Intellectual Freedom News 8/4/2022
Censorship
- Upset over LGBTQ books, a Michigan town defunds its library in tax vote | Bridge Michigan
- A school district was given LGBTQ-affirming kids’ books. Then parents objected | San Diego Union-Tribune (CA)
- In wake of library board shake-up, book removal advocates appear emboldened | Flathead Beacon (MT)
- Florida school board rejects sex ed. textbook under pressure | Education Week
- Lafayette librarian keeps job after board members attempt to fire her over book display | Lafayette Daily Advertiser (LA)
- A battle over books | Webster-Kirkwood Times (MO)
- As efforts to ban books escalate, a new petition is filed against Sarasota’s school board | WUSF (FL)
- Harrison County Library Board to discuss censoring children’s books | WLOX (MS)
- Heid announcing opt-in policy for controversial books | Lakeland Now (FL)
- Antioch village officials reject calls to ban book about gender confusion; ‘It’s important to carry titles that widen our worldview’ | Chicago Tribune
- Central Bucks approves contentious library policy targeting ‘sexualized content’ in books amid community opposition | Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
- Pennsylvania school district passes strict book banning policy | National Coalition Against Censorship
- Naval Academy accused of teaching CRT, sued for records | Newsweek
- Florida school board member demands ‘disciplinary action’ over pornographic books in schools: ‘I’m disgusted’ | Fox News
- Tulsa Public Schools removes graphic books from library | AP (OK)
- JCPS board considers request to ban book | WFLP (KY)
- Two Oklahoma school districts punished for violating CRT ban | KOKH
- Okla. downgrades school district over complaint it shamed White people | Washington Post
- Local library directors left confused as Curry Board of Commissioners express transphobic opinions, request buffer between unsupervised children and books about puberty, sexual identity | Wild Rivers Outpost (OR)
- Commissioners wade into library debate | Curry Pilot (OR)
- Miami school board reverses itself, approves sex ed textbook | San Diego Union-Tribune
- ‘Mama Bears’ sue Forsyth County Schools for censorship | Appen Media (GA)
- LGBTQ library books to remain despite residents’ complaints to council | Victoria Advocate (TX)
- Victoria County sides with group that wants city library books removed | Victoria Advocate (TX)
- Auburn school board considering library book policy changes | Auburn Pub (NY)
- Downers Grove superintendent believes controversial book ‘belongs in our libraries’ | Dupage Policy Journal
- Madison County Schools removes 10 books from general library circulation. Here’s why. | Mississippi Clarion-Ledger
- Utah school district pulls 52 books after concerns and flagged another 32 for later review | Salt Lake City Tribune
- Prison officials remove ban on Attica book, except for 2 crucial pages | New York Times
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Bills to boost kids’ online safety advance in Senate with bipartisan support | The Hill
- SFPD is seeking unfettered real-time access to San Francisco’s private surveillance cameras | CPO Magazine
- Kids Are Back in Classrooms and Laptops Are Still Spying on Them | Wired
- Letter to U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights on Discriminatory Effects of Online Monitoring of Students | Center for Democracy and Technology
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- Former Sullivan County teacher tests U.S. Supreme Court ruling on First Amendment in suit | Tennessee Lookout
- first Amendment protects the right to film cops, Federal court reaffirms | Forbes
- Judge rules RSU 22 violated First Amendment in banning parent from school property | Maine Wire
- ACLU statement on politicians pushing new abortion bans in Indiana and West Virginia | ACLU
- Baltimore legal experts question whether ‘squeegeeing’ is protected by First Amendment | Fox Baltimore
- Supreme Court is positioned to consider the future of the First Amendment online | JD Supra
- An ACLU suit contends Ohio is violating due process rights for abortion clinics | WOUB
- Using race in college admissions protected by First Amendment, groups say | Washington Post
Legislation
- Ohio’s ‘divisive subjects’ bill a dangerous drift toward censorship | Canton Repository
- Georgia educators hold rally for education; speak out against new restrictive laws | Atlanta Daily World
- Senate panel turns to kids’ online safety | The Hill
- Draft version of SC abortion bill raises concern among First Amendment experts | WFAE
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- Democrats seek to codify net neutrality as fifth FCC commissioner hangs | Broadband Breakfast
Access
- Grant to expand jail’s literary programs, ‘opening up a new world’ for Greenfield inmates | Greenfield Recorder
- States’ fight over abortion information catches tech in crossfire | Axios
Social Media
- Dozens of states are jumping on the social media censorship bandwagon | Gizmodo
- Twitter said governments are requesting social media user information to censor content | Tech Outlook
- Trump’s purported free speech social media platform Truth Social is hiding user posts, threatening to create a ‘curated echo chamber,’ research group finds | Business Insider
Information Literacy & Disinformation
- 2020 election deniers seek out powerful allies: County sheriffs | New York Times
- 1A Remaking America: Election disinformation goes grassroots | NPR
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweets monkeypox disinformation | Advocate
- Democrats’ drug-pricing plan warrants disinformation flag for seniors | The Hill
- QAnon candidates aren’t thriving, but some of their ideas are | New York Times
- Ad-tech watchdog looks to dismantle disinformation economy — by targeting ads on Fox News | CBC
- Anti-vax Twitter accounts pushing food crisis misinformation, study finds | Guardian
- Misinformation and disinformation worry Congress | Government Technology
International News
- Russia is quietly ramping up its internet censorship machine | WIRED
- Anti-gay protesters wave rainbow swastikas at Richman drag queen storytime | Richmond News
- Police called as protesters storm children’s story hour hosted by drag queen at local library | Independent
Around the Web
- The right in the US has a new bogeyman: Libraries | Guardian
- Bedrock, USA: New Podcast Explores Rise of Extremism in Local Politics | Bloomberg CityLab
- Column: Book-banning is on the rise, as part of the far-right’s assault on democracy | Los Angeles Times
- The spread of book banning | New York Times
- Arrests made as white supremacist group marches during drag queen story hour in Boston | WCVB (MA)
- Op-Ed–The new political catchphrase: ‘parents’ rights’ | CT News Junkie
- Austin Public Library’s Banned Camp stands up to Texas’ growing book bans | My San Antonio
- Texans flock to Austin to debate CRT, other social studies lessons with board of education | Houston Chronicle
- The impending miseducation of Florida’s schoolchildren | Florida Phoenix
- Is Alan Dershowitz being canceled on Martha’s Vineyard? | Boston Globe
- Is it worse to ban a book, or never to publish it? | Atlantic
- What the US can learn from apartheid-era book bans in South Africa | Conversation
- ImagineIF staff honored for response to challenged books | Daily Inter Lake (MT)
- Educators fight back against gag orders, book bans, and intimidation | NEA
- Critical race theory’s merchants of doubt | TIME
- Two Okla. Districts Get Downgraded Accreditations for Violating State’s Anti-CRT Law | Education Week
ALA News
- ALA Editions Special Report examines Black and African Americans’ experiences in libraries
- ACRL 2023 keynote speakers announced
- Outcome-based planning and evaluation for youth services
- Senate FY 2023 Appropriations Bill Would Provide First Funding for Library Facilities in Decade
- Registration and housing now open for Core Forum 2022
Subscribe to future issues of Intellectual Freedom News, a free weekly compilation of news delivered to your inbox by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, including
- current book challenges in libraries and schools
- articles about privacy, internet filtering and censorship
- ALA activities, conferences and institutes, products, online learning opportunities, awards and grants, international exchanges, and more
- how to get involved and make the most of what ALA offers