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Leakers and the First Amendment

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There has always been an active debate about whether the First Amendment affords government outsiders (like the media) any protection when they disseminate classified national security information without authorization.

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Falsity and the First Amendment: The U.S. Supreme Court Rules on the Stolen Valor Act

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In the fourteen years that I practiced as a media defense lawyer before joining the Berkman Center, there was one sentence from one Supreme Court opinion that I learned to loathe above all others. It appears in Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S.

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From Accident Photos to the White House: Contesting Photo Use in Newspaper Merchandise Sales

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Take a moment to explore your daily newspaper's webpage. You'll likely find recent articles and archives, video materials, job postings, classifieds, sidebars with advertisements, various forms of social media integration, and, most surprisingly (or perhaps not, considering the financial challenges journalism faces), a store.

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DMLP Amicus Update: Narrow Victory in Massachusetts Anti-Counterfeiting Case

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The DMLP recently appeared as an amicus curiae in Commonwealth v. Busa, a case brought in Boston Municipal Court under Massachusetts's anti-counterfeiting law, M.G.L. ch. 266 § 147 ("Section 147").

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ANNOUNCEMENT: Staff Attorney Andy Sellars named the Berkman Center's Corydon B. Dunham First Amendment Fellow

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We are delighted to announce that, with the generous support of the Corydon B. Dunham Fellowship Fund of the Harvard Law School, the Berkman Center has named our own staff attorney, Andy Sellars, as the inaugural Dunham First Amendment Fellow.

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Much Ado About a DMCA Takedown Notice

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Here is a story that would be an excellent fact pattern for a media law exam. Copyright! DMCA! Libel! Oh my…. Well, at least I hope it will be a topic of interest for the readers of this blog.

Background

Consider the following fact pattern, drawn from a series of blog posts by the parties to this dispute. (Each party has since made an effort to delete their respective posts, so this analysis will not refer to the parties by name.)

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Another Brick in the Great Firewall: Sina Weibo's 'Truth' Credits

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Censorship in China is nothing new.  Heck, it's practically to be expected these days.

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Sixth Circuit's 'Dirty' Decision Sends a Chill

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Let's start with the following premise: thedirty.com is a tasteless website. In addition to a bit of celebrity gossip and paparazzi-type pictures, the site also invites anyone to post pictures – often revealing, embarrassing, or insulting – of others for comment by users and, sometimes, the site's proprietor.

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The IRS and User-Generated Content

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As we have reported previously, the Digital (nee Citizen) Media Law Project has been following a trend in delays at the Internal Revenue Service relating to Section 501(c)(3) tax exemptions for nonprofit journalism organizations.

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The Right of Publicity and Free Speech: DMLP Joins Amicus Brief in Hart v. Electronic Arts

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Last week the Digital (nee Citizen) Media Law Project joined an amicus curiae brief filed in Hart v. Electronic Arts, Inc., currently before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

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Britain's New Libel Bill: Better on Libel Tourism, But Worse on Anonymous Online Speech

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Britain's effort to reform its defamation laws and shed London's title of "libel capital of the world" has been chugging along for several years, but now it looks like it's in sight of the last stop: The government unveiled its proposed new defamation bill in early May.  So what has all this time and effort wrought?

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DMLP files Amicus Brief Against Massachusetts's 'Anti-Counterfeiting' Law

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Earlier this week the CMLP (under its new name, the Digital Media Law Project) sought leave to file an amicus brief in Boston Municipal Court in the case of Commonwealth v. Busa, which concerns a prosecution under Massachusetts's anti-counterfeiting law, M.G.L.

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DOJ's Public Statements Provide a Road Map for Citizens to Sue in Cop Recording Cases

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Qualified immunity for police might be a thing of the past

In May 2010, Christopher Sharp used his cell phone to record video of his friend being arrested by the Baltimore Police at the Preakness Stakes. The police demanded that Sharp surrender his phone, stating that the contents might be evidence; when the phone was returned, Sharp discovered that the video he had made, plus a number of other unrelated videos, had been deleted.

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Citizen Counter-Surveillance of the Police? There's an App For That.

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Herbert George Ponting and telephoto apparatus, Antarctica, January 1912 Despite the welcome 7th Circuit decision in ACLU v.

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The 'Mugshot Racket' II: A Commercial Purpose Exemption?

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When Tim Donnelly, a 26-year-old job seeker, Googled his name recently he found that the first link provided was that to a mugshot of him taken seven years ago. He got into a fight as a teenager and was arrested for criminal trespass and assault. According to Donnelly, the trespass charge was dismissed and the assault charge was downgraded to disorderly conduct.

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How Should We Measure Damages for Defamation Over Social Media?

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On April 24, 2012, a Texas jury awarded $13.78 million to a married couple in a case based upon an extended campaign of defamation on the website Topix.com - to be specific, more than 1,700 separate statements accusing the plaintiffs of a wide array of criminal activity and, shall we say, unusual sexual practices, among other misconduct.

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The Score in Illinois: First Amendment 2, Eavesdropping Law 1

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Once again, the CMLP is pleased to report that the First Amendment has scored an important victory in a case involving the recording of police officers in public. Last summer saw the strong pro-First Amendment decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Glik v.

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U.S. Marine Faces Uphill Battle in First Amendment Challenge

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What happens when the First Amendment collides with military decorum and respect for chain of command?  

It looks like we'll get to find out as the matter of Sgt. Gary Stein, the Marine who on a Tea Party Facebook page slammed President Obama and threatened to disobey his orders, rolls ahead. 

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