Book People, Inc. v. Wong
The U.S. District Court issued an injunction on a Texas law that would require publishers and booksellers to assign ratings to certain books, which would they then be barred from selling to school libraries.
Read MoreJul 25, 2023 | Litigation, 2023, Texas, U.S. District Court, cases brought by Media Coalition, harmful to minors, prior restraint and seizure, ratings enforcement, forced labeling, prior restraint
The U.S. District Court issued an injunction on a Texas law that would require publishers and booksellers to assign ratings to certain books, which would they then be barred from selling to school libraries.
Read MoreJul 16, 2023 | Litigation, 2023, Arkansas, U.S. District Court, cases brought by Media Coalition, display, harmful to minors, prior restraint and seizure, age verification, prior restraint
The U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction blocking a law that would require booksellers and librarians to limit their books appropriate to all minors only or exclude all minors from their premises. Another provision on the law allows any person in Arkansas to demand the removal of a book that the person deems inappropriate.
Read MoreAug 30, 2022 | Litigation, 2022, Virginia, State courts, amicus briefs, cases brought by Media Coalition, harmful to minors, obscenity, prior restraint and seizure, sexually explicit content and minors, prior restraint
A Virginia judge dismissed the obscenity case against the books A Court of Mist and Fury and Gender Queer, finding that the law was unconstitutional as prior restraint, that it had insufficient knowledge requirement, and there was insufficient notice.
Read MoreApr 11, 2022 | Litigation, 2022, Missouri, U.S. District Court, amicus briefs, harmful to minors, goes beyond Miller/Ginsberg test
Some members of Media Coalition filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, in support of an ACLU and NAACP challenge to the removal of books from school libraries in the Wentzville School District. The brief argued that the books did not fit the definition of “harmful to minors.”
Read MoreApr 8, 2022 | Litigation, 2022, Texas, U.S. Circuit Court, U.S. District Court, U.S. Supreme Court, amicus briefs, miscellaneous issues, other content restrictions, "stop social media censorship" bills
Media Coalition Foundation signed an amicus brief urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the district court finding that the Texas law on social media censorship is unconstitutional.
Read MoreNov 15, 2021 | Litigation, 2022, Florida, U.S. Circuit Court, U.S. District Court, U.S. Supreme Court, amicus briefs, miscellaneous issues, other content restrictions, "stop social media censorship" bills
Media Coalition Foundation signed an amicus brief submitted in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that a Florida law that bars the removal, labeling, hiding speech, or suspending of accounts on certain social media websites of candidates for elected office or on certain “journalistic enterprises.”
Read MoreOct 2, 2020 | Litigation, 2022, 2021, 2020, New York, State courts, amicus briefs, tort claims and civil law, right of publicity
The New York appellate court dismissed the appeal, finding that even though the film was a dramatization that made changes to certain aspects of the story, it still addressed matters of public interest and acknowledged that it was a blend of fact and fiction; therefore, it was exempt from the right of publicity claim.
Read MoreMay 20, 2020 | Litigation, 2020, Minnesota, State courts, amicus briefs, other content restrictions, nonconsensual distribution of images
Some members of Media Coalition and other organizations filed an amicus brief in the Minnesota Supreme Court urging the court to uphold the decision of the Minnesota appellate court striking down the state’s law barring the distribution of certain images without consent.
Read MoreMar 19, 2020 | Litigation, 2020, Illinois, State courts, U.S. Supreme Court, amicus briefs, other content restrictions, nonconsensual distribution of images
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari seeking review of the Illinois Supreme Court ruling upholding the state’s law making it a crime to distribute nude images of a person if the publisher knew or should have known that the person in the image did not consent to the publication.
Read MoreMar 6, 2020 | Legislation, 2020, Tennessee, harmful to minors, mandatory internet filtering, prior restraint and seizure, applies harmful to minors law to the internet, goes beyond Miller/Ginsberg test, prior restraint
H.B. 2294 would require internet service providers to block access to “pornographic” material for all users. A failure to do so shall be treated as a deceptive or unfair act or practice and is subject to penalties under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act.
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