Mike Jones Supports the First Amendment, Even When Local Gov #39;t Doesn #39;t Like to Be Questioned
All videos by Dale Matthews are on the non-commercial site BadCounty com and also on Facebook and Twitter. Josephine County Weekly Business Session, Septem...
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Mike Jones Supports the First Amendment, Even When Local Gov't Doesn't Like to Be Questioned - Video
INFORMUCATE: FIRST AMENDMENT
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INFORMUCATE: FIRST AMENDMENT - Video
VICTORY! Federal Judge Rules #39;Police Violated Constitutional Rights #39; of Ferguson Protesters!
http://www.undergroundworldnews.com A Missouri federal judge has agreed with an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit claiming the First Amendment rights of Ferguson residents and their supporters...
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VICTORY! Federal Judge Rules 'Police Violated Constitutional Rights' of Ferguson Protesters! - Video
Twitter just sued the federal government over restrictions the government places on how much the company can disclose about surveillance requests it receives.
For months, Twitter has tried to negotiate with the government to expand the kind of information that it and other companies are allowed to disclose. But it failed. Today, Twitter asserts in its suit that preventing the company from telling users how often the government submits national security requests for user data is a violation of the First Amendment.
The move goes a step beyond a challenge filed by Google and other companies last year that also sought permission on First Amendment grounds to disclose how often it receives national security requests for data. In the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks about government spying and the so-called PRISM program, the companies sought to add statistics about national security requests to transparency reports that some of them were already publishing. Up to that point, the reports had revealed only the number of general law enforcement requests for data that the companies received each year, not so-called National Security Letters the companies received for data or other national security requests submitted with a court order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court.
The companies asserted that without the ability to disclose more details about the data requests they received, the public was left to speculate wildly that they were providing unfettered access to user data or giving the government information in bulk. If the public knew how few requests for data they actually received, they argued, people would be re-assured that this was not the case.
[G]overnment nondisclosure obligations regarding the number of FISA national security requests that Google receives, as well as the number of accounts covered by those requests, fuel that speculation, Googles Chief Legal Officer David Drummond wrote in a letter to the attorney general and FBI. Googles numbers would clearly show that our compliance with these requests falls far short of the claims being made. Google has nothing to hide.
Although the companies won a partial victory in negotiation when the government agreed earlier this year to let them publish broad statistics about national security requests they received, the statistics turned out to be nothing more than a coy tease. They provided no real transparency. The companies were only allowed to publish a range of the requests they received. For example, they were only allowed to disclose that they had received between 0 and 999 national security requests for data. They also had a six-month delay imposed on them, prohibiting them from disclosing certain sets of information, and a two-year delay for disclosing other sets of data.
In August, Google and Microsoft pressed for the right to release more statistics, including a breakdown of the number of requests specifically targeting user content, versus requests seeking metadata.
Twitter was not part of the legal challenges filed by the other companies but engaged in its own battle for more transparency. Last April, the company submitted a draft of the kind of transparency report it sought to make public.
Twitter sought, among other things, to narrow the scope for reporting statistics. Instead of reporting requests in a range of 0 to 999, it wanted to be able to report actual aggregate numbers for the number of NSL and FISA orders it received and to be able to break down, in smaller batches, each type of request. For example, it wanted to be able to report the number of NSLs and FISA orders it received in a range of 1-99.
The Justice Department responded in September that the proposed report contained classified informationwithout specifying which part of the information was classifiedthat could not be publicly released under the current FISA and National Security Letter laws. These statutes come with a gag order preventing service providers from disclosing the data requests they receive.
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Twitter Sues the Government for Violating Its First Amendment Rights
GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. -
A warning Tuesday night to Clay County leaders from their attorney. End the ban on adult establishments or face a pricey lawsuit.
The Clay County Planning and Zoning Department held a meeting to discuss ways that would allow sex shops to open while keeping residents happy.
The county placed a ban on all forms of adult businesses in 1985. County attorney Mark Scruby told a heated crowd that if that ban remained in place, the county could face a First Amendment lawsuit from someone trying to open such a business because it would violated their constitutional right to free speech.
Many people at the meeting did not agree.
"I'm a mom and I don't think that type of industry brings positive growth," said Joie McGee, a resident who founded the Concerned Citizens Against Adult Entertainment. "The county has stated this will increase crime rate and decrease property taxes. So, we're just very concerned as to why they think it's necessary to make these initiatives.
The initiatives are a three-pronged approach county officials would have to propose to regulating adult businesses in Clay County.
Scruby said the first would be a regulatory ordinance which would regulate how a sex-themed business would operate. The second is a public nudity ordinance which would restrict public nudity. The third is a locational ordinance that would regulate where adult entertainment establishments would be allowed to locate.
One county planner worked along with Scruby and recommended 28 sites that are just south of Fleming Island on U.S. Highway 17, to be designated for these shops.
Clay County Commissioner Ronnie Robinson disagrees with ending the ban.
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County could face First Amendment lawsuit