#first-amendment

#first-amendment

At what age should a minor, with or without parental consent, have a legal right to make themselves one with the brain rot of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X and others? That is the seemingly simple, but ultimately loaded question at the heart of dozens of pieces of state legislation (and even more advancing lawsuits) that seek to curtail the access of teenage Americans to major social media networks.

But moments before the Nov. 14 media event began, the Oakland Police Department barred the Peralta Citizen reporter from entering, a remarkable blockade against a college newspaper covering a national story about beloved Laney coach John Beam, who was fatally shot on campus a day earlier. The reason? The Citizen reporter an associate editor had not first obtained a police-issued press credential.

In this episode of The Briefing, Scott Hervey and Richard Buckley break down Campbell Soup Co. v. Campbell for Congress, the lawsuit over a political candidate's "Soup4Change" slogan and AI-generated soup can design. They cover the backstory, the trademark and First Amendment arguments, and how the Hershey case may influence the court's view of political campaign branding. Tune in for a clear look at where trademark law meets political speech.

First filed in August, the suit alleges the administration has used immigration policies to suppress protected speech by student activists and journalists. It names Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as defendants. The plaintiffs the newspaper and two individuals using aliases are challenging two provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that they say let the government punish noncitizens for exercising protected speech.

The law requires platforms to use "commercially reasonable methods," which it says include a screen that prompts the user to enter a birth date. However, NetChoice argues that Virginia could go beyond this requirement, citing a post from Governor Youngkin on X, stating "platforms must verify age," potentially referring to stricter methods, like having users submit a government ID or other personal information.

Since late January, leaders at liberal foundations and donor networks have been preparing for a legal assault by federal agencies. That moment finally arrived in September, when, in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche directed federal prosecutors to investigate the Open Society Foundations on a range of possible criminal charges, reportedly on orders from the White House.

Seth Meyers used his NBC show to push back against President Donald Trump on Monday night, after the president claimed on Truth Social that Meyers' comedy was PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!! Trump attacked the host on Saturday, insisting the comedian may be the WORST to perform, live or otherwise, and complaining that Meyers' act is now 100% ANTI-TRUMP which he added was PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!!

Conversion therapy is the discredited and harmful practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. The therapist in the case (Kaley Chiles) argues that this law is an unconstitutional restriction on her speech: psychotherapy is, on her view, a kind of speech, and thus the state law violates her First Amendment rights. The state responds that psychotherapy is a medical procedure,

"[They] live under the constant gaze of DAS surveillance as the NYPD mounted a box with two cameras directly outside their home, aimed at their living room and bedroom windows," the lawsuit states. "The cameras' presence has transformed what should be their place of safety into a space of anxiety. They have covered their windows with foil to block the cameras' view, depriving themselves of sunlight and the simple enjoyment of looking outside."

On October 27, NAD ruled that the AT&T advertising and press release violated Section 2.1(I) of the NAD/National Advertising Review Board (NARB) procedures. That procedure was that NARB participants are "not to mischaracterize any decision, abstract, or press release issued or use and/or disseminate such decision, abstract or press release for advertising and/or promotional purposes." In other words, using the decisions as fodder for advertising or marketing is off limits.

Vargas cited the 1974 Supreme case Gertz v. Robert Welch Inc.: Under the First Amendment, there is no such thing as a false idea. It's the court's job, the judge said, to distinguish between fact and opinion, conducting its analysis through the lens of a reasonable listener in the overall context: a two-week feud that yielded a total of eight diss tracks between the two rappers.

This is a political prosecution and a gross attempt to silence dissent, a right protected under the First Amendment, she said. This case is a major push by the Trump administration to criminalize protests and punish anyone who speaks out against them. That's why I'm going to fight these unjust charges. I have been charged in a federal indictment sought by the Department of Justice. This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights.

hoping to build her large social media following into a platform to elected office. In September, she was in a viral video being tear-gassed and slammed to the ground by an ICE agent during protests outside an ICE facility in Broadview, a Chicago suburb. Earlier this month, Abughazaleh was again among protesters at the Broadview ICE facility and said that she was struck in the face with a baton by a police officer.

What does it take for a president of the United States to create and post an AI-generated video of himself wearing an imperial crown and dumping massive amounts of feces from a "King Trump" jet onto No Kings protesters marching below? It takes a president who has no respect for his constituents, whether they voted for him or not. It takes a president who has no respect for the Constitution, especially the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, assembly,

She resisted arrest and was wearing an outfit that is not appropriate in public,

The New York City Police Department wrote on X: "We had more than 100,000 people across all five boroughs peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights and the NYPD made zero protest-related arrests." The Austin Police Department wrote on X: "The rally remained peaceful, with no arrests reported. We're grateful to our community and event organizers for coming together to make sure voices were heard safely and respectfully."

Maryland will not be able to enforce part of a 2021 law that allowed it to obscure the costs of a digital ad tax from consumers who were paying it. The order - which will not be appealed by the state - strikes down one portion of the first-of-its-kind tax on digital advertising within the state. That provision prohibited online companies from alerting consumers to the tax, by passing it on to them as a surcharge, fee or line item on their bills.

Time didn't start yesterday. Conservative principles didn't just start being challenged in the last 8 years. The threat has been omnipresent. It may not have seemed as dire to some because that man was standing his post when the rest of us were not. You know why the First Amendment became a litmus test in Republican politics and in the judiciary? It was owned by the Left until McConnell started grilling every candidate, newly elected official, or prospective judge about it.

The Washington Post's media reporter Scott Nover detailed exactly who was left to cover the largest government agency. Pro-MAGA outlets The Federalist, the Epoch Times, and OAN all signed Hegseth's pledge, which said that journalists are banned from soliciting or obtaining any information that is not pre-approved by the Pentagon. Nover reported on the other remaining people in the building: A reporter for the Turkish newspaper Aksam signed the agreement, as did three individuals from the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency and two Turkish freelancers.