Intellectual Freedom News 3/21/2025
Highlights
- ALA statement on White House assault on the Institute of Museum and Library Services | ALA
- Freedom to Read Foundation’s response to the removal of funding for IMLS | Freedom to Read Foundation
- FAQ: Executive Order Targeting IMLS | ALA
- America’s public libraries call for Congress to stand up for the Institute of Museum and Library Services | ALA
- ACRL Opposes Elimination of IMLS | ALA
- ALA warns new IMLS acting director not to cut programs required by law | ALA
- The Data Hoarders Resisting Trump’s Purge: Can librarians and guerrilla archivists save the country’s files from DOGE? | New Yorker
- Lisa Varga named Associate Executive Director of ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office | ALA
- Melissa Jacobs receives the AASL Intellectual Freedom Award | ALA
Censorship
- Amid ‘DEI’ purge, Pentagon removes webpage on Iwo Jima flag-raiser | Washington Post
- Libraries and the Power of Words | Connecticut by the Numbers
- Community Library Network’s new policies could fracture regional library consortium | Couer d’Alene Post Falls Press (ID)
- On Monday’s show: Duval braces for first book ban debate | WJCT (FL)
- Controversy surrounds Lapeer District Library as director quits after brief tenure | MLive (MI)
- ‘Israelism’ screening held at Northbrook Public Library months after free speech controversy | Chicago Sun Times (IL)
- 574 Books Removed from Monroe Country School Libraries in TN | NCAC (TN)
- TADL Responds to Federal Funding Cuts, Book Removal Request | Traverse Ticker (MI)
- Pine-Richland board gives itself final power over book selections at school library | TribLive (PA)
- Spring Cove rejects book policy update | Altoona Mirror (PA)
- Divided Rutherford County Library System Board bans transgender books ‘to protect children’ | Daily News Journal (TN)
- Federal judge orders Colorado district to return banned books to school libraries | Denver Post (CO)
- ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ could really teach something to the kids in St. Francis. Too bad it’s banned. | Minnesota Reporter (MN)
- ACLU of Connecticut Sends Rejoinder to Suffield Library About Book Policies, LGBTQIA+ Advocates Weigh In | ACLU (CT)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Exclusive: US suspends some efforts to counter Russian sabotage as Trump moves closer to Putin | Reuters
- Elon Musk’s Starlink Expands Across White House Complex | New York Times
- ICE Has An Internet Surveillance Power Tool That Keeps Tabs On More Than 200 Websites | TechDirt
- Administration Officials Believe Order Lets Immigration Agents Enter Homes Without Warrants | New York Times
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- The rise in book bans raises fears of suppressed voices for educators | Blue Banner
- Draft List for New Travel Ban Proposes Trump Target 43 Countries | New York Times
- Mahmoud Khalil’s case is setting up an epic first amendment battle with Trump | Guardian
- How a Columbia Student Fled to Canada After ICE Came Looking for Her | New York Times
- Federal judge blocks Trump’s plan to target ‘alien enemies’ for deportation | NPR
- The Hidden Motive Behind Trump’s Attack on Trans People | New York Times
- ACLU Reacts to President Trump’s Department of Justice Speech | ACLU
- Trump Administration Questions Law Firms Over D.E.I. Employment Practices | New York Times
- ACLU challenges White House claim it did not defy court order on Venezuelan migrants | Hill
- Texas Arrests Midwife and Associate on Charges of Providing Abortions | New York Times
- With DOE’s Office for Civil Rights depleted, a lawsuit seeks to continue discrimination investigations in schools | Philadelphia Inquirer
- Judge Blocks Policy That Would Expel Transgender Troops | New York Times
- Conservative school board in blue state asking Trump admin to intervene on gender policy | FOX News (WA)
- Judges Fear for Their Safety Amid a Wave of Threats | New York Times
- Musk Donates to G.O.P. Members of Congress Who Support Impeaching Judges | New York Times
- Educators, Students, and Civil Rights Advocates Seek Preliminary Injunction in Lawsuit Challenging South Carolina’s Racially Discriminatory Censorship Law, Budget Proviso 1.79 | Legal Defense Fund (SC)
- Justice Dept. Tries to Intervene on Trump’s Behalf in Jan. 6 Lawsuits | New York Times
- North Texas district sued by Attorney General Ken Paxton for teaching ‘critical race theory’ | KXXV (TX)
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- The Authoritarian Endgame on Higher Education | New York Times
- Colleges Flag Words Like ‘Women’ to Comply With DEI Bans | Inside Higher Ed
- White House Plans to Pause $175 Million for Penn Over Transgender Policy | New York Times
- How critics of authoritarianism are silenced in academia across the world | Democracy Without Borders
- Trump Demands Unprecedented Control at Columbia, Alarming Scholars and Speech Groups | U.S. News & World Report
- Brown University Professor Is Deported Despite a Judge’s Order | New York Times
- ‘A very dangerous time’ — Faculty say restricting departmental statements threatens academic freedom | Minnesota Daily (MN)
- Trump Demands Major Changes in Columbia Discipline and Admissions Rules | New York Times
