Highlights

• OIF Examines Legal Issues for Library Social Media and First Amendment “Audits” | Library Journal

Censorship

• Censorship and Cheyenne Schools | Wyoming News; “After the public had voiced their opinions, the Committee came to a unanimous decision recommending to keep the book [ ‘Drama’ by Raina Telgemeier] fully accessible in the Laramie County School District Libraries.”
• Does a ‘Gender Critical’ meeting belong at the public library? City attorney, yes. Others, no. | Burlington Free Press (VT)
• Drag Queen Story Time brings ‘literature, imagination, and a few sequins’ to Norwalk | The Hour (CT)
  • Norwalk drag queen event for children draws protesters | Nancy on Norwalk
• Parents angered, surprised over new book on high school reading list | 12 News (FL)
  • What do you think: As parents ask schools to ban books, what is proper content for high schoolers? | South Florida Sun Sentinel
  • Readers are against banning books in schools — but they differ on who’s to blame for the outrage
• Drag queens plan protest at state capitol against bill that would jail librarians for displaying age-inappropriate materials | Newsweek
• They’ve found this year’s Culture War and it’s Drag queens, books | Wonkette
• Opinion: We must reject efforts to censor science content standards | Idaho Press

Privacy and Cybersecurity

• Most Americans support right to have some personal info removed from online searches | Pew Research Center
• Facebook will now show you exactly how it stalks you—even when you’re not using Facebook | Washington Post
• Facebook’s new privacy tool lets you manage how you’re tracked across the web | CNet
• Have a search warrant for data? Google wants you to pay | New York Times
• Leaked documents expose the secretive market for your web browsing Data | Motherboard
• Lawmakers claim progress on online privacy bill | The Hill
• Here’s how Facebook plans to make final decisions about controversial content it’s taken down | Vox Recode
• Ad Groups Seek Delay of California Privacy Law | Multichannel News
• If Chrome fixes privacy too fast it could break the web, Google exec warns | CNet
• Opinion: DNA collection at the border threatens the security of all Americans | New York Times
• Worried about privacy at home? There’s an AI on that? | Wired
• Amazon’s Ring app shares loads of your personal info, report finds | Ars Technica

Additional privacy posts, news, and updates are available at the Choose Privacy Every Day blog.

Access

• Meeting rooms and sacred spaces cause schisms in Seattle | Intellectual Freedom Blog
• Opinion: The shaky future of .org domains | New York Times; “The sale of the nonprofit domains to a private equity firm threatens the integrity of the open internet. ICANN should investigate.”
• Tired of waiting for e-books? Two national digital library systems might help | Philadelphia Inquirer
• Philly’s got the worst school librarian ratio in the U.S. This group is protesting. | Philadelphia Inquirer
• In the internet era, public libraries are more vital than ever | Mashable
• Digital Reading Program Extends Classrooms to School Buses in South Texas | School Transportation News
• Immersive classrooms for all | American Libraries
• Position Statement on Controlled Digital Lending by Libraries endorsed by COSLA | COSLA

Net Neutrality & Broadband

• Ajit Pai promised faster broadband expansion—Comcast cut spending instead | Ars Technica

Academic Freedom & Campus Speech

• China’s funding of U.S. Reseachers raises red flags | Wall Street Journals

Fake News, Free Press, Social Media

• Trump ads on Facebook warn of Super Bowl censorship | Mercury News
• Church-Pike 2.0: How fake news enabled real surveillance abuses | Intellectual Freedom Blog

First Amendment & Free Speech

• NPR sends letter to State Dept. demanding answers for reporter’s removal from trip | The Hill
• NPR Seeks ‘Clarification’ From State Department About Reporter Dropped From Trip | NPR
• White House objects to publication of Bolton’s book, demands classified info be removed first | NBC News

Around the Web

• Happy birthday, Virginia Woolf | Intellectual Freedom Blog
• Survey Shows “No Discernible” Progress Diversifying Publishing | School Library Journal
• Addressing requests for reconsideration at the public library part one: biblical dinosaurs | Intellectual Freedom Blog
• In U.S., Library Visits Outpaced Trips to Movies in 2019 | Gallup
• A brief history of Data Privacy Day | IAPP
• Local librarian takes stand against promoting controversial ‘American Dirt’ novel | The Monitor
• Swearing: The power of profanity | The Article
• Yes, you should be afraid of Elizabeth Warren, the censor | Washington Examiner

International Issues

• The Kremlin is notorious for global meddling online. But controlling cyberspace at home has been trickier | Washington Post
• China’s censorship helps spread the virus | Wall Street Journal
• London to deploy live facial recognition to find wanted faces in a crowd | Ars Technica

ALA News

• 2020 Youth Media Award Winners | American Libraries
• GODORT Voting & Election Toolkits
• New from ACRL—Leading Change in Academic Libraries and Developing the Next Generation of Library Leaders
• ALA persists with #eBooksForAll advocacy campaign: “Macmillan must lift the embargo”
• AASL president holds office hours to discuss EDI in school libraries
• Know her name| American Libraries; “Closing Session speaker Chanel Miller on reclaiming her story and libraries as sanctuaries”
• ALA releases updated Libraries’ Guide to the 2020 Census
• United for Libraries offers first-ever chance to livestream Institute during Midwinter Meeting; registration open
• Philadelphia leaders and innovators share insights at 2020 Symposium on the Future of Libraries
• John E. Ulmschneider named 2020 ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of the Year
• Ready to Code Opens Call for Applications: Mini-Grants for Digital Skills Programs
• Feb. 1 deadline for ALA/Information Today, Inc. Library of the Future Award
• Games and Gaming Round Table announces Game On! Grants; deadline March 1
• Application open for 2020 ALA Leadership Institute; deadline March 9
• ALA seeks proposals for 2020 Diversity Research Grants; due April 15

Subscribe to future issues of Intellectual Freedom News, a free weekly compilation of news delivered to your inbox by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, including

• current book challenges in libraries and schools
• articles about privacy, internet filtering and censorship
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