Nadine Farid Johnson

Opinion | Trump’s Lawfare Against the Free Press He suggests prosecuting CNN, while pressuring a settlement out of CBS.

WSJ editorial board: “The President is using government to intimidate news outlets that publish stories he doesn’t like. It’s a low move in a free country with a free press.”

www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...

I was encouraged to see the #G7 Leaders' Statement on Transnational Repression which also calls out mitigating harms around mercenary spyware 👇🇨🇦

www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...

Important piece by @cristianfarias.com.

Glad to chat with @brieannafrank.bsky.social about the First Amendment threats to public broadcasting and the mood on the Hill. Despite the House's support for the funding clawback, the fight in the Senate continues.

Airlines Don’t Want You to Know They Sold Your Flight Data to DHS A contract obtained by 404 Media shows that an airline-owned data broker forbids the feds from revealing it sold them detailed passenger data.

NEW: A data broker owned by major airlines sold domestic US flight data to DHS, telling the dept. not to disclose that, according to records obtained by @404media.co—copublished in partnership with @wired.com. No paywall bc FOIA @josephcox.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/airlin...

We've gotten so used to seeing pictures of heavily policed protest crowds that sometimes we forget police's primary job at a protest is supposed to be ensuring that people can exercise their First Amendment protected rights, not shutting the protest down as quickly as possible.

A herring is a fish.

When a herring is preserved by salting and smoking, it turns red and smells.

It's so pungent that it's a great diversion to distract hunting dogs from their trail.

Now, a ‘red herring’ refers to anything that diverts attention from the issue at hand.

ICE Won’t Rule Out Retaliating Against Immigrants Who Testify in Free Speech Case Government attorneys want to reserve the right to detain and deport witnesses who take the stand in a campus free speech trial.

People should be able to testify about unconstitutional state action without having to worry that their testimony will provoke more unconstitutional state action. theintercept.com/2025/06/07/i...

A strong independent public media is in the public interest. I discuss the current First Amendment threats to public broadcasting in the latest episode of @knightcolumbia.org's podcast. Tune in to this and all of our episodes at the link below.

This morning at the National Press Club in Washington, DC—“Surveillance Ascendant, Democracy in Free Fall” with @markey.senate.gov @oliviersylvain.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social @juliaangwin.com @nadinefj.bsky.social @nathaliemarechal.net @nancyscola.bsky.social & more

Surveillance Ascendant, Democracy in Free Fall

📌We're excited to be hosting a convening in DC next week – on 5/16 at the National Press Club – on free speech and consumer protection in an era of commercial surveillance, an issue exacerbated by rapidly accruing threats to democracy. There's still time to RSVP: knightcolumbia.org/events/surve...

Just a reminder that these are the people purporting to be outraged by antisemitism on campus. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/u...

Was SO predictable that DOJ was going to treat SCOTUS language re. "due regard" as letting them continue to slow-walk this endlessly. District Judge not buying it, which is good, but this is why SCOTUS is wrong to treat this DOJ w presumption of good faith and regularity.

Perhaps this is one reason they decided to slash that pesky DHS office of civil rights and civil liberties.

Lawyer for U-M protester detained at airport after spring break trip with family Dearborn lawyer says feds tried to seize his cellphone at Detroit Metro Airport as he returned from spring break trip with his family.

“While in the interrogation room, Makled said, a man in plain clothes entered and began speaking to him. He said he recalls the man telling him: ‘We know you're a lawyer. We know you take on big cases.’”

"Initiating a plan like this would likely touch all data within the IRS, including taxpayer names, addresses, social security numbers, as well as tax return and employment data."

Will this be challenged? Likely. Will it be too late? Possibly.

filibusters.org

Senator Booker is on fire.

Opinion | For God’s Sake, Fellow Lawyers, Stand Up to Trump (Gift Article) The time has come to defend the oath we took when we became officers of the court.

More of this please:

“You can support … the oath we all took when becoming members of the bar. Or you can sit back, check your bank balance and watch your freedoms, along with the legal system and the tripartite system of government we should not take for granted, swirl down the drain.”

Current info indicates that the linked op-ed led to the scene below--masked men surrounding a student and arresting her, because of the words she wrote.

This administration’s policy of ideological deportation is unconstitutional. We are challenging it: knightcolumbia.org/cases/aaup-v...

Columbia had an opportunity to leverage its position and stature in the name of its people, not to mention basic tenets of academic freedom and constitutional rights. The reverberations of its appeasement will be incredibly far-reaching.

Linked is yesterday’s chilling letter from administration officials to Columbia’s leadership.

Left unchecked, this is the Orbánization of U.S. higher education. Universities must come together in the face of this assault.

drive.google.com/file/d/12ogI...

Knight Institute Condemns Trump Administration’s Effort to “Subjugate Universities to Official Power”

See @knightcolumbia.org’s statement in light of the Trump administration’s escalation against Columbia:

knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

Join us April 10-11! Looking forward to this discussion.

Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Freedoms

EVENT: Join us for Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Freedoms on April 10-11 at
@columbiauniversity.bsky.social & online. Hosted with Senior AI Advisor @sethlazar.org. Co-sponsored by the Knight Institute & @columbiaseas.bsky.social. Panel info in 🧵. RSVP: knightcolumbia.org/events/artif...

Letter to House Speaker Johnson (3/6/2025)

Non-violent debate, criticism, disagreement, protest: these are hallmarks of democracy. The public has First Amendment rights at town halls, whether those are held in person or online. See this letter we sent to Speaker Johnson this morning: knightcolumbia.org/documents/t1...

We Looked at 78 Election Deepfakes. Political Misinformation Is Not an AI Problem.

ICYMI: New essay from @sayash.bsky.social and @randomwalker.bsky.social assessing the impact of AI use in 2024 elections. Concerns about AI use in political misinformation may be misplaced—and aren’t the key to fixing the information environment. Read more here:

knightcolumbia.org/blog/we-look...

| Knight First Amendment Institute

okay I guess we're trying Bluesky again! Job opening @knightcolumbia.org - come work with me and @nadinefj.bsky.social as a program coordinator for our research and policy teams! Info here: knightcolumbia.org/page/researc...

The IFES U.S. Election Program | IFES - The International Foundation for Electoral Systems IFES will hold the 2024 U.S. Election Program from Nov. 3-6

On Monday 11/4, @knightcolumbia.org policy director @nadinefj.bsky.social will join the International Foundation for Electoral System's U.S. Election Program panel "Information Integrity, Artificial Intelligence, and Freedom of Speech" at 10:20am ET. Livestream below. #usep24 www.ifes.org/2024-usep

In 2022, @knightcolumbia.org proposed a legislative "safe harbor" provision to protect independent research and newsgathering projects to increase public understanding of the social media platforms and their impact on society. Learn more: knightcolumbia.org/content/a-sa...

Sen. Markey is right: Meta’s decision to discontinue this partnership is going to deprive the public of research that is urgently needed. It’s time to enact, not thwart, a legal safe harbor for public-interest research and journalism that respects user privacy. www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/do...