—the online whistleblower that has been embarrassing governments and corporations worldwide by disclosing their secrets–was suspending operations. Why? Had its leader, the mercurial [...]

Obama acts on FAC petition against China’s “Great Firewall”

October 19, 2011—The Obama administration on Wednesday said that, using World Trade Organization rules, it was calling on the government of China to answer detailed questions about its censorship of the internet–in particular, the blocking of websites of US-based businesses seeking to tap the vast Chinese consumer market. The announcement, which grows out of an [...]

Brown vetoes bill limiting cellphone searches by police

Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed SB 914, a bill sponsored by the First Amendment Coalition that would have required police to get a warrant before searching through the smart phones and other electronic devices of people they arrest. The bill would have overridden a recent California Supreme Court decision allowing warrantless searches of cellphones.  Interpreting [...]

Steve Jobs vs. The Beatles, and other thoughts on the passing of a superstar

BY PETER SCHEER–Steve Jobs died at age 56, a young man. But one of the things that stands out about him is the longevity of his superstardom. Jimmy Carter was president when Jobs first appeared on the scene as the bearded personification of high-tech cool. From the early Apple PCs to the launch of the [...]

The First Amendment needs your help. NOW.

Join the Challenge! We need to raise exactly $47,209 to meet the overall goal of $400,000. I know you care deeply about freedom of speech and the public’s right to know. These rights of democratic citizenship underlie all others because they enable the people to hold their government accountable. Find out how your contribution will [...]

Legislature approves FAC-sponsored bill on cell phone privacy. Will Brown sign it?

SB 914, a FAC-sponsored bill to prohibit warrantless searches of cell phones during an arrest, has been approved by the California Legislature. The legislation now goes to the Governor’s office, where, because of opposition by law enforcement, its fate is uncertain. The Senate yesterday approved the bill, which was introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D-San [...]

Dem. lawmaker proposes bill to apply full FOIA disclosure to CA State Legislature

A Democratic legislator, who has been feuding with party leaders over office budget issues, has proposed a bill that would replace the Legislature’s weak disclosure law with the more rigorous freedom-of-information rules that apply to the Governor and all state agencies. -PS Read full story in LA Times

BART feud shows that censorship is never local

BY NICOLE WONG—Here’s the thing about censorship: in this globally connected world, censorship is never local. So, whether you live in the SF Bay Area or not, whether you ride the BART rail system or not, the recent actions of local government officials affected us all. Last Thursday, during the evening rush hour commute, BART [...]

New survey: People want more government transparency, traditional media less likely to sue to get it

COLUMBIA, Mo. (August 23, 2011) — While a lack of resources have made news organizations increasingly less inclined to file freedom of information lawsuits, citizens have a growing interest in government transparency and are becoming more active in asserting their right to government information. The rise of citizen interest and the decline of newsroom aggressiveness [...]

Google’s purchase of Motorola shows dangers of out-of-control patent litigation

BY PETER SCHEER—Google’s $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola is a sign of serious problems for the US economy. Motorola’s strategic appeal to Google is its portfolio of thousands of patents covering mobile phone technologies. But the acquisition of these patents creates no real value for Google. They are in the nature of a massive  premium [...]

US media shouldn’t rush to hang Murdoch’s News Corp for the sins of its London tabloids. Let’s wait to see the evidence.

BY PETER SCHEER—The economic forces that pummeled every American newspaper from the New York Times to the San Francisco Chronicle have barely disturbed Rupert Murdoch’s media properties. The Wall Street Journal, for one, has not only weathered the storm that decimated competitors’ newsrooms, but it has added editorial staff, news features and online resources. This [...]

First Amendment travesties far and near

BY PETER SCHEER—The Israeli Parliament on Monday passed legislation to bar public calls for a boycott against Israel or its West Bank settlements, according to the New York Times. The law’s supporters said it was necessary to push back against what they described as a strategy to delegitimize Israel in the eyes of the world. [...]

Will mainstream media match Wikileaks’ technology for receiving leaked documents anonymously and securely? Not likely.

BY PETER SCHEER—Ever since Wikileaks became a household word, traditional news media have had every reason to try to replicate its technology for receiving leaked documents, via the internet, on an anonymous and secure basis. Traditional media may be at war with Julian Assange and disagree fundamentally with his methods in vetting and disseminating classified [...]

FAC and Sac Bee, in major court victory, gain access to pension payments, by name, to county retirees

A California appeals court ruled May 11 in favor of FAC and the Sacramento Bee in a case involving public access to information about government pensions. The third district Court of Appeal ruled that the California Public Records Act requires county governments–in this instance, Sacramento–to disclose, by employee name, pension amounts paid to retired county [...]

