Intellectual Freedom News 7/30/2021
Highlights
- Join the #BannedBooksChat With Jason Reynolds!
- ALA adopts new Code of Ethics principle on racial and social justice
Censorship
- Tampa Bay teachers seek protections from ‘critical race theory’ accusations: They don’t want to be punished for presenting historical fact if a student or parent objects | Tampa Bay Times
- Republicans newly alarmed by critical race theory see bans as ‘more of a preventative’ | NBC
- It started with a mock ‘slave trade’ and a school resolution against racism. Now a war over critical race theory is tearing this small town apart. | The Washington Post
- Censorship Scholar On Book Bans And Critical Race Theory | NPR
- Opinion: Lawsuits on banning critical race theory are coming. Here’s what won’t work, and what could. | Des Moines Register
- CT libraries see more book removal requests, but few get pulled from shelves | The Hour
- Carmel parents share outrage over sexually explicit content in library books | CBS 4
- Threats force cancellation of LGBTQ event at Nebraska children’s museum | The Hill
- Lincoln Children’s Museum cancels drag queen story hour event following threats | Lincoln Journal Star
- Upper Saint Clair School District parents fight against book they say teaches critical race theory | WTAE
- Whitefish Bay’s library removed a sign addressing systemic racism after community complaints, including from a former Milwaukee Buck | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
- Whitefish Bay residents and social justice group protest library’s removal of sign addressing systemic racism | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
- Books about diverse kids were donated to this school district. Then came the discussion about critical race theory. | The Morning Call
- Parents, independent schools association head question Sewickley Academy’s personnel moves | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- The Value of Private Health Information | Intellectual Freedom Blog
- Students are facing facial recognition watchlists in Texas schools | Reclaim the Net
- Why schools need to abandon facial recognition, not double down on it | Fast Company
- TikTok Captures Your Face | Pursuit
- House’s Resolve to Curb Surveillance State Faces Biggest Test Since Trump Presidency | The Intercept
More privacy news is available at the Voices for Privacy blog.
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- North Carolina city’s police to revise protest procedures as part of 2020 settlement | The Hill
- Amazon sales of a transphobic book revives greater free speech debate | Salon
- Civil rights leaders and Beto O’Rourke plan Selma-style march to Austin | Houston Chronicle
- ‘Civil rights crisis’: Local leaders seek federal investigation of Kansas City police | The Kansas City Star
- Biden Hater’s Banners That Town Called Obscene Can Stay Up, Court Rules | The New York Times
Copyright
Access
Academic Freedom & Campus Speech
- Nebraska’s Critical Race Theory Debate | Inside Higher Ed
- From the Office of the President: In Defense of Academic Freedom at the University of Nebraska | University of Nebraska Omaha
Social Media
- Informal Government Coercion and The Problem of “Jawboning” | Lawfare
- Will Instagram’s new ‘sensitive content’ filter censor Black users? | NBC News
- Where is the difference between moderation and censorship on tech platforms? | The Economist
Journalism & Media
- Call Me a Traitor: Daniel Hale exposed the machinery of America’s clandestine warfare. Why did no one seem to care? | New York Magazine
Information Literacy & Disinformation
- LGBTQ+ Mis/Disinformation Is a Public Health and Safety Issue | Intellectual Freedom Blog
- Disinformation for Hire, a Shadow Industry, Is Quietly Booming | The New York Times
- The Most Influential Spreader of Coronavirus Misinformation Online | The New York Times
- In Louisiana, Vaccine Misinformation Has Public Health Workers Feeling ‘Stuck’ | The New York Times
- Megachurch pastor David Platt warns of disinformation campaign and takeover attempt at his evangelical church | The Washington Post
- Controversial Arizona ballot review pulls in more than $5.7 million in private donations, organizers say | CNN
- Disentangling Disinformation: Not as Easy as it Looks | EFF
International News
- Crowds Flock to Pride March as Hungary Faces LGBTQ Reckoning | Bloomberg News
- Hungarians protest against alleged illegal surveillance with Pegasus spyware | KFGO
- Nobelists decry Chinese government’s censorship attempts at the Nobel Summit | Science Magazine
- Joint Open Letter: States Must Implement Moratorium on Surveillance Technology | PEN America
Around the Web
- The Christian nationalist assault on democracy goes stealth — but the pushback is working | Salon
- Birmingham Public Library: Shelly Millender Jr., Who Helped Desegregate Birmingham Public Library, Dies at Age 86 | Patch
- These Are the Books That Colleges Think Every Freshman Should Read | Chronicle of Higher Education
- County commissioner brings Forget the Alamo authors to San Antonio in a bid for ‘healing’ | San Antonio Report
ALA News
- Accepting Applications for the Lois Ann Gregory-Wood Fellows Program
- ALA Philanthropic Advisory Group Volunteer Opportunity: Call for Nominations/Applications through September 15, 2021
- ALA seeks feedback from the library field on library programming learning objectives
- ALA to host Emergency Connectivity Fund Q&A Instagram Live event for libraries, featuring acting FCC chairwoman
Publishing
- ALA publishes new resource: how to conduct a library tour with your legislators
- Teaching data literacy in academic libraries
- Music Library Association’s updated, authoritative classical music collection resource
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- articles about privacy, internet filtering and censorship
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