- The End of the University as We Know It | New York Times
- Trump is setting the US on a path to educational authoritarianism | Guardian
Legislation
- US anti-terror legislation must not be weaponised against libraries | Times Higher Education
- Abbott Pushes Vouchers, Citing Debunked “Furries” Allegations In Texas Schools | ReformAustin (TX)
- Utah’s ban on pride flags in schools, government buildings will be first in nation if Gov. Cox signs bill | Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
- Oregon Republican lawmaker reads sexually explicit passage on House floor to call out bill that would ban book bans | OregonLive (OR)
- Is the general education overhaul at USU an academic attack or a ‘rescue mission’? | KUER (UT)
- Wyoming’s anti-DEI law is ‘a tool for censorship,’ free speech group says | Higher Ed Dive (WY)
- Senate committee clarifies the ways books can be ‘harmful to minors’ in schools | News from the States (FL)
- Restrictions on use of Arkansas State Library funds fail in budget subcommittee | Arkansas Advocate (AR)
- House advances higher education bills dealing with DEI, intellectual freedom center | CBS2Iowa (IA)
State & Local Governance
- How Texas Conservatives Use At-Large School Board Elections to Influence What Students Learn | Propublica (TX)
- University of Texas System bans drag shows in campus facilities | CBS Austin (TX)
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- Pennsylvania Introduces Bill to Restore Net Neutrality Protections | BroadbandBreakfast (PA)
- Like electricity in the 20th century, broadband access is now an economic necessity | Technical.ly
- The FTC Wants More Control Over Online Speech. That’s A Big Problem | TechDirt
Social Media & AI
- Meta’s Assault on DEI Plays Right Into the Project 2025 Handbook | Truthout
- Elon Musk Shared, Then Removed a Post Absolving Dictators for Genocide | New York Times
- House Judiciary Committee subpoenas Apple over AI censorship | Apple Insider
- Emotional Prompting Amplifies Disinformation Generation in AI Large Language Models | Frontiers
Journalism & Media
- Trump signs order to dismantle 7 federal agencies focused on media, libraries, homelessness | Hill
- Voice of America Broadcasts Begin Falling Silent | New York Times
- Chinese Nationalists Praise Trump’s Cuts to Voice of America | New York Times
- Strange Bedfellows: FCC’s ‘60 Minutes’ Probe Brings Advocacy Orgs Together to Sound Alarm About First Amendment Threat | Variety
Disinformation & Media Literacy
- Trump Tries to Use White South Africans as Cautionary Tale | New York Times
- ‘Disinformation will be back’ warns expert as Meta rolls out Community Notes | Journal
- The Budget Trick the G.O.P. Might Use to Make a $4 Trillion Tax Cut Look Free | New York Times
- Why social security disinformation is dangerous | Brookings
- Flu deaths rise as anti-vaccine disinformation takes root | Stateline
International
- Q&A: Val Hussain discusses Carleton’s queer library, the importance of safeguarding queer media | Charlatan (Canada)
- Noted: Pride flags, LRT safety, and Hamilton’s decision | Taproot Edmonton (Canada)
- Ex-Meta exec. claims censorship tool developed to monitor viral content in Hong Kong and Taiwan – report | Hong Kong Free Press (Hong Kong)
- The Long Arm of Turkey’s Global Media Censorship | Foreign Policy (Turkey)
- Belleville library reneges on hosting event discussing doctors in Gaza | Intelligencer (Canada)
Around the Web
- Struggle for control of public libraries in full swing across the Deep South | SPLC
- What on Earth Is Gavin Newsom Doing? | New York Times
- Book Bans in American Libraries: Impact of Politics on Inclusive Content Consumption | Informs
- Right to Read defends freedom | Minot Daily News
- Kansas Statehouse clownery has torn First Amendment to shreds. Who will tape it back together? | Kansas Reflector
- Trump’s Battles With Colleges Could Change American Culture for a Generation | New York Times
- Trump’s Latest Executive Order Eliminates the Institute of Museum and Library Services | Observer
- Urgent: Act Now to Save IMLS | American Alliance of Museums
- Important Update: Deep Cuts Proposed to the IMLS are a Further Erosion to Education and Democracy | Teen Librarian Toolbox
- Trump Has Gone From Unconstitutional to Anti-Constitutional | New York Times
- Tatanisha Love: Spreading the Power of Libraries | 2025 School Librarian of the Year Finalist | School Library Journal
- Centerville youth librarian says she was fired. Here’s what parents, library leaders say | Cape Cod Times
- Academic Movers Q&A: Scott Summers on Teaching Education Students About Intellectual Freedom | Library Journal
- L.A. High School Teacher and Author Rebuilds Classroom Libraries After Fires | 74
ALA News
- Pam Henderson receives YALSA’s Joann Sweetland Lum Memorial Grant
- Massachusetts School Library Association receives AASL Chapter of the Year Award
- ALSC Opens Applications to Host the 2026 Children’s Literature Lecture
- ALA awards $3.5 million in library accessibility funding to 300 small and rural libraries in third round of grant initiative
- Spring-Fall 2025 Core Fundamentals Web Course Schedule
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