Intellectual Freedom News 8/22/2025
Highlights
- PLA celebrates Project Outcome success; transitions resources for free ongoing use | ALA
- ALA and League of Women Voters release Civic Collaboration Guide | ALA
- ALA Opens 2026 Annual Conference & Exhibition Call for Proposals | ALA
- The Dangerous Legal Strategy Coming for Our Books | Atlantic
Censorship
- White House Lists Smithsonian Exhibits It Finds Objectionable | New York Times (DC)
- Local high school library closed as district reviews appropriateness of books | WHIO (OH)
- ‘State-driven censorship’: new wave of book bans hits Florida school districts | Guardian (FL)
- Proposal to move LGBTQ+ books to adult section stirs controversy in York County | WSOC (SC)
- Which Books Belong On Library Shelves? Plano ISD Creates New Council To Decide | Local Profile (TX)
- Kent County judge denies request to toss school librarian’s lawsuit against Moms for Liberty member | Michigan Advance
- Controversial Sumner County policy banning transgender books fails for third time | Tennessean (TN)
- Theft or civil disobedience? | Kentucky Lantern (KY)
- Harford County community members protest school district’s ban of controversial book | CBS News (MD)
- Rally against Harford school board’s book removal draws over 100 to meeting | Baltimore Sun (MD)
- National park gift shops move to ban “corrosive” history books | Salon
- Trump escalates attacks against Smithsonian museums, says there’s too much focus on ‘how bad slavery was’ | CNN
- King William library fails to stock some titles, including those on school lists | Virginian-Pilot (VA)
- Cleveland City Council votes to not flush ‘Everyone Poops’ from library shelves | Bluebonnet News (TX)
- Fairhope Library relocates ‘objectionable’ teen book to adult section | 1819 News (AL)
- Fairhope Public Library completes review of challenged books amid state funding pause | Gulf Coast Media (AL)
- Explicit book policy gets final approval by Redlands school board | Redlands Daily Facts (CA)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Texas is taking digital surveillance to new extremes | Hill (TX)
- Flock’s Aggressive Expansions Go Far Beyond Simple Driver Surveillance | ACLU
- US surveillance firms run a victory lap amid Trump’s immigration crackdown | Guardian
- Parent alleges Escambia Schools is sharing students’ private data via use of AI | Pensacola News Journal (FL)
- How churches use data and AI as engines of surveillance | MIT Technology Review
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- Some workers would be excluded from student loan forgiveness program for ‘illegal’ activity | AP
- Judge blocks FTC probe into progressive media watchdog | Hill
- ACLU Statement on Escalating Federal Takeover of D.C. | ACLU
- Federal judge overturns large part of Florida’s book ban law | Central Florida Public Media (FL)
- ‘We’ll be vindicated’: DeSantis says state will appeal judge’s ruling in book ban lawsuit | Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
- Commentary: Florida book-ban appeal undermines civics it claims to promote | Orlando Sentinel (FL)
- ACLU Statement on Trump Administration’s Use of Fort Bliss Military Base as Immigration Detention Camp | ACLU
- In Pursuing Trump Rival, Weaponization Czar Sidesteps Justice Dept. Norms | New York Times
- Federal court in San Antonio hears legal challenge to Texas’ Ten Commandments school display law | Houston Public Media (TX)
- Data Shows ICE Deportation Efforts Are Way More Aggressive In ‘Blue’ States | TechDirt
- Do students have free speech rights at school? What to know | AZ Central
- ICE and the Melting of Civil Liberties | Independent Institute
- Civil rights lawsuit filed for another worker detained in June 10 Omaha immigration raid | Nebraska Examiner
- Federal Court Says Drag Shows Are Likely Protected Under First Amendment | Them
- First Amendment likely protects student drag show at West Texas A&M, 5th Circuit says | ABA Journal (TX)
- Can my child’s teacher hang a pride flag in the classroom? The First Amendment and schools | IndyStar
- State education board puts Alachua County School Board on notice: Protect free speech | Gainsville Sun (FL)
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- Regents’ Indoctrination hunt targets ideas | Gazette (IA)
- Week in review: Details emerge on plans to collect new admissions data | Higher Ed Dive
- Conservatives’ Long War on Free Thought | In These Times
- Trump Wants Universities to Show Him the Money, or No Deal | New York Times
- The Troubling Lines That Columbia Is Drawing | New Yorker
- Trump’s Tactics Mean Many International Students Won’t Make It to Campus | New York Times
- Lawrence HS censors student journalists after they sue district | SPLC (KS)
- George Washington AAUP Chapter Responds to Trump DOJ Threats to Academic Freedom | AAUP
- How to protect your university against authoritarianism | Times Higher Education
Legislation
- Wyoming legislators claim moral authority in debate over children’s library books draft bill | Gillette News Record (WY)
State & Local Governance
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
Social Media & AI
- Louisiana sues Roblox alleging the popular gaming site fails to protect children | AP
- Is Roblox Getting Worse? | WIRED
Journalism & Media
- Shakeup at ‘LJ’ and ‘SLJ’ Results in Layoffs, Leadership Change | Publishers Weekly
- New Details Emerge on Fox Hosts’ Efforts to Bolster Trump in 2020 | New York Times
Disinformation & Media Literacy
- Russia is quietly churning out fake content posing as US news | Politico
- False Flags, Fake Flags: Propaganda Muddles the Trump-Putin Meeting | New York Times
International
- When Police Comes Visiting Bookshops! | Kashmir Times (India)
- UK drops demand for backdoor into Apple encryption | Verge (United Kingdom)
- Europe’s Free-Speech Problem | Atlantic (Europe)
- CILIP launches Intellectual Freedom Committee to ‘counter disturbing effects of censorship’ | Bookseller (United Kingdom)
Around the Web
- The most banned author in America refuses to be silenced | Advocate
- The Friends Welcome the Banned | Patch
- Texans are tired of politicized school boards. SB 13 won’t help | Opinion | Houston Chronicle
- How Libraries Impact America | Ithaca.com
- ‘A Distinct Society’: A 21st-century drama at the Haskell Free Library | Rutland Herald
- PEN America receives $1.4 Million from the Mellon Foundation to support America’s Public Libraries | PEN America
- New executive director takes the helm at Christian County’s Library District | Springfield Daily Citizen
- Letter: Stand up for the right to read | Detroit News
- OPINION: Trump’s war on education jeopardizes the future of America | Sunflower
- The world’s largest public comic book collection is in Michigan and you can visit | MLive
- The Race to Redefine the High School Learning Experience Is On | 74
- In Trump’s Ideal Picture of America, Diversity Is Taboo | New York Times
ALA News
- ALA Webinar: Turning Congressmembers into Library Champions
- Elmer L. Andersen Library (MN) will host Cynthia Leitich Smith in April 2026 for ALSC’s Children’s Literature Lecture
- Core Webinar: Cataloging & Metadata Competencies in Practice
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