July 28, 2017 – Collated by OIF Staff and News Interns

Intellectual Freedom Highlights

• Free Webinar | Get GIFy with it: How to go viral during Banned Books Week August 2, 2017 @ 1pm CST
• The mass book banning in Texas prisons| Intellectual Freedom Blog; “The state that imprisons the most people is Texas, and Texas prisons have a censorship problem.”
• Librarians vs. HUAC’s Book Burnings | Intellectual Freedom Blog; “The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) turned 79 in May. While it may be uncommon to acknowledge anniversaries on the 9^th year instead of the 10^th, and HUAC itself ceased operating in any way in 1975, given the current climate, it feels relevant again.”
• The “Privacy” special issue of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy is now available.
  • The Journal of Intellectual Freedom welcomes submissions related to intellectual freedom and privacy, both in libraries and beyond. Submissions can include research articles (peer reviewed),  non-peer reviewed articles and essays discussing or describing policies,practices,projects,law, and scholarship related to intellectual freedom and privacy,  personal accounts of censorship and intellectual freedom challenges, opinion pieces and essays on current and topical issues, and book and publication reviews.  Full submission details and author guidelines are available at the JIFP website
• The iSchool at Illinois seeks nominations for the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award. The deadline for nominations is October 1, 2017. Given annually, the award acknowledges individuals or groups who have furthered the cause of intellectual freedom, particularly as it impacts libraries and information centers and the dissemination of ideas.

Censorship

• How threats against domain names are used to censor content | Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Book banning in Academy School District 20: Censorship or diligence? | Colorado Springs Gazette
• Censorship: It’s always for your own good | National Review
• 10 Years After a Challenge: An Interview with Jerilynn Williams | Intellectual Freedom Blog

Privacy

• Bipartisan Senate legislation would modernize digital privacy | Endgadget
• Trump voting commission wins right to collect state voter data | Ars Technica
• Microchip Implants for Employees? One Company Says Yes | New York Times
• EU-U.S. Privacy Shield – What’s Its Future? | Lexology
• Illinois Makes Moves on Geolocation Privacy | Lexology

See this week’s privacy updates on the Choose Privacy Week blog.

Access

• A model of library service to children of incarcerated parents: SLJ talks to Nick Higgins, Brooklyn Public Library | School Library Journal
• Google fights against Canada’s order to change global search results | Wired
• Bannon pushing for tougher regulations on Facebook, Google: report | The Hill
• Meaningful access to information to leave no one behind: Launch of the 2017 DA2I Report | IFLA
• As the digital divide grows, an untapped solution languishes | Wired
• The internet ripoff you’re not protesting | Wired
• Open access monograph dash could lead us off a cliff | Times Higher Education
• Was denial of open-book bar exam for man with memory loss an ADA violation? | ABA Journal
• Sustaining open research resources – a funder perspective | Unlocking Research
• First Book to increase digital resources with tablets | School Library Journal

Internet Filters

• Do online databases filter out enough inappropriate material? | Education Week

Net Neutrality

• Net neutrality: Why school librarians should care | Knowledge Quest
• Lawsuit seeks Ajit Pai’s net neutrality talks with Internet providers | Ars Technica
• Verizon accused of violating net neutrality rules by throttling video | Ars Technica
• Democrat asks FCC chair if anything can stop net neutrality rollback | Ars Technica

Libraries and Hate Speech

• Hateful graffiti found in Burlington’s Fletcher Free Library | Vermont Public Radio
• Vandals hit Newcastle library with offensive graffiti | DurhamRegion.com (NC)

Academic Freedom/ Campus Speech

• Sexual violence on campus must not be tolerated — but using Title IX as a censorship tool is not the answer| Salon
• Tensions in the art classroom| Inside Higher Ed; “Michael Bonesteel, well-known in the art world as a professor specializing in comics and outsider art, has resigned from his position at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago amid tensions between the institution, his students and himself. The resignation is one more example of the ongoing debate between academic freedom and issues stemming from teaching controversial or offensive subject matter.”
• Steven Salaita, whose revoked job offer inflamed Higher Ed, says he’s leaving academe| Chronicle for Higher Education
• Is it the right or the academy that’s lost faith in free inquiry? | National Review
• Is academic freedom’s watchdog losing its bite? | Chronicle for Higher Education
• Professors in the political cross hairs | Chronicle for Higher Education

First Amendment Issues

• Augmented reality wins big in 1st Amendment legal flap | Ars Technica
• Federal judge finds First Amendment violation by politician blocking constituent on Facebook | Constitutional Law Prof Blog
• Trump ask federal appeals court to dismiss protester lawsuit | Ars Technica
• Palin team to subpoena 23 New York Times reporters in defamation suit | The Hill
• Be very worried about the future of free expression | National Review
• Federal judge rules: There’s no first amendment right to be a helicopter parent| Newseum Institute
• CoastLine: Are civil discourse and free speech mutually exclusive? | WHQR (NC)
• This piece of pro-Israel legislation is a serious threat to free speech | Washington Post
• Is the 1st Amendment impacting how we police? | Officer.com
• Connecticut high court reverses woman’s conviction for profanity uttered at store| Newseum Institute

Around the Web

• Happy Birthday, S.E. Hinton! | Intellectual Freedom Blog
• Amid the blaring headlines, routine reports of hate-fueled violence | ProPublica
• Cartoonist uses webcomics to combat inequality in India | Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
• Controversial Singaporean graphic novel wins ‘Oscars’ of comic world | CNN
• Why did United try to ban Comic-Con travelers from checking comic books? | The Verge
• The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s Brownstein, Gomez talk censorship and comics | Bleeding Cool
• The first ‘Fahrenheit 451’ photo previews just how intense the HBO movie will be | Bustle
• Richard Dawkins event cancelled over his ‘abusive speech against Islam’ | Guardian
• Climate scientists should embrace public debate |Chronicle for Higher Education
• Happy brave new birthday, Aldous Huxley!| Los Angeles Times
• Demands to cancel Dana Schutz’s ICA exhibit don’t help the cause for social justice | NCAC blog

International Issues

• China orders tech firms to tighten censorship controls | The Nation
• China WhatsApp crackdown only scratches surface of worsening internet censorship| CNN
• Minister: EKRE’s demands to gag criticism of Estonia attempt at censorship | ERR (Estonia)
• Russia’s parliament went on a censorship binge today | Global Voices
• Protestors march in Moscow over internet censorship regulations | Euronews
• Retired teacher raises privacy concerns over use of fingerprint scanners in county schools | GloucestershireLive (UK)
• Mandela family welcomes withdrawal of controversial book written by Madiba’s doctor | TimesLive
• Cuban activists say North Korea fighting losing censorship battle| VOA News
• Inside Cuba’s D.I.Y. Internet Revolution | Wired
• LGBT books banned at Hong Kong book fair | New Now Next
• Russia has Sent Google More Requests to Remove Information than all other Countries Combined | Novinite.com
• EU court could dismiss national borders in cyberspace| EU Observer
• Dozens of Venezuelan journalists flee censorship and violence to report in Miami | Miami New Times

ALA News

• Coming Soon: Media Literacy Training for Public Libraries | Programming Library
• New Iteration: Becoming the copyright specialist in your library eCourse
• New Iteration: Introduction to critical information literacy: Promoting social justice through librarianship eCourse
• Open call for submissions to Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy 
• Every child has a right to read; “Reading by Right” available in the ALA Store

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