Intellectual Freedom News 4/16/2021
Highlights
- Jason Reynolds Named Inaugural Honorary Chair of Banned Books Week
- First All Member Gathering of IFRT
- Pelayo-Lozada wins 2022-2023 ALA presidency
Censorship
- Book on police shooting of Black man sparks controversy at Papillon La Vista schools | Omaha World-Herald
- Republicans’ censorship litmus test in North Idaho library trustee election draws fire | Idaho Statesman
- Parent objects to required reading title | The Timberjay
- Arizona lawmakers approve new, stricter sex education laws | Tucson.com
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Addressing the Alarming Systems of Surveillance Built By Library Vendors | SPARC
- Ethical Financial Stewardship: One Library’s Examination of Vendors’ Business Practices | In the Library with the Lead Pipe
- Possible personal data exposure found by Chattanooga Public Library and City IT | WRCB TV
- The new lawsuit that shows facial recognition is officially a civil rights issue | MIT Technology Review
- EFF Objects to Un-Warranted Police DNA searches | Find Biometrics
More privacy news is available at the Voices for Privacy blog.
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- Biden Seeks to Boost Civil Rights Funding Across Government | Bloomberg Government
- New Mexico governor signs Civil Rights Act | Santa Fe New Mexican
- N.H. House Passes Bills Aiming To Protect Civil Liberties In States Of Emergency | New Hampshire Public Radio
- Approval of Kansas bill on trans athletes isn’t veto-proof | Star Tribune
- Ohio lawmakers want harsher penalties for protesters, but some fear chill on free speech | Journal-News
- Protect the police or the First Amendment? | The Hill
- Tenth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Police Who Knowingly Violated the First Amendment | Cato Institute
- Supreme Court conservatives may reset balance between LGBTQ rights and religious liberty | Los Angeles Times
- Civil Liberties Advocates Warn COVID-19 Vaccine Passports Could Worsen Inequities | Dallas Observer
- States Consider Bills That Threaten Protest Rights | National Coalition Against Censorship
- Texas Senate approves bail bill that would keep more people in jail if they can’t post cash bonds | The Texas Tribune
Access
- Boston Public Library To Eliminate Late Fines For Everyone | CBS Boston
- Library Board’s Decision to Eliminate Late Fees Reflects Larger Trend | Omaha Public Radio
- From Zora Neale Hurston’s “What White Publishers Won’t Print” (1950) TO #PublishingPaid Me (2020) | Intellectual Freedom Blog
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- Privacy Update: California Can Enforce Net Neutrality Law After Court Victory | JDSupra
- Washington State Votes to End Restrictions On Community Broadband | Vice
Academic Freedom & Campus Speech
- Zoom Sharply Reduces Its Content Restrictions for Academic Institutions | Reason
- Louisiana representative proposes bill prohibiting education about systemic racism, sexism | LSU Reveille
- Letter: The Legislature has no business meddling in academic affairs | Inforum
- Mike Jacobs: A chilling wind blows out of Bismarck | Grand Forks Herald
- Florida bill urges college students to secretly record profs for lawsuit fodder | The Palm Beach Post
- Indiana Senate bill would survey public college students’ perception of free speech on campus | Indiana Daily Student
Social Media
- Civil rights groups flagged dozens of anti-Muslim pages and groups to Facebook that stayed up, lawsuit alleges | The Washington Post
- Social Media Plays Key Role for Domestic Extremism, FBI Director Says | The Wall Street Journal
- DeSantis tears into YouTube, claiming censorship | Politico
- A guide for conceptualizing the debate over Section 230 | Brookings
- Revealed: the Facebook loophole that lets world leaders deceive and harass their citizens | The Guardian
- Kids hooked on tech becomes bipartisan focus | Axios
Copyright
- Copyright transformed: Supreme Court rules copying code from Application Program Interfaces (APIs) into new APIs is a fair use | JDSupra
- How did a self-taught linguist come to own an indigenous language? | The New Yorker
Journalism, Media, & Disinformation
- Reading in the Age of Distrust | Project Information Literacy
