After a brief hiatus, Prof. Susan Crawford is back blogging with praise for the complaint in the lawsuit that the Utah ACLU and CDT are bringing against a state censorship law (Step Away From the Censorship Button). Though she thinks the law is clearly unconstitutional, Crawford is concerned with the ongoing drumbeat for censorship:

We live in an age of litmus tests and anger. Facts don't mean as much as they should these days, particularly when it comes to facts about the internet. Huge industries and incumbents of all kinds seem easily able to ignore fine arguments and good lawyering, and sometimes courts are willing to go along when the issues are particularly salacious.

Here, Utah law enforcement authorities and politicians looking for re-election can say something like, "What do you mean, we can't protect our children? What do you mean, we can't make a local law about a communications medium that our citizens access? Of course we've got community values. We have community values that regulate the width of our sidewalks and the quietness of our neighborhoods. Are you telling us that we can't say anything about those values when it comes to the internet? What's so magical about the internet?"