Ep. 226: ‘Shouting fire,’ deepfake laws, tenured professors, and mask bans
Episode description
The FIRE team discusses Tim Walz’s controversial comments on hate speech and “shouting fire in a crowded theater.” We also examine California’s AI deepfake laws, the punishment of tenured professors, and mask bans.
Joining us are:
Aaron Terr, FIRE’s director of Public Advocacy;
Connor Murnane, FIRE’s Campus Advocacy chief of staff; and
Adam Goldstein, FIRE’s vice president of strategic initiatives.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:51 Tim Walz’s comments on hate speech and “shouting fire”
15:36 California’s AI deepfake laws
32:05 Tenured professors punished for expression
54:27 Nassau County’s mask ban
1:04:39 Outro
Show notes:
Court cases:
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie (1977)
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
Snyder v. Phelps (2011)
Matal v. Tam (2017)
Virginia v. Black (2003)
NAACP v. Alabama (1958)
Kohls v. Bonta (this suit challenges the constitutionality of AB 2839 and AB 2655) (2024)
G.B. et al. v. Nassau County et al. (this class action lawsuit alleges Nassau County's Mask Transparency Act is unconstitutional and discriminates against people with disabilities) (2024)
Legislation:
Title VI (Civil Rights Act of 1964)
Section 230 (Communications Decency Act of 1996)
Articles/Tweets:
“This is amazing😂” Elon Musk via X (2024)
“BREAKING: The Babylon Bee has obtained this exclusive, official, 100% real Gavin Newsom election ad.” The Babylon Bee via X (2024)
“The 1912 war on fake photos.” Pessimists Archive via Substack (2024)
“Professor fired for porn hobby vows to take university to court.” FIRE (2024)
“Amy Wax is academic freedom's canary in the coal mine.” FIRE (2024)
“In major hit to tenure, Muhlenberg fires pro-Palestinian professor.” FIRE (2024)
“U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announces resolution of antisemitism investigation of Muhlenberg College.” U.S. Department of Education (2024)