Intellectual Freedom News 10/29/2022
Given the volume of news, commentary, and updates addressing intellectual freedom and privacy issues in libraries across the United States and even internationally, we are experimenting with a twice-a-week publication schedule – moving to Wednesdays and Saturdays. Feedback on the new schedule can be sent to oif@ala.org.
Highlights
- Libraries Can Unite a Lonely, Divided Nation | Bloomberg CityLab
- Digital Equity Resources for Libraries | American Library Association
- Registration opens for the first in-person LibLearnX | ALA News
Censorship
- Book ban meeting held in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County | WGAL (PA)
- Lancaster County parents move to challenge books, opt students out of ‘inappropriate’ content | Lancaster Online (PA)
- Orlando LGBTQ center cancels drag queen story hour over neo-Nazi threats | Click Orlando (FL)
- Speakers urge Lincolnwood Library to ban specific books, drag queen storytime, but it didn’t have one | Chicago Tribune
- Willard parents call for ‘full audit’ of school library for sexually explicit material | Springfield News-Leader (MO)
- Degenfelder says sexually-explicit books ‘not suitable for minors’ | Cowboy State Daily (WY)
- Anti-LGBTQ activists will train Florida’s public school librarians on which books to ban | LGBTQ Nation (FL)
- Slidell residents push for library to remove books they claim are explicit | WDSU (LA)
- Parents seek removal of ‘sexually explicit’ books at Salem-South Lyon District Library | Hometown Life (MI)
- Book Ban Vote Unleashes Mayhem at Michigan School Board Meeting | The Daily Beast
- Norwin school board member opposing use of children’s book on diversity; District not investigating | WTAE (PA)
- Advocates launch ‘Freedom to Read SC’ coalition to fight book bans across SC | WACH (SC)
- MBR’s book-banning frenzy spreads to Tomball | Medium (TX)
- Controversial LGBTQ book will stay in Medomak high school’s library | Bangor Daily News (ME)
- Despite threats, Sunday morning drag queen storytime event in Eugene will go on | NPR (OR)
- USD 231 school board votes, rejects book ban proposal | Gardner News (KS)
- Nixa school board stands firm on policy changes as parents, students debate book bans | Springfield News-Leader (MO)
- Smokescreen for larger issues: National battle over LGBTQ and sex-ed books reaches Bartholomew County | Columbus Republic (IN)
- Homer-Center school board responds to call to ban book from course curriculum | Indiana Gazette
- Sumner County, TN, pushing to remove another book from schools | WKRN (TN)
- Debate over ‘explicit’ books at Spartanburg Libraries continues | Go Upstate (SC)
- Hempfield book challenge policy could mirror one used for websites | Yahoo! News (PA)
- Debate continues at the library, four books brought into question | Times-Enterprise (GA)
- Parents ask for removal of ‘sexually explicit’ books from Frederick County Public Schools | DC News Now (MD)
- Florida puts raging MAGA moms on book-banning Council | Daily Beast (FL)
- California school broadcasts sexually explicit books, some covering ‘pedophiles,’ kink, and pornographic images | FOX News (CA)
- Richland school board to consider ‘race, culture’ policy passed by Kennewick | Tri-City Herald (WA)
- South Carolina middle school removes book on anti-racism from library | National Coalition Against Censorship (SC)
- Library refuses public comment as sex book controversy continues | Valley City Times Record (ND)
- The battle over library books reaches Natrona’s school board election | Casper Star Tribune (WY)
- Here’s how many Utah parent complaints have been filed — so far — about ‘pornographic’ books in schools | Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
- Maine parent wants book about transgender teens removed from school library | WGME (ME)
- Conway School Board considering frightening policy to ban teaching of dozens of concepts | Arkansas Times (AR)
- Library board accepts director resignation ‘with regret’ as book controversy rages on | Daily Herald (TN)
- Beaufort County Schools pulls 97 books from library shelves over ‘inappropriate content’ complaint | WSAV (SC)
- Batesburg-Leesville Schools remove book on racism, national censorship watchdog pushes back | Lexington County Chronicle (SC)
- Seminole County School Board member raises concerns over books in schools | ClickOrlando (FL)
- ORR superintendent on controversial books: Leave those decisions to school librarians | South Coast Today
- Committee votes to keep book on Ankeny library shelf after challenge | Des Moines Register (IA)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Square sells access to your inbox. No one seems to know if the law cares. | Protocol
- Employee surveillance is a working mom’s nightmare | TIME
- FTC to digital media advertisers: It’s time to protect kids | JD Supra
- TikTok parent ByteDance planned to use TikTok to monitor the physical location of specific American citizens | Forbes
- How to destroy surveillance capitalism | Cory Doctorow
- The Chinese surveillance state proves that the idea of privacy is more ‘malleable’ than you’d expect | MIT Technology Review
- Crypto means absolutely nothing without censorship resistance | Nasdaq
- Signal wont’ hand over its encryption keys to governments, would rather walk out of the country: Meredith Whittaker | Financial Express
