FIRE

WATCH: Charlie Kirk was murdered at a @TPUSA campus event, triggering a national reckoning over free speech and political violence. So where do we go from here? Featuring powerful firsthand accounts from the students and staff there that day, this is “1AX: Political Violence.”

The 92nd St Y may have canceled on him, but FIRE won’t! 🔥 We’re thrilled to announce that legal scholar @ishapiro is officially confirmed to join us this November for Soapbox, FIRE’s free speech conference. Secure your spot now ➡️ soapbox.fire.org/Soapbox/

I'm concerned about this verdict and the overall trend of treating speech platforms as addictive — and therefore dangerous — products. Also, the verdict diminishes the responsibility parents have to raise healthy kids. For example: "Kaley says she began using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9 and told the jury she was on social media 'all day long' as a child." Where were the parents?

REGISTER ⬇️ fire.org/get-involved/e…

WEBINAR: Faculty today face growing uncertainty about what they can say, teach, and research. But FIRE is here to help. Join @graham_piro, @Zach2Greenberg, and Sean Stevens for a FREE webinar on the biggest threats to academic freedom in 2026, plus a live Q&A. Register now! 🔥

Government jawboning is wrong — whether the pressure is coming from a Republican administration or a Democratic one. While this settlement may provide some limited protection and is a step in the right direction, much more needs to be done to limit jawboning. Congress must pass legislation to end the practice for good by allowing Americans to hold federal officials personally accountable in court for censoring their speech through jawboning. Congress must also increase transparency in the government’s communications to social media companies and other speech platforms so that Americans are not left in the dark when their speech is censored by federal officials behind closed doors. How? We have some thoughts. ⬇️ fire.org/news/governmen…

Terrific conversation last night between @NicoPerrino, @corbinkbarthold, @CJFerguson1111, & @kmele on cycles of censorship and emerging tech at @TheFIREorg's third Free Speech Future event. The effortlessness with which they riffed/bounced off each other was something to see!

Urge NY lawmakers to reject this attempt to criminalize peaceful protest. ⬇️ fire.org/get-involved/t…

These unconstitutional proposals would criminalize demonstrations within 25 feet of streets near houses of worship, religious schools, or health clinics, with first-time offenders facing up to a year in jail.

New Yorkers could soon face jail time for peacefully protesting on public sidewalks. NY lawmakers are proposing legislation to create thousands of “buffer zones” that would punish protesters. Sound ridiculous? FIRE agrees. ⬇️

FIRE’s @sarahemclaugh covers how old laws, new restrictions, and institutional censorship are challenging expression globally in this month’s Free Speech Dispatch. ⬇️ fire.org/news/blogs/fre…

Northern Ireland may be moving away from its archaic blasphemy law, but around the world, censorship pressures are still growing. From Dubai police threatening jail for social media posts to UK universities restricting the term “ancient Palestine,” free speech is under threat.

Before the First Amendment, Benjamin Franklin understood the stakes: Without free speech, liberty can’t survive. Nearly 250 years later, that principle still defines America.

UPDATE: A federal court blocked the Village of Broadview's curfew on ICE protests. The restriction stood for nearly six months without evidence it was needed to protect public safety. The First Amendment doesn't allow the government to restrict speech based on speculation.

FIRE is disappointed that the Supreme Court denied our petition to review citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal’s case, in which the courts below held Laredo, Texas, officials are immune from a lawsuit after they arrested Priscilla for asking police questions—something reporters do every day, and something the First Amendment squarely protects. Dissenting from the denial of the petition, Justice Sotomayor summed it up well: “Such an arrest is plainly inconsistent with basic First Amendment principles.” We are proud to have fought alongside Priscilla in defense of her First Amendment rights. We are also grateful to the organizations and individuals that filed briefs as “friends of the court” in support of Priscilla. The decision not to take Priscilla’s case only shines more light on the need for the Court to revisit how qualified immunity applies in free speech cases, sooner rather than later. And rest assured — so long as government officials keep trampling fundamental First Amendment rights, FIRE will be there to fight back and defend those rights for all Americans.

🔗: wapo.st/3Nl6POB

When you think of free speech heroes, Joseph E. Foreman might not come to mind. But in a courtroom last week, Foreman, also known as Afroman, hilariously showed how America’s free speech commitment keeps officials in check. 🖊️: FIRE’s @glukianoff and @AdGo 📰: @washingtonpost

🔗: expression.fire.org/p/maintaining-…

Our society is divided. But disagreement is a feature of freedom, not a bug. Liberty doesn't only lie in laws. It lives in how we engage with one another. Defending free expression, even when unpopular, ensures our rights endure. 🖊️: FIRE’s Bob Corn-Revere

Last October, journalists from FOX News, ABC, and over a dozen other news organizations said the Pentagon’s policy for press credentials threatens core journalistic protections. They were right.  fire.org/news/pentagons…

BREAKING: Federal judge rules the Pentagon’s press policy violates the First Amendment.