- A New Way of Looking at Trust in Media: Do Americans Share Journalism’s Core Values? | The Media Insight Project
- White Evangelical Resistance Is Obstacle in Vaccination Effort | The New York Times
- Smartmatic says disinformation on Fox News about the election was ‘no accident.’ | The New York Times
- The simple reasons online disinformation may never be fixed | Science Focus
- Exploring YouTube And The Spread Of Disinformation | NPR
- A top Facebook exec told a whistleblower her concerns about widespread state-sponsored disinformation meant she had ‘job security’ | Business Insider
- Student journalist protection bill stalls in Legislature | Associated Press
International News
- Chinese Reality Shows Censor Western Clothing Brands | The New York Times
- Chinese researchers say they’ve developed an AI text censor that’s 91 pct accurate | South China Morning Post
- Hong Kong university’s guidelines on security law stoke fears over freedoms | Reuters
- Turkey frees high-profile writer after European human rights ruling | Financial Times
- Former far-Right leader plans leaflet drop of Covid-19 vaccine disinformation [in New Zealand] | Stuff
Around the Web
- Dav Pilkey and “Cancel Culture”: A Conversation with Deborah Caldwell-Stone | Intellectual Freedom Blog
- What It Feels Like When a Federal Court Gives a Professor the Right to Misgender You | Slate
- Supreme Court splits on UM public records denial, lets FOIA fight proceed | The Detroit News
- Intel responds to criticism of Bleep, their new hate speech and profanity filter | Shack News
- A Teacher Marched to the Capitol. When She Got Home, the Fight Began. | The New York Times
- Legislation and Book Bans Target Teaching about Social Justice and Racism in Schools | National Coalition Against Censorship
- New book returns disabled narratives to history | The Manitoban
- Why Tim Berners-Lee’s New Venture Is The Wake-Up Call The Data Industry Needs | Forbes
- Mapping the Current Landscape of Research Library Engagement with Emerging Technologies in Research and Learning | ARL
- Residents sue Lafayette Parish Council over alleged ‘walking quorum,’ violating Open Meetings Law | KATC ABC
- Idaho House kills $1.1 billion teacher pay bill on tie vote | Associated Press
- Indiana’s attorney general launches probe alleging Big Tech has been censoring conservatives | Indiana Daily Student
- Despite protests by mask opponents, library board holds to face-covering policy | Sand Point Reader
- Restorative Libraries: Restorative Justice Practices and How to Implement Them | Library Journal
- Watch: Disrupting Literary Hegemony: Trans and Nonbinary Author Spotlight | School Library Journal
ALA News
- ALA announces recipients of $1 million in community engagement funding for small and rural libraries
- Padma Lakshmi, Juana Martinez-Neal, and Melissa de la Cruz announced as featured speakers at ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition (Virtual)
- Lester Elected 2022-2023 AASL President
- Cynthia Johnson elected as the 2021-22 President-Elect of RUSA
- Erin L. Ellis elected ACRL vice-president/president-elect
- Margaret Heller Elected 2021-22 Core President-elect
- Día 25th anniversary celebrations to highlight diversity, culture, and literacy
- ALA releases American Rescue Plan state funding resource for libraries
- ALA offers new benefits to help members gain new skills
- Librarians working with the public to establish, safeguard community archives
ALA Publishing
- New from ACRL – “Leading Together: Academic Library Consortia and Advocacy”
- Alignment of School Librarian Preparation Standards with AASL Standards Examined in New School Library Research
- New Research Explores School Librarian and Teacher Collaboration
Awards and Grants
- Albany (N.Y.) Public Library awarded ALA’s Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant
- United for Libraries’ April 27 Learning Live session, Ask the Experts, will address common issues that arise among Library Boards, Friends Groups, and Foundations
- 2021 Teens’ Top Ten nominees announced
- Grow Your Public Services Skills with RUSA
eCourses and Webinars
- Core Webinar: Web Accessibility Beyond Best Intentions
- Celebrate Preservation Week 2021 with free webinars from Core
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