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- Lawsuit filed to stop vigilante surveillance of drop boxes in Arizona | CNN
- Ninth Circuit finds abortion foe’s undercover tactics not protected by First Amendment | Courthouse News Service
- Florida state board approves strict implementation of anti-LGBTQ laws | K-12 Dive (FL)
- Can Penn State cancel event featuring Proud Boys founder? | Centre Daily Times
- Facing South Florida: Voting rights restoration | CBS Miami
- A justice for some? After Roe overturned, state Supreme Court races turn political | NBC News
- Supreme Court must affirm consumer boycotts are protected by First Amendment | Common Dreams
- Lafayette library board meeting changes may have ‘chilling effect’ on public speech, law clinic warns | Acadiana Advocate (LA)
- California court rules in favor of Christian baker who refused to bake cake for lesbian wedding | Yahoo! News
- Suspended Norton officer wins grievance against city on First Amendment grounds | Akron Beacon Journal (OH)
Academic Freedom & Campus Speech
- ‘They’re really needed for students’: Calvin senior petitions to have school keep LGBTQ-affirming professors | FOX 17
- The Proud Boys at Penn State was never going to end well | MSNBC
- For LGBTQ teachers, academic freedom means the freedom to exist | Washington Post
- Free speech concerns prompt calls to shun Yale law grads | Inside Higher Ed
- What happens when you put ideologues in charge of a university | Popular Information
Legislation
- Bill prohibiting drag performances to be introduced in upcoming Idaho legislative session | Idaho State Journal
- Librarians voice concerns after proposed rule would limit access to certain books | News-Press (MO)
Journalism & Media
- The Metric Media network runs more than 1,200 local news sites. Here are some of the non-profits funding them. | Columbia Journalism Review
- A large portion of the Americans who pay for news are rich | Nieman Labs
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- It’s been a year since Gigi Sohn was nominated to the FCC–and internet rights groups are pissed | Daily Dot
Social Media
- Court orders depositions of top Biden officials in Missouri AG’s case | Missouri Attorney General
- Cyber officials may have to testify about alleged social media collusion | Washington Post
- How TikTok ate the internet | Washington Post
- How billionaires are building a right-wing online ecosystem | The Hill
Information Literacy & Disinformation
- Where AI and disinformation meet | Arizona State University
- A pro-China disinfo campaign is targeting US elections–badly | WIRED
- Understanding and then countering misinformation and disinformation | Government Technology
- False information is everywhere. ‘Pre-bunking’ tries to head it off early | NPR
International
- Election disinformation in Brazil concerns analysts, media | VOA
- China congress: How one man on a bridge marred Xi Jinping’s big moment | BBC
- The plight of China’s gay scholars | Inside Higher Ed
Around the Web
- How should educators respond to parents who criticize what’s being taught? | Education Week
- New study reveals the anti-CRT agenda is really about denying racism and revising history | Diverse Issues in Higher Education
- These PACs are funding ‘parents’ rights advocates’ running for local school board positions | USA Today
- ABCs not LGBTs: Battles over race, gender inflame Texas school board vote | Reuters (TX)
- Three Portage school board candidates running to stop critical race theory, ‘sexualization’ of children | Michigan Live (MI)
- Book ban debate part of Wake County school board election | Raleigh News & Observer (NC)
- The books in your kid’s school could be decided in the next election | WCNC (NC)
- Liberal parents are joining the school culture wars — but conservative parents are way ahead | NBC News
- ‘Haters gotta hate’ says doctor running for Indiana school board who stated that ‘all Nazis weren’t bad’ | The Hill
- Christian nationalism is a racist, ahistorical ideology of violence | MSNBC
- Op-Ed: How feftishizing old classics can go along with banning books | Los Angeles Times
- Violence against transgender people is on the rise, stopping it requires a holistic solution | Just Security
- A Brooklyn school’s students fought to add AP African American Studies to their curriculum | NBC News
- Their America is vanishing. Like Trump, they insist they were cheated. | New York Times
- Democracy on the ballot–What do election deniers want? | Brookings
- All Souls Unitarian holds sermon opposing book bans, encouraging freedom to read | KTUL
- One person transported to hospital after large protest outside of Old Nick’s Pub | KEZI (OR)
- Drag story time at Oregon pub draws gun-carrying protesters | ABC News (OR)
- $600k ad blitz hits Gov. Mills for ‘Gender Queer’ school book | Maine Wire
- Survey: Americans broadly support teaching about (most) controversial topics in the classroom | Brookings
- ‘A free society does not ban books’ Nikole Hannah-Jones | Late Show
- LGBT+ Center Orlando’s Halloween Drag Story Hour cancelled | Los Angeles Blade
ALA News
- American Library Association Announces New Additions and Appointments to Leadership Team
- More than 50 Representatives urge support for library facilities in FY 2023 appropriations bill
- New report outlines how policymakers can scale library successes to advance digital equity
- A toolkit for making data driven decisions
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