Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul loses bid for identities of those posting online spoof

A federal judge ruled that Republican presidential contender Ron Paul could not force YouTube and Twitter to provide the identities of whoever uploaded videos with a spoof of Ron Paul bashing former candidate Jon Huntsman for being a Chinese agent. It is unusual for a candidate to sue in these matters given the courts’ tolerance [...]

Whoopi Goldberg joins read-out marking Banned Books Week

Actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg is joining a Virtual Read-Out on YouTube of banned books as part of the 29th annual Banned Books Week. Goldberg will read a poem from a Shel Silverstein book, A Light in the Attic, under attack for its dour message and its alleged anti-parent content. -db From the First Amendment [...]

Opinion: Federal law forbidding ‘material support’ to terrorists runs afoul of First Amendment

The FBI arrested Jubair Ahmad for “glorifying violent jihad” when he uploaded a video to YouTube that included images of armored trucks hit by IEDs, footage of terrorist leaders, pictures showing Abu Ghraib and U.S soldiers with an attack dog. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that speech is not protected that  is “directed [...]

Big Brother emerges in guise of Ohio congressman

Republican Congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio didn’t like his chances of avoiding an embarrassing Youtube video from going viral on the internet so he did what a self-interested politician might do. He enlisted the police to confiscate cameras from citizens attending a townhall meeting. The only trouble is that he now has to contend with [...]

Opinion: Police regulation of crime scenes should not extend to content

The president of the First Amendment Center, Ken Paulson, argues that police should properly regulate the crime scene to prevent the public and reporters from interfering with police work. They run afoul of the First Amendment, though, when they tell photographers what they can shoot. “Under the First Amendment, both the press and public have [...]

Multiple sources including those on Twitter pose challenges for journalists

As one journalist described it, he has “a personalized wire service” of over 2,000 sources on Twitter who provide him with tips and on-location news reports. While this sort of access is of inestimable value, it present immense difficulties as well. Writing in GigaOM, Mathew Ingram says that with gathering so much information on the [...]

Website for using social media to build stories open to public

The website Storify that allows users to accumulate information from the social media to build stories is now available to the public. Users can combine content with commentary and also add their own text. Reporters have used the tool to report on the Middle East uprisings and the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford. -db From [...]

Political turmoil: Social media face challenges in remaining neutral

Social media sites are struggling to achieve the right balance in remaining neutral during the Middle East and North Africa uprisings and allowing freedom of expression. A recent case in which Flickr removed photos of officers from Egypt’s state security force demonstrated the difficulties. Is it feasible in some instances to remain neutral when people [...]

Opinion: First Amendment victory in case of UCLA student’s YouTube rant

Administrators at the University of California, Los Angeles said they had dropped their investigation into a student’s YouTube video in which she mocked Asian students. President of the Foundaton for Individual Rights In Education, Greg Lukianoff, praised the university’s action but said there were deep concerns about reported threats against the student. Lukianoff said, “We [...]

Egypt shuts down Internet in record time

Los Angeles Times January 29, 2011 With a few phone calls to the likes of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, the Egyptian government  stymied the social media, effectively limiting its role in organizing the demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak. -db

Judge orders Google to reveal name of YouTube cyberbully

Google has 15 days to reveal the identity of a person who posted comments calling a Columbia MBA graduate a “whore,” “a shank,” and “an old hag.” -db New York Daily News October 15, 2010 By Jose Martinez Columbia MBA graduate Carla Franklin went after Google in August in an attempt to unmask her online [...]

Chief judge of federal appeals court argues for allowing TV cameras in courtrooms

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in the Fordham University law review that it is time to allow television cameras in courtrooms to give the public a full view of the proceedings and increase public respect for the justice system. -db San Francisco Chronicle October 8, 2010 By [...]

Google launches tool showing governments’ attempts at censorship

Google is now showing the number of requests from governments for removing content from its search page, Gmail, YouTube and other services. -db CNET September 21, 2010 By Lance Whitney In the wake of Google’s censorship battles with China and other nations, the search giant has launched a new tool to reveal which governments are [...]

Craigslist’s ‘Adult Services’ decision a blow to free speech?

Craigslist has decided to eplace its “Adult Services” section with a “Censored” bar that blocks content. Does this  limit free speech? MSNBC/ Commentary September 6, 2010 By Athima Chansanchai With Craigslist’s decision to replace its “Adult Services” section of its “Services” classifieds with a “Censored” bar that blocks that content, the online powerhouse has once [...]

German court rules against YouTube in copyright dispute over Brightman videos

A German court ruled Friday that Google Inc.’s subsidiary YouTube LLC must pay compensation after users uploaded several videos of performances by singer Sarah Brightman in violation of copyright laws. September 3, 2010 By The Associated Press (CP) BERLIN —The Hamburg state court said the standardized question to users about whether they have the necessary [...]

