Ep. 226: ‘Shouting fire,’ deepfake laws, tenured professors, and mask bans

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.


 


Read the transcript.


 


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:


AB 2839 


AB 2655


AB 1831


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)