Free Speech Unmuted

Do you have a right to privacy on public roads? Eugene Volokh welcomes Hoover fellow and Stanford legal scholar Orin Kerr to discuss Flock cameras, the networked license plate readers fueling debate over police surveillance. They discuss how the Fourth Amendment applies to tracking people’s movements, whether police should need a warrant to search camera databases, and how to balance investigative benefits with the potential for abuse. They also consider what we still don’t know about these tools’ effectiveness in protecting public safety. Subscribe for the latest on free speech, censorship, social media, AI, and the evolving role of the First Amendment in today’s proverbial town square. 

When President Trump moved to bar CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House over "biased" coverage, it set off a fast-moving legal showdown.  Today, Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer break down why the law was surprisingly clear-cut. Drawing on a 50-year-old D.C. Circuit precedent and a fresh ruling on Oval Office access, they explain the crucial distinction between the press briefing room (a forum where reporters can’t be excluded based on viewpoint) and the Oval Office (the president's own turf, where he can talk to whomever he wants). Plus: the due process twist that let a judge sidestep the First Amendment question entirely, the White House's slow-motion compliance with the restraining order, and why "the First Amendment is not a Freedom of Information Act." Subscribe for the latest on free speech, censorship, social media, AI, and the evolving role of the First Amendment in today’s proverbial town square. 

Can revealing a plot twist get you sued? Inspired by the controversy surrounding HBO’s Lanterns, Eugene Volokh and Jane Bamabuer explore the tension between copyright protection and free speech. From Gerald Ford’s memoirs to 2 Live Crew’s “Pretty Woman” parody, they examine how courts distinguish protected expression from facts and ideas—and when fair use permits borrowing from someone else’s work. Along the way, they consider why describing an ending differs from posting a clip, how unpublished leaks complicate the analysis, and when a spoiler might cross the line from bad manners to legal liability. Subscribe for the latest on free speech, censorship, social media, AI, and the evolving role of the First Amendment in today’s proverbial town square. 

ABC is challenging the Federal Communications Commission, arguing that the agency is using its licensing authority to punish the network for its coverage and political viewpoint. First Amendment scholars Jane Bambauer and Eugene Volokh are joined by Duke law professor Stuart Benjamin to examine the lawsuit, the FCC’s unusually broad “public interest” power, and the special rules that have long governed broadcast speech. They discuss allegations of retaliation and pretext, the chilling effect of costly government investigations, and whether this dispute could prompt the Supreme Court to reconsider broadcasters’ second-class status under the First Amendment. Subscribe for the latest on free speech, censorship, social media, AI, and the evolving role of the First Amendment in today’s proverbial town square. 

Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer examine the groundbreaking Robby Starbuck v. Google case, one of the first major defamation lawsuits arising from generative AI "hallucinations." They explore whether AI-generated falsehoods can constitute libel, why Section 230 offers no protection for AI-generated content, and how traditional defamation law applies when an AI invents damaging allegations about a real person. The conversation also covers the legal standards for actual malice, the role of discovery, Delaware's unusually permissive pleading rules, and whether these lawsuits could reshape the future of AI development—or expose AI companies to a wave of costly litigation. If AI can invent facts, who should bear the responsibility? This episode tackles one of the most important legal questions facing artificial intelligence today. Subscribe for the latest on free speech, censorship, social media, AI, and the evolving role of the First Amendment in today’s proverbial town square.