Intellectual Freedom News 5/5
May 5, 2017 – Collated by OIF Staff and News Interns
Intellectual Freedom Highlights
- Do they still teach that in school: Ethics in LIS curricula | Webinar sponsored by the Freedom to Read Foundation on May 25, 2017
- Be sure to check out the blog posts about Choose Privacy Week crossposted on the OIF Blog and the Choose Privacy Week website:
- Long overdue: Revisiting library privacy policies during choose privacy week
- The path to creating a new privacy policy: NYPL’s story
- De-identification and patron data
- Negotiating contracts with vendors for privacy
- Data exchange and the art of iterating security checkups
- A toolkit to audit your library’s privacy practices
- Choosing privacy for public computers in libraries
- Piwik is an alternative to Google Analytics
- Coming Attractions: Introducing The “Privacy” Special Issue of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy
Censorship
- Orange County elementary school bans ’13 Reasons Why’ from campus | WFTV | “It’s not just “13 Reasons Why” – any book labeled “Mature Teen” is not welcome on an elementary school campus, Orange County Schools officials said.”
- Challenges and bans of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ aren’t really just about sex or profanity | Newsweek
- Tennessee high school removes student’s rainbow artwork from classroom display | CBLDF; ‘Administrators at a Tennessee high school recently ordered the removal of a student’s LGBTQ-themed artwork from a classroom display case after other students complained about it. Principal Bobby Wines of Volunteer High School in Church Hill cited the complaints as proof that the rainbow-colored pastel drawing could not be allowed to remain because it “disrupted the learning environment.”’
- Commentary: Ban school books? Don’t make it any easier | Orlando Sentinel [Florida H.B. 989 was voted into law by the Florida Senate on May 5.]
- A Look at Government Censorship in the Age of Facebook | Fortune
Access
- This school is trashing all its textbooks | New York Post; “School is no place for books, one Manhattan principal apparently believes.”
- National Archives (U.S.) will utilize a new model for preservation and accesibility of presidential records | InfoDocket
- EPA website removes climate science site from public view after two decades | The Washington Post
- Libraries are fining children who can’t afford to be without books | The New York Times
- School librarians missing at private and charter schools | Knowledge Quest Blog
Privacy
- Hundreds of apps can listen for marketing ‘beacons’ you can’t hear | Wired
- US intelligence “transparency report” reveals breadth of surveillance by NSA, others | Ars Technica
- Why we’re so hypocritical about online privacy | Harvard Business Review
- Seattle IT rule offers online consumer privacy protections | Capitol Hill Times
Net Neutrality
- Ajit Pai is siding with the oligarchy – and misleading Trump’s base | Backchannel
- Here’s what comes next in the fight to save net neutrality | Wired
- Federal court lets net neutrality regulations stand | The Hill
- A big change in NSA spying marks a win for American privacy | Wired
- A primer on the future of net neutrality under Trump | NPR
- Net neutrality may be poised for a Supreme Court showdown | The Washington Post
- The truth about ‘Net Neutrality,’ the Left, and Google | Forbes
- GOP’s “Internet Freedom Act” permanently guts net neutrality authority | Ars Technica; ‘The “Restoring Internet Freedom Act” would prohibit the FCC from classifying ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act and “from imposing certain regulations on providers of such service.”‘
First Amendment Issues
- Free Speech and the Twitter Presidency | Illinois Law Review
- NC push for campus ‘speech rights’ would limit free speech | The News & Observer
- Reince Priebus admits Trump administration has looked into changing the First Amendment | The Week
- New report from Index on Censorship paints bleak picture for U.S. press freedom | Poynter
- Bill protecting student journalists from censorship clears key hurdle | Arizona Capitol Times
- Legal thinking around First Amendment must evolve in digital age| Columbia Journalism Review
- A Code Pink Protester Laughs Over a Trump Nominee and Is Convicted | New York Times
- Anti-boycott legislation violates free speech principles | NCAC
- Trump religious liberty order is modest but has implications for education | Education Week
- A student paper under fire | Inside Higher Ed; “A journalism adviser at a Kansas community college has been suspended from his job, and student reporters there believe the administration is targeting them after they published multiple unflattering pieces.”
- Freedom House and Newsseu unveil 2016 World Press Freedom Map | Newseum
Around the Web
- “13 Reasons”: Schools warn about impact of controversial show | Lohud; “Many of the notes home to families explained the concerns raised by mental health professionals, such as the show’s failure to include health and treatment options available. The notes informed parents of school and community support resources at their disposal, and encouraged parents to watch the show with their children to discuss the content.”
- Ohio school district sends parents letter of concern over ’13 Reasons Why’ | Fox 8 Cleveland
- Aurora library book club to tackle controversial ’13 Reasons Why’ | Chicago Tribune
- Against Little Free Libraries | Cityweb
- The Trump campaign is accusing CNN of censorship | Vox
- Colts Andrew Luck has started a podcast – to talk about books | Yahoo Sports
- LSU v Elsevier – Paying twice (or more) for scholarship? | Duke University Libraries Blog
International Issues
- Ontario cuts funding for Toronto Public Library | The Star (Canada)
- Why banning David Irving books from university libraries would achieve little | The Guardian (UK)
- Turkey shuts Wikipedia as opposition party cries censorship | Bloomberg
- Amazon and EU reach settlement over E-book contracts | Wall Street Journal
- Access a database of 70,000 books banned around the world going back to 1575 | QZ
ALA News
- ALA gears up for renewed net neutrality fight
Need help getting your Banned Books Week program off the ground? The Freedom to Read Foundation is awarding $1,000-$2,500 grants to support events during Banned Books Week. Grantees also receive a Banned Books Week promo-kit, filled with new Banned Books Week products. Apply by May 12.- Fight for Libraries! Include #SaveIMLS on Twitter when you advocate for libraries.
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