Now Let Us Praise a Famous Man: Rich McKee, 1949-2011

Richard P. McKee, who died this week at age 62, was indefatigable in his advocacy of open government and participatory democracy in California. Co-founder of Calaware and a former Board member and Board President of this organization, Rich cast a big shadow in the world of people committed to shining light on government decision-making in [...]

The U.S. is alone among western democracies in protecting “hate speech.” Chalk it up to a healthy fear of government censorship.

BY PETER  SCHEER–An inebriated John Galliano, sitting in a Paris bar, unleashes an anti-semitic rant (“I love Hitler”) that is captured on a cellphone camera and posted on the internet. Within days the Dior designer is not only fired from his job, but is given a trial date to face criminal charges for his offensive [...]

FAC’s Duffy Carolan honored by journalists’ group

First Amendment lawyer Duffy Carolan–who is also a long-time Board member of the First Amendment Coalition–will receive a special honor from the Society of Professional Journalists (NorCal Chapter) at an award ceremony on March 16. Carolan, a lawyer in the San Francisco office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, is receiving the organization’s “Legal Counsel” award [...]

CA Appeals Court: free Internet porn isn’t unfair competition to pay porn sites

Bright Imperial Limited of Hong Kong, which operates paid pornography sites with streaming X-rated video, filed suit in California against Redtube.com, a competing porn business that does not charge users for access. The suit claimed Redtube’s free porn sites were hurting Bright Imperial’s business and constitute “unfair competition” under California’s Unfair Practices Act. As reported [...]

Carlos Moreno reportedly Retiring From CA Supreme Court

The Recorder, San Francisco’s legal newspaper, is reporting that California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno has submitted his resignation from the state’s highest court. Moreno, appointed in 1992, is considered one of the more liberal members of the Court. He is also the Court’s only Hispanic Justice. Moreno, 62, succeeded Justice Stanley Mosk. He  was [...]

Police persuade judge to bar release of Long Beach officers’ names in shootings

A Superior Court judge has issued a TRO, temporarily barring the Long Beach police department from releasing the names of city police officers involved in police shootings. The LA Times had requested the names under the Public Records Act. Although the city had decided to release some (but not all) of the names, before it [...]

Court: Gag order in Roseville mall fire case DENIED

Placer County Superior Court Judge Larry Gaddis yesterday denied local prosecutors’ request for a gag order in criminal proceedings against Alexander Piggee, the 23-year-old Stockton man suspected of arson in the Roseville Galleria fire two months ago. The effect of the denial is that lawyers, police and potential witnesses are free to speak publicly about [...]

UNPLUG WIKILEAKS? ENACT A FEDERAL SHIELD LAW INSTEAD

BY PETER SCHEER—-The Obama administration has made no secret of its desire to unplug wikileaks, the whistleblower website infamous for data dumps of classified records. Of the few options available to the government, the best is one that probably hasn’t been considered in this context: enacting a federal Shield Law. How would a Shield Law–a [...]

Does Wikileaks deserve Dan Ellsberg’s approval? The good Wikileaks, yes; the bad Wikileaks, no

BY PETER SCHEER—Although the anti-war movement of the 1960s has few heroes still standing,  Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who leaked a secret history of the Vietnam War that became known as the Pentagon Papers, is surely one. As such, Ellsberg’s full-throated support for  Wikileaks, delivered as it dumped on the internet nearly 400,000 [...]

A First Amendment kiss-off to Carson Mayor Jim Dear for his (mis)use of a “mute switch” at city council meetings

A big wet First Amendment kiss-off to Jim Dear, Mayor of Carson, CA (population 92,255). In his capacity as chair of City Council meetings in the LA suburb, the Mayor is armed with something that all public officials must covet: a mute switch.  Just a press of the switch, and Mayor Dear is able to [...]

SF Weekly’s corporate parent sued for ‘sex trafficking’ on company’s classified ads site

SF Weekly’s corporate parent has been sued for “sex trafficking” by a teenage girl who was forced into prostitution at age 14. The plaintiff says her pimp solicited business for her through ads placed in the adult services section of Backstage.com, the national classifieds site of Village Voice Media, owner of SF Weekly, LA Weekly, [...]

Schwarzenegger vetoes bill to extend FOI law to UC and CSU foundations & auxiliaries. Gov says bill would deter some donors from giving

Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have applied the state’s Public Records Act to fundraising foundations  affiliated with UC and CSU campuses. Although the bill would have restricted disclosure for anonymous donors to the universities, the Governor claimed those restrictions were not sufficient to satisfy some donors.-PS Central Valley Business Times A bill [...]

FAC posts online confidential CalPERS’ docs ordered released by Court

The First Amendment Coalition has posted on the internet more than 1,700 CalPERS documents relating to an East Palo Alto real estate investment in which CalPERS lost all of its $100 million investment.  The records–which include the partnership agreement, offering memorandum and email exchanges about the failed investment—were ordered released by the Superior Court in [...]

