9th Cir. Agrees With Volokh: The First Amendment Press Protection Is For A Technology, Not Merely An Industry

A notable win for Professor Volokh's project to see that the courts go back to recognizing that press freedom means freedom of the presses, not freedom for a special class of people recognized as members of the press.

From the decision:

The protections of the First Amendment do not turn on whether the defendant was a trained journalist, formally affiliated with traditional news entities, engaged in conflict-of-interest disclosure, went beyond just assembling others’ writings, or tried to get both sides of a story. As the Supreme Court has accurately warned, a First Amendment distinction between the institutional press and other speakers is unworkable: “With the advent of the Internet and the decline of print and broadcast media … the line between the media and others who wish to comment on political and social issues becomes far more blurred.” Citizens United, 558 U.S. at 352.

Yes, that Citizens United.

You may consider this an open thread. Funny video below the fold.

h/t to BenK for the Volokh story. I have no idea where I saw the dog video. Coulda been here.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 06:22 PM

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