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Could anyone shed some light on the meaning of "protected speech?" There was some hubbub concerning people being targeted by law enforcement for statements made
by jfasi 13y ago
Could anyone shed some light on the meaning of "protected speech?" There was some hubbub concerning people being targeted by law enforcement for statements made on Facebook and Google searches. Would an expansion of the definition of protected speech curb these sorts of police actions?
- wf 13y agoIt just means free speech. IANAL but I would imagine that this ruling could be cited in future cases concerning free speech on social networks, etc.
- rayiner 13y agoProtected speech is just speech that isn't not protected. That is to say, the default rule is that speech is protected, unless it falls into certain categories of exceptions. I don't know of any credible story about people being prosecuted for Google searches. The prosecutions for Facebook comments tend to boil down to the police arguing that the comments are threats, which fall into one of the exceptions for unprotected speech.
- greenyoda 13y agoExamples of speech that is not protected under the First Amendment would be incitement to riot, or everyone's favorite example of "shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater" (when there is no actual fire).
- chrismcb 13y agoShouting "fire" is actually a bad example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_the...
- vec 13y agoIn this case the test was "substantive speech". IANAL, but my layman's understanding is that in order for some action to be protected under free speech laws it has to intentionally communicating some coherent message. So, for example, if I was kicked out of a restaurant for not wearing shoes I couldn't generally claim free speech protections for my lack of footwear. However if I did so as part of some theoretical organized protest involving shoes then I could, as in the second case my unshod state was clearly intended to convey some message.
- lwf 13y agoExcept you don't have free speech protections in restaurants; they're private establishments that are free to restrict speech as they see fit, provided they are not discriminating on the basis of your membership in a protected class.
- rayiner 13y agoA restaurant can kick you out for whatever. You only have free speech rights against the government. As to "substantive speech," the bar is low. Substantive in this case means just that it communicates a meaning. The meaning doesn't have to be important. Physical expression, like wearing shoes, involves a higher bar.