From JD Vance’s free speech critique of Europe to the
Trump administration barring the Associated Press from the Oval
Office, free speech news is buzzing. General Counsel Ronnie London
and Chief Counsel Bob Corn-Revere unpack the latest
developments.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:49 JD Vance’s speech in Europe
13:27 Margaret Brennan’s comment on the Holocaust
15:13 Weimar fallacy
17:36 Trump admin v. Associated Press
21:33 DEI executive order
27:39 Trump’s lawsuits targeting the media
28:54 FIRE defending Iowa pollster Ann Selzer
32:29 Concerns about the FCC under Brendan Carr
44:09 2004 Super Bowl and the FCC
46:25 FCC’s history of using the “Section 230
threat”
49:14 Newsguard and the FCC
54:48 Elon Musk and doxxing
59:44 Foreigners and the First Amendment
01:05:19 Outro
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Show notes:
– “Vice President JD
Vance delivers remarks at the Munich Security Conference”
The White House (2025)
– “Utterly bizarre
assertion from Margaret Brennan…” Michael Tracey via X
(2025)
– “Rubio
defends Vance’s Munich speech as CBS host suggests ‘free speech’
caused the Holocaust” FOX News (2025)
– “Posting
hateful speech online could lead to police raiding your home in
this European country” 60 Minutes (2025)
– “AP
reporter and photographer barred from Air Force One over ‘Gulf of
Mexico’ terminology dispute” AP News (2025)
– “FIRE
statement on White House denying AP Oval Office access”
FIRE (2025)
– “Ending
radical and wasteful government DEI programs and
preferencing” The White House (2025)
– “Meta
to pay $25 million to settle 2021 Trump lawsuit” The Wall
Street Journal (2025)
– “Trump
settles suit against Elon Musk’s X over his post-Jan. 6
ban” AP News (2025)
– “Questions
ABC News should answer following the $16 million Trump
settlement” Columbia Journalism Review (2025)
– “Trump
v. Selzer: Donald Trump sues pollster J. Ann Selzer for ‘consumer
fraud’ over Iowa poll” FIRE (2025)
– “A
plea for institutional modesty” Bob Corn-Revere (2025)
– “Telecommunications
Act” FCC (1996)
– Section
230 (1993)
– “CBS
News submits records of Kamala Harris’ ’60 Minutes’ spot to FCC
amid distortion probe” USA Today (2025)
– “Complaints
against various television licensees concerning their February 1,
2004 broadcast of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show” FCC
(2004)
– “Brendan
Carr’s letter to Big Tech CEOs” Brendan Carr via the FCC
(2024)
– “NRA v. Vullo”
(2023)
– “She should be
fired immediately” Elon Musk via X (2025)
– “Restoring
freedom of speech and ending federal censorship” The White
House (2025)
– “Protecting
the United States from foreign terrorists and other national
security and public safety threats” The White House
(2025)