Highlights

• Shhh! Libraries hope to avoid a video closeup | Portland Tribune; “Legally, public libraries are considered a “limited public forum,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone said. Staff can enforce behavior rules, and require that people receive permission before photographing inside their buildings to avoid interfering with staff or patrons.”

Censorship

• Local man starts petition, plans to protest against drag queen reading program at public library | Idaho State Journal
  • Local man ends campaign against Pocatello drag queen storytime program | Idaho State Journal
• Columbus school’s PTA cancels ‘drag queen story hour,’ citing safety concerns, harassment | Columbus Dispatch
  • Drag Queen Story Hour at Columbus Elementary School cancelled due to safety concerns | NBC4 (OH)
• Opinion: Proposed library bill is equal to banning books | Missourian
• A Politician Wants to Censor Books and Throw Librarians in Jail. It’s a Slippery Slope. | EdSurge
• California school district removes Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye’ from classroom reading list after parents complain | The Mercury News (CA)
• Book that sparked complaint to remain on Cheyenne school shelves | Powell Tribune (WY)
• Book for 7th-grade class details sex, drugs and rape, metro mother says | KCCI (IA)
• Grand Haven school board addresses concerns over sexually explicit books | ABC 13 (MI)

Privacy and Cybersecurity

• Federal agencies use cellphone location data for immigration enforcement | Wall Street Journal
• Tracked but Not Seen: The Fight Against Racist Surveillance | Sojourners
• How public libraries can help close America’s digital privacy divide | Inside Sources
• Don’t sell my data! Now there’s a law for that — if you jump through these hoops | Washington Post
• How Much is Privacy Worth Around the World and Across Platforms? | Technology Policy Institute
• How much privacy are students surrendering to attendance-tracking app? | The Hill
• Privacy law covering most medical care may not apply in schools | Reuters
• Police need warrant to ping cell phones, Kentucky appeals court rules | WDRB (KY)
• Facebook, YouTube order Clearview to stop scraping them for faces to match | Ars Technica

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

Access

• The National Archives Responds | New York Times; “The archivist of the United States objects to statements in an Op-Ed criticizing new record-keeping practices.”
• Bringing Congress on board with #eBooksForAll | American Libraries

Net Neutrality & Broadband

• Can New York City fix what ails American broadband? | Protocol
• Electric cooperatives could be the key to solving the rural digital divide | CNET
• Not connected and no Netflix: ‘It’s frankly embarrassing’ in these Kansas towns | The Kansas City Star

Academic Freedom & Campus Speech

• University Condemns Comparison of ‘OK, Boomer’ to Racial Slur by Professor | New York Times

Fake News, Free Press, Social Media

• Tennessee Republican bids to classify CNN and Washington Post as ‘fake news’ | The Guardian
• What Happens When QAnon Seeps From the Web to the Offline World | New York Times
• Transgender users accuse TikTok of censorship | BBC
• Democrats, Republicans each expect made-up news to target their own party more than the other in 2020 | Pew Research Center
• Technology, tribalism, and truth | Brookings Institute

First Amendment & Free Speech

• Free speech or threat? An anti-gay pamphlet roils a public university | Chronicle of Higher Education
• When the culture war comes to class | Chronicle of Higher Education
• Local librarians warned to watch for activists looking to score on YouTube | Syracuse.com
• Judge throws out lawsuit over arrest at Kansas City library | New York Times
• Lifting every voice in religious freedom | Freedom Forum Institute

Around the Web

• Federal appeals court upholds school’s policy allowing students to use bathroom matching gender identity | Jurist
• Assisting customers with digital alteration: An ethical conundrum | Intellectual Freedom Blog
• A birthday letter to Jacqueline Woodson | Intellectual Freedom Blog
• Picture books on prescription | The Guardian
• Madonna claims she was ‘censored’ after London Palladium show cut short | BBC
• Netflix reveals the 9 times it has complied with government censorship | Polygon
• ‘Pornographic’ French writer Pierre Guyotat dies aged 80 | RFI
• My library refused to be part of Oprah’s Book Club’s push for ‘American Dirt.’ Here’s why | NBC News
• Amazon quietly removes Nazi-themed books: report | The Hill
• Disney Will Probably Censor Hamilton’s F-Bombs To Make A PG-13 Rating | GameSpot
• A Library Story. They Say Everyone Has One. | School Library Journal

International Issues

• How 4 Chinese hackers allegedly took down Equifax | Wired
• China Ramps Up Censorship On Coronavirus As Critics Risk Criminal Charges | Forbes
• Congress moves to stop China’s censoring Americans | Washington Post
• China’s censors tried to control the narrative on a hero doctor’s death. It backfired terribly | CNN
• Swiss Vote on Anti-Homophobia Law as Critics Decry Censorship | New York Times
• Artist accuses Kuala Lumpur’s National Gallery of censorship | Art Forum

ALA News

• ALA awards deadline extended; March 2
• ALA publishes free facilitation skills training materials for small and rural library workers
• ALA takes FY 2021 budget cuts seriously, urges members of Congress to visit libraries
• ALSC announces 2020 Notable Children’s Recordings
• K-8 libraries invited to apply for $5,000 award recognizing outstanding programming
• New ALA program will help libraries address climate crisis
• Voting & Elections Toolkit
• ALA releases updated Libraries’ Guide to the 2020 Census
• 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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