Freedom Flix

Caveman Blogger Fights for Free Speech and Internet Freedom

Can the government throw you in jail for offering advice on the Internet about what food people should buy at the grocery store?

That is exactly the claim made by the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition. In December 2011, diabetic blogger Steve Cooksey started a Dear Abby-style advice column on his popular blog (www.diabetes-warrior.net) to answer reader questions. One month later, the State Board informed Steve that he could not give readers advice on diet, whether for free or for compensation, because doing so constituted the unlicensed, and thus criminal, practice of dietetics. The State Board also told Steve that his private emails and telephone calls with readers and friends were illegal, as was his paid life-coaching service. The State Board went through Steve's writings with a red pen, indicating what he may and may not say without a government-issued license.

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Freedom Flix

The Institute for Justice is always looking for new ways to promote the message of freedom. To that end, IJ produced the following videos in-house to tell the stories of our clients and their fight for individual liberty.

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		Sign Codes vs. Free Speech (3:02) Across the country, government is dealing a one-two punch to property rights and free speech. Using sign codes, cities are demanding large signs protesting eminent domain abuse be taken down.
		Caveman Blogger Fights for Free Speech and Internet Freedom (2:58) Can the government throw you in jail for offering advice on the Internet about what food people should buy at the grocery store?
		Puppies & Kittens & Censors…Oh my! Gov't Muzzles Internet Pet Vet (1:31) This Institute for Justice lawsuit involves free speech and Internet freedom while centering on one of the most important unresolved issues in First Amendment law: When does occupational licensing trump the First Amendment?
		The Dirty Game of AZ's "Clean Elections" (2:45) The Institute for Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review and reverse a decision of the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals, which upheld Arizona's system of financing campaigns that uses taxpayer money to punish traditionally funded candidates and ind
		License to Describe: Defeating Washington D.C.'s Tour Guide Licensing Scheme (2:33) In Washington, D.C., talking without a license can land you in jail for 90 days.
		Citizens United Debate Trailer (1:17) On 6-24-10, IJ's Steve Simpson and Cato's Ilya Shapiro debated Loyola's Richard Hasen and AU's Jamin Raskin at the American University Washington College of Law. They discussed various aspects of the Citizens United decision.
		City of Dallas Bans Signs for Small Business (0:53) Under a Dallas law enacted in 2008, businesses are prohibited from putting signs in the upper two-thirds of any window or glass door, and no more than 15 percent of any window or glass door may be covered by signs.
		The Campaign Finance Bait & Switch: Fair Elections Now Act (1:12) They're at it again. The same special interests who for decades have called for government-funded political campaigns?what amounts to welfare for politicians?are again pushing something called the Fair Elections Now Act . . . a proposal that would create
		Karen Sampson & Free Speech (3:57)