Jump to content


Photo

ACLU sues WMATA for banning 'issue-oriented' ads


  • Please log in to reply
4 replies to this topic

#1 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 09 August 2017 - 07:11 PM

USA Today, 8/9/17:
 

ACLU sues Washington metro for barring 'political' ads, including one hailing the 1st Amendment

 

The American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday that it is suing the Washington, D.C., metro system for rejecting as too "political'  four municipal transit ads on birth control, alt-right activist Milo Yiannopoulos, vegans and even one by the ACLU itself featuring the First Amendment in English, Spanish and Arabic.

 

"You don’t have to be a First Amendment scholar to know that something about that stinks," the ACLU said.

 

 



#2 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 12 August 2017 - 06:15 PM

Progressive Railroading, 8/11/17:

 
ACLU sues WMATA over ad policy

 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for the agency's restrictions on advertising in train stations, subway cars and buses.

WMATA's guidelines ban ads that are "intended to influence public policy," according to an ACLU press release. WMATA also prohibits ads that are "intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions."

The ACLU argues that the restrictions limit free speech. The lawsuit follows the rejection of ads from four groups across the political spectrum, including ads from alt-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos and abortion and birth-control provider Carafem.

 

Continue here.



#3 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 08 September 2017 - 09:56 AM

WTOP radio, 9/8/17:

Metro issues refund over rejected ads for controversial writer’s book

 

 

WASHINGTON — Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos is getting his money back for ads that Metro pulled down this summer after rider complaints, even as he tries to get them put back up across the system.

 

In new court filings opposing Yiannopoulos’s effort to get the book ads put back up, Metro said its advertising contractor never flagged the ads for a Metro review. Rider complaints on social media around July 4 prompted that review later, which concluded the ads violated Metro’s advertising guidelines. The ads were removed by July 8.

 

Continue here.



#4 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 06 June 2019 - 01:50 PM

The Hill, 6/3/19:
 

Supreme Court rejects anti-Muslim group's challenge to DC Metro ads ban

 

 

The Supreme Court has declined to take up the case of an anti-Muslim group that sought to run ads depicting the Prophet Muhammad on public transit in Washington, D.C.

 

The justices, in an unsigned order issued Monday, rejected the request from the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) to hear their case over the ads, which they asked to be displayed on the D.C. Metro system. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the AFDI an anti-Muslim hate group.

 

The ad submitted by the group featured the phrase “Support Free Speech” with an image of Muhammad, the winning picture of an art contest sponsored by the group.

 

Continue here.



#5 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 07 June 2019 - 07:25 AM

The Washington (DC) Times,  6/3/19:
 

Supreme Court rejects appeal to run Prophet Muhammad ads on D.C. Metro system

 

 

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a right-wing provocateur who had sought to post throughout Metro advertisements depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

 

Pamela Gellar and her organization, American Freedom Defense Initiative, had argued that Metro’s refusal to run the ads violated the right to free speech.

 

The “Support Free Speech” ads Ms. Gellar intended to run included a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad that was the winning entry in an art contest her organization had sponsored.

 

Islam forbids any depiction of Muhammad, the religion’s founder.

 

Metro rejected the ads, citing its 2015 policy banning all issue-oriented advertising.

 

SNIP

 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. District ruled against Ms. Gellar, deciding that Metro is not a public forum and its issue-oriented ban is acceptable because it doesn’t discriminate against a particular viewpoint.

 

The Supreme Court justices declined to hear the case without comment, but the issue isn’t going away soon.

 

The Archdiocese of Washington also has appealed to the high court, challenging Metro’s refusal to run an ad during the Christmas season on the religious meaning behind the holiday.  .  .  .

 

More here.






0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users