FREE PEOPLE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HEAR THINGS THEY HATE. I’ll be in Santa Barbara tonight talking about why that basic democratic habit has become harder, and more important, to defend.

YOU DON’T NEED A SAFE SPACE FROM BAD OPINIONS. You need a better argument, and I’ll be at the Lobero Theatre tonight talking about why that distinction matters.

IF YOUR POLITICS REQUIRES EVERYONE ELSE TO SHUT UP, THERE’S YOUR PROBLEM. I’ll be in Santa Barbara tonight talking free speech, censorship, and why a good argument beats enforced silence.

TODAY’S BANNED WORDS ARE NEVER THE LAST ONES: FIRE and the First Amendment Coalition are challenging Los Angeles’s prohibition on certain offensive terms during public comment. The council president has already said more restrictions are coming, which is a pretty good reminder that censorship lists have a way of expanding.

PEPPERDINE’S STRANGE DEFINITION OF “ACADEMIC FREEDOM”: The university banished professor Christina Littlefield from campus for 15 months after complaints about her teaching on scholarly depictions of a black Jesus and her criticism of colleagues who supported censoring an art exhibition.

WHAT IF TRUMP’S BIGGEST STRATEGIC WEAKNESS IS THAT HE CAN’T STOP HIMSELF? The same instincts that made him a media phenomenon can become liabilities when presidential power, government lawyers, and the First Amendment enter the picture. 

TRUMP’S THREE RULES: Keep your name in the media, always stay on offense, and use lawsuits to impose a cost, win or lose. In my latest on ERI, I ask what happens when a strategy becomes a habit, and a habit becomes an impulse.

25 YEARS AT FIRE, AND SOMEHOW THERE’S STILL WORK TO DO. I’ve now spent a quarter-century defending free speech, arguing with censors, and watching the same bad ideas about censorship find new packaging. More in this week’s update!

PUBLIC SCHOOLS DON’T GET A VETO OVER ANTI-BIDEN SLOGANS. Two Michigan students were threatened with punishment for wearing the anti-Biden slogan to school, and FIRE is asking the Supreme Court to make clear that schools can’t magically turn protected political speech into punishable profanity because they know what the euphemism means. See this week’s update!

BIDEN’S TITLE IX RULE ISN’T JUST DEAD. IT’S FINALLY OFF THE BOOKS. The Education Department formally repealed the Biden administration’s 2024 rewrite and restored the 2020 framework, whose speech and due process protections FIRE had defended long before courts vacated the Biden rule nationwide. Check it out for yourself in this week’s update.

IVY LEAGUE PRESTIGE DOESN’T BUY MUCH FREE SPEECH: Dartmouth ranks #6 in FIRE’s 2027 College Free Speech Rankings, while four Ivies earn an F and Columbia limps in at #246.

TOUGH JOB, BEING A BUREAUCRAT. SOMEONE MIGHT MOCK YOU. Australia’s top public servants want Parliament to rein in social media clips that subject officials to ridicule. But making fun of powerful government officials isn’t a bug in democratic debate. It’s one of the features.

IDEOLOGICAL DIVERSITY APPARENTLY HAS ITS LIMITS AT WHITMAN. The student senate voted 25–0 against recognizing the Republican Club after scrutinizing its politics, and FIRE is calling on the college to give the group a fair, viewpoint-neutral shot.

COMING SOON TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU: MORE AGE GATES, MORE ID CHECKS, LESS ANONYMITY. Europe is considering sweeping new limits on minors’ access to social media and AI. See what that means for your rights in this week’s update.

CAMPUS VIOLENCE IS LOOKING LESS LEFT VS. RIGHT AND MORE MEN VS. WOMEN. FIRE’s latest data shows ideology is becoming a weaker predictor of support for violence against speakers. See the stats in this week’s update.

MY BIRTHDAY GIFT WAS MACKLEMORE, ED SHEERAN, AND THE STREISAND EFFECT. I WOULD’VE PREFERRED SOCKS. I joined Jake Tapper to explain why the controversy isn’t simply “free speech” versus “censorship” and why trying to suppress political speech so often makes it louder. See my full interview with Jake Tapper in this week’s update.

RIKKI SCHLOTT’S NOTHING SERIOUS ASKS WHETHER THROWING OUT COURTSHIP, COMMITMENT, AND OLD-FASHIONED STANDARDS ACTUALLY MADE ANYONE HAPPIER. Judging by modern dating, the results are not encouraging. Pre-order Nothing Serious now.

HAPPY CONSTITUTION DAY TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE. If you’re spending Constitution Day thinking about the Declaration, freedom of conscience, and 200+ years of Americans debating what it all means, check out Jeffrey Rosen’s conversation with David Rubenstein.

CRITICIZING THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT A FEDERAL OFFENSE. After agents pursued David Streever over a harsh political email, a federal court ordered DHS and ICE to back off, a major First Amendment win and a reminder that government power still has limits..

THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T GET TO SEND AGENTS AFTER YOU FOR HURTING ITS FEELINGS. FIRE proved that point after a federal court ordered DHS and ICE to stop threatening David Streever over protected criticism of an ICE official.

I KNOW YOU’VE ALL BEEN ASKING YOURSELVES, “What should I get Greg for his birthday today? Exotic cheeses? Fancy bourbon? A second season of Wonder Man? Or Spider-Noir?”: Well, that’s all very thoughtful of you. But all I really want for my birthday is for you to support the great work of the extraordinary folks at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)! Seriously. They’re the best birthday present I could ask for.

“THERE’S ONE SIDE WHOSE OPINION IS ASSUMED TO BE THE ‘WRONG’ ONE”: That’s how one conservative Utah Valley University student described the campus climate, adding that they had heard threats of violence toward people who share views with figures like Charlie Kirk. FIRE’s 2027 College Free Speech Rankings show that the chilling effect at UVU is still very real. 

AUSTRALIA’S TOP BUREAUCRATS WANT PROTECTION FROM BEING MOCKED ONLINE: Their idea of “harm” includes social media clips that invite ridicule, hostility, or criticism of public officials. As FIRE’s Sarah McLaughlin writes, bureaucrats shouldn’t get to decide where scrutiny ends and censorship begins.

THE PR OFFICE AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY EDWARDSVILLE WANTED CONTROL OVER STUDENT JOURNALISTS’ INTERVIEWS, AND THEN THE POLICE GOT INVOLVED: After a student journalist criticized the university’s interference as “dangerous and detrimental” to free speech, he was reported to campus police. Join us and tell SIUE to respect the student press.

HIGHER ED DISCOVERS THAT PRINCIPLES REQUIRE PRACTICE: UC Davis jumped from #252 to #24 while Texas State fell to #259. Apparently having a free-speech policy is not quite the same thing as having a free-speech culture.