Intellectual Freedom News, 3/3/17
March 3, 2017 – Collated by OIF Staff and News Interns
Intellectual Freedom Highlights
- Art history without nudity?; Gay “Captain Underpants”—Scales on Censorship | School Library Journal; “The responsibility of the review media is to analyze a book for literary contribution and popular appeal. It isn’t their job to “warn” librarians about content unless it impacts the quality of the book. To do so is equivalent to applying a label, which contributes to censorship.”
- Talking about Milo: 3 perspectives from IF community | Intellectual Freedom Blog; “Three intellectual freedom fighters — our OIF director, a reference librarian and a library director — offer their perspectives on ‘the Milo situation.'” Read “Troll Comes Home to Roost” by Jamie LaRue, “Milo Makes News Again” by Patricia Peters, and “Access and Truth: Should Librarians Provide Context?” by Melissa Chiavaroli.
- News you can use: Introducing a timely intellectual freedom resource | Knowledge Quest
Censorship
- Nome parents divided over books pulled from alternative reading list | Alaska Dispatch News; Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner,” J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” and Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.”
Bill introduced to ban Howard Zinn books from Arkansas public schools | Arkansas Times; A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. — John F. Kennedy- Mom shocked when son brings home vulgar book unknowingly | AOL News
- White House media ban is ‘unconstitutional censorship’, America’s National Press Club warns | The Independent
- Letter: Interpretation isn’t reason to censor posters | Carroll County Times
Panel: disputed book should stay in schools | WSAW News/Talk (WI)
- ‘Vile’ and ‘disturbing?’ Book OK’d for high school| Marshfield News-Herald
- Cambridge College named after wartime leader forced to remove Holocaust denier’s Churchill biography| Christianity Today
Hate Crimes in Libraries
- U.Va. investigating hate speech incident at Clemons Library | The Cavalier Daily (VA)
- Racist hate speech jars community | Miscellany News (Vassar College); “After two racist hate speech messages were found in the library within a few days, posters were put up proclaiming, ‘Libraries are for everyone.’ A sit-in was held in front of the library on Feb. 24.”
Access
- Kids can’t get to books after school board cuts librarian position in IL | 11 WTOL
- Cox, American Library Association teaming up to narrow digital divide| 13 WIBW (KS)
- Both sides urge Supreme Court to decide transgender case despite Trump move | Education Week
- Libraries Respond website features timely information on serving immigrants, GLBTQ, indigenous populations | ALA News
- Web content accessibility guidelines 2.1 first public working draft | W3C
- Immigrant students worry as librarian lends support | School Library Journal
- How much can schools protect undocumented students? | Education Week
Privacy
- FCC halts internet privacy requirements| The Verge
- How the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) expands privacy data scope and provides new rights of data control to customers | InsideBigData
- Massive bug may have leaked user data from millions of sites. So … change your passwords | Wired
- Famed hacker Kevin Mitnick shows you how to go invisible online | Wired
- A murder case tests Alexa’s devotion to your privacy | Wired
- Is it time for privacy’s code of ethics? | IAPP
- Teens, young adults express social media privacy concerns | IAPP
- Data brokers, don’t help build Muslim registry or facilitate mass deportations | Center for Democracy & Technology
Internet Filters
- Google fights online trolls with new tool | Washington Post
- New app to bring awareness to internet censorship | Western Herald
- Parent finds porn on student’s school laptop | MyPanHandle.com (FL)
- The RIAA wants internet companies to begin filtering pirated content | The Verge
Net Neutrality / Broadband
- New FCC chairman: Net neutrality rules were a ‘mistake’ | PC World
- FCC chair claims broadband investment at historic low level because of net neutrality; That’s not what the numbers say | Consumerist
Academic Freedom
- AAUP forum defends academic freedom under Trump | Louisville Cardinal (KY)
- Iowa pol pushing bill to get more GOP profs on college campuses | NBC News
- Betsy DeVos criticizes professors in remarks to conservative conference | Chronicle of Higher Education
- Free speech on Israel is under threat from groups conflating criticism of country with anti-Semitism, say academics| The Indepedent
- College officials needed swift lesson in classroom freedom| Reason.com
First Amendment Issues
- U.S. Supreme Court weighs bar on sex offenders’ use of social media | Education Week
- Argument analysis: Justices skeptical about social media restrictions for sex offenders| SCOTUSblog
- Taking down student painting violated 1st Amendment, Clay claims in planned lawsuit | St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- We can’t just blame the Left for student censorship – every side is at it now | The Telegraph
- ‘Grave concerns’ over controversial Middlebury speaker | VT Digger
- Arizona leader kills controversial protest bill after widespread criticism | WYFF (AZ)
- California can’t censor lawmaker’s addresses, judge rules | CalCoastNews.com
- Are you still minding the gap? A check-up for navigating line between political and hate speech and workplace acceptability | The National Law Review
Around the Web
- Nevada lawmakers schedule hearing on open carry library ban | Guns.com
- Bill allowing guns in libraries fails again | Arizona Daily Sun
- Authors angry after Susan Hill accuses bookshop of anti-Trump censorship | Guardian
- Comics studies comes of age | Chronicle of Higher Education
- The Internet made ‘fake news’ a thing—then made it nothing | Wired
- Fourteen banned and challenged comics by women | CBLDF
- FTRF Joins Statement in Support of Freedom of the Press| FTRF
- NCAC & over 80 other free speech, press groups call President’s attacks on the media a threat to democracy| NCAC blog
- NCAC protests the removal of American diversity posters over alleged “anti-Trump” bias | NCAC blog
- Mem Fox interrogated by U.S. border police, later gets apology| School Library Journal
- Teaching news literacy? Check your own bias, says librarian | School Library Journal
- More states introduce bills to interfere with science education| Ars Technica
International Issues
- Censorship concerns as European Parliament introduces ‘kill switch’ to cut racist speeches | The Telegraph
- Remembering Ren Hang: A subversive to China’s censorship | The Daily Beast
- As North Koreans use phones, state finds new ways to censor | ABC News
- Thai university riled by lecturers’ criticism of government | Washington Post
- Pro-Palestinian students cry censorship over Israel Apartheid Week cancelations | RT
ALA News
- ALA protests rollback of transgender protections | American Libraries
- ALA Council passes resolution on gun violence affecting libraries, library workers, and library patrons
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