Bias reporting systems were a nightmare on campus – and now they’re everywhere

January 22, 2025 1 min read

Greg Lukianoff
The Eternally Radical Idea

Excerpt: As regular ERI readers and followers of FIRE will know, I’ve been defending free speech on campus since 2001 — nearly all of FIRE’s 25-year history. In 2022, FIRE expanded its mission, going from being the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. This was in no small part because we grew more and more concerned that the free speech crises we were dealing with on campus could and would spill over to other areas of our country.

I am speaking about bias reporting systems, sometimes called bias response teams, which are essentially snitch hotlines where people can report others for “offensive” or “hateful” speech. The act of doing this to your fellow Americans over protected speech would be bad enough, but these systems go further. They often consist not only of administrators, but also law enforcement. 

Click here for link to full article 


Leave a comment


Also in National Free Speech News & Commentary

US Department of Education Announces Investigations of Five Campuses

February 04, 2025 1 min read

Jennifer Ruth 
Academe Blog 

Excerpt: Yesterday, the Department of Education announced investigations into Columbia University, Northwestern University, Portland State University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, explaining that “widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported” at these five institutions.

Given the confusion that reigns in and over higher education today, it’s worth trying to think this through a bit.

Read More
Diversity officers and professors sue to block Trump’s DEI orders

February 03, 2025 1 min read

Julian Mark 
New York Times

Excerpt: A coalition of professors, diversity officers and restaurant worker advocates filed a federal lawsuit Monday in a bid to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders that target diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the U.S. government, the private sector and academia, alleging that he exceeded his authority in issuing them.

Read More
Commentary: A new era of government censorship has dawned

January 31, 2025 1 min read

Catherine Rampell
Washington Post

Excerpt: Amid all the noise, an eerie hush is spreading across America. Companies, scientific researchers and Trump critics are clamming up as the MAGA movement ushers in a new era of government censorship.

On Day 1, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” This might have sounded like banal lip service, reaffirming commitment to the First Amendment. In reality, it was the start of an Orwellian effort to root out wrongthink from government ranks and the private sector.

Read More