National coalition in favor of campus censorship
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/10/26/national-coalition-in-favor-of-campus-censorship/
A large coalition of advocacy groups has asked the U.S.
Department of Education Office for Civil Rights to pressure
colleges to (1) punish students for their speech and (2) block
student access to certain Web sites -- especially sites such as
Yik Yak, which allow students to anonymously post their views.
Now, some of the speech that the groups mention consists of true
threats of violence, including threats of attack and even rape.
Such speech is constitutionally unprotected. (Indeed, some of
it -- threats against people for speaking, for instance, in
support of feminist causes -- itself attempts to suppress
speech.) It is rightly criminalized and can certainly be
punished. But the letter goes very far beyond just calling on
universities to punish threats.
- - -
Actual specific threats and targeted harassment are unacceptable, of
course. But otherwise, the First Amendment reigns supreme, as it should
and must.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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