Man with impeach Obama sign arrested at Alaska State Fair

Police arrested at man at the Alaska State Fair carrying a sign calling for the impeachment of President Barack Obama. The fair allows political messages if citizens rent a booth and follow vendor guidelines but forbid political activities in common areas. -db Anchorage Daily News August 28, 2010 By Kyle Hopkins Ten minutes of mayhem [...]

Middle Eastern countries censoring Internet

Last week Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey acted to block more content from the Internet. Afghanistan is installing filters on the categories of alcohol, dating and social networking, gambling and pornography. -db Electronic Frontier Foundation Opinion June 26, 2010 By Shari Steele Yet another country has decided to shut down key parts the Internet. Kathleen Reen [...]

YouTube plans clandestine citizen video journalism project

YouTube is developing a journalism project in San Francisco using citizen journalists with smart phones to link with professional journalists to get the news out through video. -db Online Media Daily June 18, 2010 By Gavin O’Malley YouTube is working on some clandestine journalism project in San Francisco, according SFWeekly, citing a report bySFAppeal blogger [...]

Government agency launches website to help public monitor oil spill

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has launched GeoPlatform.gov, a data-rich website to enable the pubic to track the spread of the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico and find out other crucial information. -db NextGov June 14, 2010 By Bob Brewin The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched a slick and data-rich website on [...]

Online Hitler parodies suffer censorship

Constantin Film has used the Content I.D. filter provided by YouTube to remove the Hitler parodies regardless of whether they constitute “fair use.” -db Electronic Frontier Foundation Commentary April 20, 2010 By Corynne McSherry One the most enduring (and consistently entertaining) Internet memes of the past few years has been remixes of the bunker scene [...]

Online free speech: Damages a possibility in Universal Musics takedown of dancing baby

A federal judge ruled that a mother could get compensation from Universal Music for forcing YouTube to remove a 29-second video of her toddler son dancing to a Prince song. -db The Recorder March 1, 2010 By Zusha Elinson Universal Music might have to pay for pulling video of a dancing baby off YouTube. U.S. [...]

Italian court deals setback to Google and internet freedom

Three Google executives were convicted of violating Italy’s privacy laws and responsible for posts by third parties, a blow to world internet freedom and particularly destructive to Italy’s participation in e-commerce. -db The New York Times February 25, 2010 By Rachel Donadio ROME — Three Google executives were convicted of violating Italian privacy laws on [...]

YouTube removes work with artistic nudity claiming it fails to conform with community standards

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the National Coailtion Against Censorship is asking YouTube to restore the work of renowned video artist Amy Greenfield to YouTube. YouTube removed her work with some nudity claiming it failed to satisfy YouTube Community Guidelines. -db Electronic Frontier Foundation Commentary February 22, 2010 By Kurt Opsahl Today EFF and the [...]

Supreme Court order blocking online access to video of Prop 8 trial is a mistake the camera-phobic justices will regret

PETER SCHEER—It’s hard to imagine a video of lawyers debating points of constitutional law going viral on YouTube, but the audience for the Proposition 8 trial — a lawsuit seeking to overturn California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage — is potentially vast. Unfortunately, that audience will have to wait. As the trial began, the U.S. [...]

Supreme Court scuttles plan for televising Prop 8 trial

In another 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that given the notoriety of the same-sex marriage trial and that the public had insufficient time to comment on the decision to televise the trial, there would be no live telecasts or delayed broadcasts on YouTube. The Court did not rule on whether any federal trial [...]

Prop 8 hearing: Strict enforcement of laws against assault needed rather than curtailing TV coverage

A Citizen Media Law Project blogger argues that the Supreme Court should recognize that it is against California law to assault witnesses and that not televising the proceedings will not protect witnesses in what promises to be a widely publicized event. To allow the broadcast on YouTube would provide a boost to freedom of the [...]

Supreme Court delays broadcast of California same-sex marriage trial

The federal trial on California’s same-sex marriage ban will open Monday without cameras so that the U.S. Supreme Court has enough time to consider whether to allow the taping of the trial. The court’s order will be in effect until Wednesday, January 13. -DB First Amendment Center January 11, 2010 By Mark Sherman WASHINGTON, D.C. — [...]

Federal judge for same-sex marriage trial approves taping but limits live broadcast

Chief Judge Vaugh Walker ruled that court personnel can tape the proceedings of the federal challenge to Prop 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage, but maintained control by not allowing live broadcast except to federal courthouses in cities in other states. -DB The Recorder January 7, 2010 By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO — Chief Judge [...]

Pentagon wants public input on social networking policy

Faced with the arduous task of framing a policy on social media that balances security and the need for troops to communicate with friends and family, the Defense Department is asking the public for their ideas. -DB NextGov August 10, 2009 By Bob Brewin How do you develop a policy for using social media in the [...]

Homeland Security first government agency to harness social media

The Homeland Security Department is the first cabinet-level agency to implement Obama directives on social media, offering a YouTube channel and formulating plans to use Twitter in event of disasters. -DB NextGov July 22, 2009 Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Homeland Security Department relaunched its Web site Wednesday and became the first Cabinet-level agency to follow [...]