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14 Dec 2009 10:36

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U.S.: Cyber-bullying constitutional, which means we can make fun of you

  • People don’t appreciate how much the First Amendment protects not only political and ideological speech, but also personal nastiness and chatter. … If all cruel teasing led to suicide, the human race would be extinct.
  • UCLA law professor and First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh • On his criticism of cyber-bullying laws. It was an issue that reared its ugly head in a court case involving a YouTube video that made fun of a middle-school aged girl. The court ruled in favor of the girl that posted it, saying that the school violated her First Amendment rights by suspending her. We totally support the First Amendment, Eugene, but you’ve apparently never dealt with 14-year-old girls. Just sayin’ dude. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Nov 2009 10:41

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Politics: Why doesn’t Obama use Twitter? Clumsy fingers.

  • Well, first of all, let me say that I have never used Twitter. My thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone.
  • President Barack Obama • Discussing at a town hall with a bunch of Chinese students in Shanghai why he doesn’t use Twitter. He goes further into a larger dialogue on free speech, though, explaining that although information flows a little too freely for his taste sometimes (a lot of criticism comes with it), he really appreciates how it “makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader because it forces me to hear opinions that I don’t want to hear.” Nice save, bro. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2009 20:20

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Tech, U.S.: That “Skanks in NYC” blogger broke an obscure cyberstalking law

  • Could we have a less vapid free speech hero, please? When NYC fashion school grad student Rosemary Port anonymously posted her harsh diatribes against model Liskula Cohen, she broke the law. The obscure cyberstalking law she broke says she could be sentenced to up to two years in jail and fined for using the internet “without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person.” It’s the kind of law that angers bloggers like us because it completely goes against free speech. We can’t imagine the idea of Port fighting this law up to the Supreme Court over calling some girl she didn’t like a “ho.” It makes our brain hurt. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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