Blogs – National Coalition Against Censorship https://ncac.org Promoting freedom of thought, inquiry and expression, and opposing censorship in all its forms. Wed, 10 Mar 2021 16:06:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://ncac.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ncac-logo_sticky-50t.png Blogs – National Coalition Against Censorship https://ncac.org 32 32 NPR Moves to Eliminate Comments From Website https://ncac.org/news/blog/npr-moves-to-eliminate-comments-from-website Fri, 19 Aug 2016 20:54:49 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=53267 NPR has announced it will remove the comments section from its website. But what are the implications for freedom of speech?

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]]> ABA’s Anti-Harassment Policy Continues a Disturbing Trend https://ncac.org/news/blog/abas-harassment-policy-threatens-free-speech-of-legal-professionals Mon, 15 Aug 2016 16:42:09 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=53196 The American Bar Association's vaguely worded harassment policy has wide-reaching implications on speech limitations of lawyers

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]]> Comic Strip Pulled Over ISIS Reference https://ncac.org/news/blog/comic-strip-cancelled-because-of-isis-reference Thu, 28 Jul 2016 20:29:02 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52955 A nationally syndicated comic strip was censored because of a harmless reference to ISIS. But why do cartoons so frequently provoke overreactions?

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]]> NJ Bill Proposed To Prevent Schools Meddling In Student Journalism; UPDATE: Illinois Drafts Similar Legislation Into Law https://ncac.org/news/blog/new-jersey-bill-proposed-to-prevent-schools-from-meddling-in-student-journalism Thu, 21 Jul 2016 15:02:54 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52886 The legislation will prohibit the vetting of articles prior to publication—with the exception of those that are libelous, unwarrantedly invade privacy, violate the law, or incite students to disobey school policies.

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]]> Bill Proposed To Streamline Legal Action Taken On Intellectual Property https://ncac.org/news/blog/bill-proposed-to-streamline-legal-action-taken-on-intellectual-property Fri, 15 Jul 2016 18:08:34 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52840 The drafted legislation would allow copyright owners to avoid costly federal lawsuits when protecting intellectual property.

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]]> Does Apple’s Strict App Store Content Policy Limit Freedom of Expression? https://ncac.org/news/blog/does-apples-strict-app-store-content-policy-limit-freedom-of-expression Thu, 14 Jul 2016 20:16:57 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52611 Apple has a mysterious, yet evidently strict, approach to controversial content its App store. Does this limit freedom of expression?

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]]> On Violence and Nudity, Facebook’s Opaque Community Standards https://ncac.org/news/blog/on-violence-and-nudity-facebooks-opaque-community-standards Wed, 13 Jul 2016 16:47:49 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52810 After the death of Philando Castile, Facebook delineated it's policy on posts containing violence. It should do the same for all content deemed controversial.

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]]> Does The First Amendment Protect Citizens Who Film Police? https://ncac.org/news/blog/does-the-first-amendment-protect-citizens-who-film-police Mon, 11 Jul 2016 18:47:11 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52788 Citizen journalism has never been more prevalent. But are the consequences of the prominence of this sort of viral video footage more good than bad?

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]]> Previous Advocate Of Censorship Appointed To North Carolina Board of Education https://ncac.org/news/blog/previous-advocate-of-cenorship-appointed-to-north-carolina-board-of-education Wed, 06 Jul 2016 21:23:08 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52739 J. Todd Chasteen once described Isabel Allende's critically acclaimed work The House of the Spirits as a 'sex book.'

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]]> Jersey City Paints Over Mural Portion After Allegations of Racism; UPDATE: Mural Removed, Affirming Need For Clear And Consistent Public Art Policy https://ncac.org/letters/jersey-city-paints-over-mural-portion-after-allegations-of-racism Tue, 05 Jul 2016 18:14:19 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52728 Artist Gary Wynans, a Puerto-Rican-Italian, painted himself in the mural. Residents complained the image reinforced racial stereotypes.

