Kashing out against free speech

Welcome to the Flashpoint.

Looks like I’m not the only one being targeted by thin-skinned men on the right.

Yes, Matt Taibbi’s lawsuit against myself and my publisher, Hachette, over his portrayal in Owned is part of a trend of conservative figures using the legal system to silence critics. FBI Director Kash Patel is only the latest in the ideological coterie to threaten the press, suing The Atlantic last Monday for $250 million over reporting on his time in office thus far.

As I wrote for The Intercept last week:

For all the modern right-wing movement’s bleating about its commitment to free speech, in practice they’re anything but, with a demonstrated penchant for using the legal system as a cudgel against people who say things they don’t like. Known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP, they are a tool of the powerful — and have multiple levels of use.

Most immediately, SLAPP allows plaintiffs the potential to muzzle their critics, who will be less likely to launch attacks against someone who has already proven litigious. This applies not only to the defendant, whether it’s an individual or an institution, but also to others like them who will think twice rather than risk a protracted (and expensive) legal battle.

Typically, the more deep-pocketed someone, or their backers, are, the more they can bleed out defendants by dragging on court cases for as long as possible, racking up legal bills that will have to be paid. Most publishers and newsrooms have lawyers on retainer or in-house, but their legal insurance deductibles are still high, potentially running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars per case.

More at the link.

Maine election update—Gov. Janet Mills looks to have all but thrown in the towel against Graham Platner. She’s barely running ads and vetoed popular legislation instituting a moratorium on data centers.

Here’s context from my report on the bill, which came before her veto:

Maine’s new data center law, which passed the state legislature on April 14 and is headed to Gov. Janet Mills for approval, would suspend building large data centers until November 2027, allowing for a state analysis of potential environmental and energy impacts.

Big time. That analysis, focused on centers with a load equal to or exceeding 20 megawatts, will be the responsibility of the Maine Data Center Coordination Council; legislation sponsor state Rep. Melanie Sachs, a Democrat, told IT Brew that the group will include members from the public and private sectors.

“We need to have this conversation all together,” Sachs said. “That’s the point of the bill.”

In an email to IT Brew, Sachs added that currently there are no plans for data centers of that size in the state.