Ep. 226: ‘Shouting fire,’ deepfake laws, tenured professors, and mask bans

So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast

The FIRE team discusses Tim Walz’s controversial comments on hate speech and “shouting fire in a crowded theater.” We also examine California’s AI deepfake laws, the punishment of tenured professors, and mask bans.

Joining us are:

Aaron Terr, FIRE’s director of Public Advocacy;

Connor Murnane, FIRE’s Campus Advocacy chief of staff; and

Adam Goldstein, FIRE’s vice president of strategic initiatives.

Read the transcript.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:51 Tim Walz’s comments on hate speech and “shouting fire”

15:36 California’s AI deepfake laws

32:05 Tenured professors punished for expression

54:27 Nassau County’s mask ban

1:04:39 Outro

Show notes:

Court cases:

• Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

• National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie (1977)

• Texas v. Johnson (1989)

• Snyder v. Phelps (2011)

• Matal v. Tam (2017)

• Virginia v. Black (2003)

• NAACP v. Alabama (1958)

• Kohls v. Bonta (this suit challenges the constitutionality of AB 2839 and AB 2655) (2024)

• G.B. et al. v. Nassau County et al. (this class action lawsuit alleges Nassau County's Mask Transparency Act is unconstitutional and discriminates against people with disabilities) (2024)

Legislation:

• AB 2839

• AB 2655

• AB 1831

• Title VI (Civil Rights Act of 1964)

• Section 230 (Communications Decency Act of 1996)

Articles/Tweets:

• “This is amazing😂” Elon Musk via X (2024)

• “BREAKING: The Babylon Bee has obtained this exclusive, official, 100% real Gavin Newsom election ad.” The Babylon Bee via X (2024)

• “The 1912 war on fake photos.” Pessimists Archive via Substack (2024)

• “Professor fired for porn hobby vows to take university to court.” FIRE (2024)

• “Amy Wax is academic freedom's canary in the coal mine.” FIRE (2024)

• “In major hit to tenure, Muhlenberg fires pro-Palestinian professor.” FIRE (2024)

• “U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announces resolution of antisemitism investigation of Muhlenberg College.” U.S. Department of Education (2024)