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]]> Freedom Of Information Act Receives Milestone Reforms https://ncac.org/news/blog/freedom-of-information-act-receives-milestone-reforms Fri, 01 Jul 2016 16:59:22 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52695 President Obama on Thursday codified legislation to bolster the FOIA ensuring government accountability.

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]]> Virginia MOCA Removes Gas Mask From Artist’s ‘Makeover’ Statue; UPDATE: NCAC Releases Statement On Behalf Of Artist https://ncac.org/news/blog/photo-virginia-moca-removes-gas-mask-from-artists-makeover-statue Wed, 29 Jun 2016 20:27:34 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52673 The museum alleges Polish artist Olek broke her contract when she implemented the mask, intended to provoke thought about environmental damage.

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]]> It’s Not Censorship To Want More Female Game Protagonists https://ncac.org/news/blog/its-not-censorship-to-want-more-female-game-protagonists Fri, 24 Jun 2016 19:00:13 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52450 Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson describes fan pressure on developers to implement more female video games as censorship, but is this fair?

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]]> Virginia School District Caves To Parent Pressure, Scraps Summer Reading List; UPDATE: Republican Senator Blasts Librarians For Selecting ‘Trash’, Petition Pushes Back https://ncac.org/news/blog/virginia-school-system-heeds-to-parent-pressure-revises-summer-reading-list Wed, 22 Jun 2016 19:37:32 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52413 The Chesterfield County Public School summer reading list contained books that were "pornographic" and contained "vile, vile, nasty language," one mother complained.

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]]> Legislating Against Revenge Porn: The Constitutional Pitfalls https://ncac.org/news/blog/legislating-against-revenge-porn-the-constitutional-pitfalls Tue, 21 Jun 2016 21:50:11 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52402 A Rhode Island Bill to tackle "revenge porn" was just nixed. But why was this a good thing?

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]]> Victory: Court Rules in Favor of Net Neutrality https://ncac.org/news/blog/victory-court-rules-in-favor-of-net-neutrality Mon, 20 Jun 2016 21:38:10 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52388 A court has ruled against Internet providers looking to change the legal classification of internet service, which would have allowed bigger domain names to purchase faster connection speeds.

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]]> Video Games and Violence: Our Fear of the Immersive Perspective https://ncac.org/news/blog/our-fear-of-the-immersive-perspective Fri, 17 Jun 2016 21:18:57 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52356 A deep dive into the fear that immersive fictional content has historically provoked.

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]]> After Orlando, Are Social Media Sites Encroaching On Users’ Free Speech? https://ncac.org/news/blog/after-orlando-are-social-media-sites-encroaching-on-users-free-speech Thu, 16 Jun 2016 18:25:26 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52317 In the wake of the Orlando shooting, Reddit came under fire for censoring its user's content. How fair is this accusation?

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]]> School Librarians And Their Constitutional Responsibilities https://ncac.org/news/blog/school-librarians-and-their-constitutional-responsibilities Tue, 14 Jun 2016 20:17:14 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52297 What are the legal and educational responsibilities of school librarians in stocking their book shelves?

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]]> US Copyright Office Leads Inquiry to Tighten Online Content Takedown Procedure; UPDATE: Comment from The Authors Guild https://ncac.org/news/blog/us-copyright-office-moves-to-tighten-online-content-takedown-procedure Fri, 10 Jun 2016 18:12:20 +0000 https://ncac.org/?p=52221 A proposed change to the "notice and takedown" internet copyright procedure potentially threatens freedom of expression online.

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]]> On the significance of LOL cats https://ncac.org/news/blog/on-the-significance-of-lol-cats Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:06:33 +0000 http://ncacblog.wordpress.com/?p=782 Ethan Zuckerman, who founded Global Voices Online, has an excellent talk in which he explains how web 2.0 services (that allow people to socially network, share LOL cats, and organize politically) play a critical role in getting around government censorship.  You can read it here, with images he used at the talk. One gem, which [...]

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