• 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 • Permalink