Intellectual Freedom News 10/11/2024
Highlights
- Removing Books From Libraries Often Takes Debate. But There’s a Quieter Way. | New York Times
- White House recognizes libraries’ efforts to save lives from overdose | ALA
- Libraries as Lifelines: Supporting Communities in the Aftermath of Hurricane Helene | ALA
- The State of U.S. Academic Libraries: Findings from the ACRL 2023 Annual Survey | ALA
Censorship
- Book banning activists target Little Free Libraries in Utah | Axios Salt Lake City (UT)
- Parents rights group threatens people who offer banned books in free libraries | LGBTQ Nation (UT)
- Bomb threat amid protest by right-wing group cancels drag story hour at a Somerville library | Cambridge Day (MA)
- Eagle library board meets, relocates 24 books | Lewiston Tribune (ID)
- Cy-Fair ISD’s focus on libraries followed flood of book challenges by two trustees’ inner circles | Houston Public Media (TX)
- School board members shielded in book fight | Florida Courier (FL)
- Victory for Freedom to Read, As Escambia County Returns 24 Restricted Books to School Library Shelves | PEN America (FL)
- This Pennsylvania graduate is lending a hand in the fight against book bans in her hometown school district | Keystone News (PA)
- USDDP challenged on high school library books | Press Times (WI)
- With federal lawsuit still looming, new St. Tammany library board holds first meeting | NOLA.com (LA)
- Cullman library reclassifies entire young adult collection as fiction | Alabama Political Reporter (AL)
- Banned Book Group to meet at Westfield Library to discuss “The Bluest Eye” | Patch (NJ)
- New billboards in Van Buren claim voting Republican will help keep ‘porn’ out of the county library | 5newsonline (AR)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Streaming Television Industry Conducting Vast Surveillance of Viewers, Targeting Them with Manipulative AI-driven Ad Tactics, Says New Report | Center for Digital Democracy
- How the US revived ‘war on terror’ era surveillance to suppress pro-Palestine movement | Middle East Eye
- How Schools Can Protect Student Privacy in the Age of Video Surveillance Monitoring | Campus Safety
- Privacy Concerns Surface in Maryland School’s AI Detection Methods | WCBM (MD)
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- Arkansas children, and adults, should have the freedom to read | Arkansas Times (AR)
- Conservative Activists Are Monitoring, and Filming, Voter Registration Sites | New York Times
- Judge Throws Out Right-Wing Challenge to Georgia Voting Machines | Democracy Docket (GA)
- ACLU launces voter education campaign ahead of Georgia State House race focused on reproductive rights | ACLU of Georgia (GA)
- This Pa. school district has reversed course after installing surveillance windows in its gender inclusive bathrooms | Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
- Why we’re engaging in the Charleston County school board election | ACLU of SC (SC)
- A School Board Tried to Make Public Comments Civil. It Went Too Far, Court Says | Education Week (FL)
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- Oct. 7 Kicked Off a Difficult Year for Higher Ed. How Should Universities Move Forward Now? | Inside Higher Ed
- Rights expert urges universities to respect pro-Palestinian protests | United Nations
- Censorship and Consternation Mar Oct. 7 Campus Remembrances | Inside Higher Ed
Legislation
- Democrats push to lower voting age to 16 for school board races | New Jersey Monitor (NJ)
State and Local Governance
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- Digital Equity Executives Advise on Closing Digital Divide | BroadbandBreakfast
- How the election may impact broadband policy | LightReading
- Policy Experts Note Importance of FCC Regulatory Authority | BroadbandBreakfast
Journalism & Media
- FCC rebukes DeSantis admin for threat against TV stations airing abortion measure ad | MSNBC (FL)
- Why stations are required to air all, even graphic, political ads | WUTR
Social Media
- Social media disinformation and the First Amendment: Editorial Board Roundtable | Cleveland.com
- Civil society groups demand action against ‘sexist’ AI disinformation | France24
- Social media suspensions may be linked to misinformation, not platform bias: Study | Hill
- Debate over online censorship heats up in Washington | WJLA
- Fourteen AGs sue TikTok, claiming that it harms children’s mental health | TechCrunch
Disinformation & Media Literacy
- ‘The worst I have ever seen’: Disinformation chaos hammers FEMA | Politico
- Election Deepfakes Prompt State Crackdowns—and First Amendment Concerns | WSJ
- Republican congressman issues rebuke over ‘outrageous’ Helene disinformation | Guardian
- AI memes: Election disinformation manifested through satire | Brookings
- Trump seeds disinformation as he sets course for a possible Oval Office return | CNN
International
- X Is back up and running in Brazil after it caved and paid a fine — because there are some battles Elon Musk can’t win | Business Insider (Brazil)
Around the Web
- America’s Censored Classrooms 2024 | PEN America
- ‘The Limitation Effect’: NYU study examines effect of censorship in schools | Florida Phoenix
- Legislators Are Shifting Tactics To Censor Higher Ed, Claims Report | Forbes
- The impact of Florida’s book bans on education and students | Riverdale Press
- Achievement gap between Black, white students still plagues Florida schools | Tampa Bay Times
- How Project 2025 Would Devastate Public Education | NEA Today
- Pulling Back the Curtain on the Right’s Ideas About Education | Progressive
- How Book Bans Happen Under the Radar | New York Times
- Education: Where do Harris and Trump stand? | Maryland Matters
- Folks Are Uniting Against Book Bans | Michigan Chronicle
- “We Are a Relatively Easy Punching Bag” | Slate
- Banned Books Find Shelter in Maryland ‘Sanctuary Library’ | 74
- Fully Booked | Why Read Banned Books? | Pitt News
- Unions recognize ‘Banned Books Week’ with a mountainous giveaway in Missoula | Montana Public Radio
- The Conservative Weaponization of Government Against Tech | ITIF
- 13 books were banned across Utah schools. How often did students actually check them out? | Salt Lake Tribune
- Jon Stewart Responds to Elon Musk’s First Amendment Claims: ‘Guns Don’t Protect Our Free Speech’ | Rolling Stone
- Drag queen whose image was used in a Trump ad is reviewing ‘legal options’ | NBC News
- Where Carmel school board candidates stand on book banning, Mom’s for Liberty, school choice | IndyStar
- Book Bans Hit the Big Screen: 6 Documentaries Take on Educational Censorship | PEN America
- San Antonio Public Libraries addressing ‘period poverty’ by making feminine hygiene products accessible in all restrooms | KENS5
- Burlington library to hire staff to better serve homeless patrons | WCAX
- Who uses public libraries the most? There’s a divide by religion, and politics. | Washington Post
ALA News
- New Research Analyzes Collaboration Between School Librarians and Teachers
- Announcing the 2024 Core Forum Keynote Speakers!
- New from ACRL – “Training Library Instructors, 2 Volume Set”
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