Professor Stone on free speech in NYT
This column in the New York Times today gives some good historical background for the Abrams and Schenck cases of 1919 and ties them in with calls to expel radicals from England. More »
Britain seeks to limit violent porn
This attempt by Britain to regulate violent porn would have a tougher time in the United States under the Miller formulation. It would be hard to ban it in the same way as child porn as the Brits are seeking. More »
Man wins $270 grand after radio outing
San Franciscan Roberto Hernandez won $270,000 after being exposed as a homosexual by a Houston radio station. It’s unclear from this story whether his cause of action was public disclosure of private fact or just emotional distress. Emotional distress is often a secondary claim to other torts that just increases the damages based on the shocking nature of the action. More »
Da Vinci Code’s in IP clear
The Da Vinci Code wasn’t my favorite book, but it didn’t repulse me like some people (except for the thankfully short romance scene). But there were parts that made it obvious that it wasn’t a rip-off of some great work.
A once-over for FOI procedures?
Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez says he will reexamine the FOI policies established under predecessor John Ashcroft. More »
Grand Theft Auto hits legal traffic
Hidden sex scenes in the latest Grand Theft Auto have driven maker Take-Two Interactive to court, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Last week the company was forced to change its rating from Mature to Adults Only after the porn cheat was publicized. Many stores, which don’t carry Adult Only Games, dropped the game. Which makes me wonder whether the self-imposed ratings systems mean anything. More »
Is Taxation the Key to Curbing Online Porn?
A group of Democrats is proposing a 25 percent tax on porn in an attempt to limit its exposure to kids. The Communications Decency Act and the Child Online Protection Act bith sough to restrict posting of porn where children could access it but both were declared unconstitutional. More »