First Amendment Kiss-Off: Judge Judith Bartnoff

A First Amendment Kiss-off to Judge Judith Bartnoff. The Washington, DC Superior Court judge must have missed school the day her law school class learned about the First Amendment. In a recent case involving a dispute between a law firm and its former client, the judge issued a TRO forbidding a legal newspaper, the National [...]

Announcing FAC’s “Kiss” and “Kiss-Off” awards

In keeping with the new normal of polarized politics, FAC has launched a new feature that views the world of First Amendment issues as consisting of good guys and bad guys. The good guys, on whom we bestow a “First Amendment Kiss,” are people and institutions who, by their acts, words, or example, strengthen free [...]

First Amendment Kiss-Off** to Craigslist

A First Amendment kiss-off**  to Craigslist, which is resisting the demands of seventeen state attorneys general (but not including California’s Jerry Brown) that it shut down the website’s “adult services” section because, claim the AGs, it continues to promote prostitution and child-trafficking despite the site owners’ introduction of vetting (by lawyers, no less!) of sexually-oriented [...]

A 1st Amendment Kiss** to the LA Times for coverage of LA schools that empowers parents to hold bureaucrats and politicians accountable

A big First Amendment Kiss** to the Los Angeles Times and reporters Jason Felch, Jason Song and Doug Smith for their recent stories about LA public schools. The Times applied statistical analysis to seven years of student test scores in order to measure teachers’ effectiveness in math and English instruction. Using an outside consultant to [...]

If hard-won court victory against Prop 8 is tossed out because of “standing” defect, you can thank Jerry Brown

BY PETER SCHEER—If I were Ted Olson, the former US solicitor general who is leading the legal battle against Prop 8, I would be unhappy with Jerry Brown right now. Olson’s hard-won victory before federal district court judge Vaughn Walker was meant to be the first stage of a legal strategy culminating in a US [...]

Wikileaks didn’t just happen. It exists because journalists have lost control over their information.

BY PETER SCHEER–The New York Times’ front-page stories on the war in Afghanistan–based on a massive leak of classified US military cables and other documents–are not likely to change the course of the war. But they represent a sea change in the way journalists report on national security. The records for the Times’ articles, which [...]

PRESS RELEASE: FAC Suit Against CalPERS Seeks Records on Controversial E Palo Alto Real Estate Investment

FAC—Monday July 19—The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) today announced that it has sued CalPERS, the retirement system for California government workers, over access to records about the agency’s ill-fated investment in an East Palo Alto residential real estate development that has gone bust–at a loss to CalPERS of all of its $100 million stake in [...]

Court orders release of county retirees’ pension payments in case filed by FAC and the Sacramento Bee

In an important legal victory, the Superior Court in Sacramento has ruled that the pension system for county government workers must make public retirees’ names, and their pension benefits, for all retirees receiving $100,000 or more per year. The decision is the result of a lawsuit filed jointly by the First Amendment Coalition and the [...]

Taxpayers Going Postal Over Public Employee Pensions, Perks. Unions’ miscalculation: Opting for secrecy.

BY PETER SCHEER—For public employee unions–those representing police, firefighters, teachers, prison guards and agency workers of all kinds at the state and local level–these are the worst of times. Despite record high membership and dues, and years of unparalleled clout in state capitols, public sector unions find themselves on the defensive, desperately trying to hold [...]

Apple’s vetting of iPhone apps may be ham-handed, but it’s not illegal

BY PETER SCHEER—In the beginning there was the internet. It was raw, ungovernable and vast in its multiplicity of voices. Then came the Apple iPhone (and more recently, the iPad), offering a curated internet experience, using “apps” vetted by Apple for conformity to company standards for content and quality. Millions of Apple i-device users inhabit [...]

FAC, media coalition win unsealing of search warrant affidavit in Gizmodo/iPhone matter

The media coalition organized by the First Amendment Coalition (FAC) has been successful in securing disclosure of the search warrant affidavit used to search an online journalist’s home for evidence concerning the Gizmodo/Apple/missing iPhone investigation.  Joining FAC in the unsealing motion were the Associated Press, Wired.com, Bloomberg News, CNET, the LA Times and the California [...]

AP, Bloomberg, CNET, Wired.com, LA Times, CNPA join FAC motion in lost-iPhone case

FAC–The First Amendment Coalition and major news media have requested the California Court presiding over the Gizmodo/missing iPhone matter to unseal judicial records relating to the warrant issued for the search of an online journalist’s home and the seizure of his computer, hard drives and other digital files. The motion to unseal the warrant affidavit [...]

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