Sonja West
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sonjawest.bsky.social
Sonja West
@sonjawest.bsky.social
5.9K followers 290 following 24 posts
UGA Law Professor (First Amendment, Media Law, U.S. Supreme Court); Free Press scholar; occasional person of interest but rarely official suspect.

https://www.law.uga.edu/profile/sonja-r-west
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sonjawest.bsky.social
Sonja West @sonjawest.bsky.social · Nov 24
“A cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know.”
United States v. New York Times Company, 328 F. Supp. 324 (S.D.N.Y. 1971)
Reposted by Sonja West
willbunch.bsky.social
You know what media is NOT bending the knee in the Trump era? College journalists! The Harvard Crimson's brutal takedown of the lecherous ex-prez Larry Summers is just the latest example of students showing a failing 'grown-up' media how it's done

My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
College journalism exposes the rot of ‘grown-ups’ | Will Bunch Newsletter
Plus a history lesson on the real ‘Charlotte’s Web,’ and fascism,
www.inquirer.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
knightcolumbia.org
Full house for "The Future of Press Freedom in an Era of Democratic Backsliding" panel. Thank you @randersenjones.bsky.social, @attorneynora.bsky.social, @azmatzahra.bsky.social, @joelsimonsays.bsky.social, @sulliview.bsky.social, & @sonjawest.bsky.social for joining us to discuss #pressfreedom.
November 5, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
knightcolumbia.org
📍TOMORROW: A panel of legal experts and journalists discuss how to protect #pressfreedom and support journalists under Trump. Feat. @randersenjones.bsky.social, @attorneynora.bsky.social, @azmatzahra.bsky.social, @joelsimonsays.bsky.social, @sulliview.bsky.social, and @sonjawest.bsky.social. RSVP.
November 4, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
thomaskadri.bsky.social
My new piece with @sonjawest.bsky.social is live in the Journal of Tort Law!

Our original 50-state survey of 466 deepfake laws reveals a complex landscape in which lawmakers are experimenting with novel criminal, civil & administrative tools to address deepfakes. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
As deepfake technology becomes increasingly sophisticated and accessible, American lawmakers are responding with a flurry of urgent legislative action to address its potential harms. Our 50-state survey of proposed and enacted deepfake legislation reveals a complex regulatory landscape in which jurisdictions are adopting a range of legal approaches, including criminal punishments, civil remedies, or a combination of methods. We also find that legislators are frequently turning to tort-law frameworks to address the harms of deepfakes. This article explores the current landscape of tort-based regulations of deepfakes. In addition to providing an overview of the most recent legislative developments, we unpack and compare the various tort-law methods arising at the state and federal level. We further consider how lawmakers are modifying existing tort laws to address the unique concerns raised by deepfakes. While individualistic tort remedies allow victims of deepfakes to seek direct recourse through familiar private rights of action, our analysis also identifies practical and conceptual limitations with this approach. Traditional tort frameworks struggle to address key challenges posed by deepfakes, including anonymous creation, viral distribution at technological scale, and harms affecting both individuals and society broadly. In light of these limitations, legislators are innovatively adapting traditional tort concepts—such as standing, mental states, causation, immunities, and remedies—to address deepfakes’ unique characteristics. Yet the very need for these adaptations reveals some of tort law’s shortcomings and suggests a space for complementary regulatory approaches. We consider some potential approaches that could provide this more complete framework, like tort liability for entities that enable deepfake creation and circulation, and civil enforcement mechanisms that empower state actors to vindicate both individual and societal interests. Ultimately, our finding…
October 31, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
knightcolumbia.org
📌 11/5 EVENT: A panel of legal experts and journalists discuss how to protect #pressfreedom and support journalists under Trump. Feat. @randersenjones.bsky.social, @attorneynora.bsky.social, @azmatzahra.bsky.social, @joelsimonsays.bsky.social, @sulliview.bsky.social, & @sonjawest.bsky.social. RSVP.
October 15, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
thomaskadri.bsky.social
Thanks to @lsolum.bsky.social for the generous recommendation of my forthcoming piece with @sonjawest.bsky.social!
September 6, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
lsolum.bsky.social
Download of the Week: "Deepfake Torts" by Kadri & West,, buff.ly/mHVqTbJ - The Download of the Week is Deepfake Torts: Emerging Tort Frameworks in U.S. Deepfake Regulation by Thomas Kadri & Sonja West.
Download of the Week: "Deepfake Torts" by Kadri & West
The Download of the Week is Deepfake Torts: Emerging Tort Frameworks in U.S. Deepfake Regulation by Thomas Kadri & Sonja West . Here is the abstract: As deepfake technology becomes increasingly…
lsolum.typepad.com
September 6, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
hbwhbwhbw.bsky.social
I wrote for the @nytimes.com about the administration’s abandonment of statistics and data in favor of information as an instrument of raw control
Opinion | Trump Fires Officials, but He Can’t Avoid Facts
www.nytimes.com
August 29, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Reposted by Sonja West
katygb.bsky.social
The essays written for our @knightcolumbia.org "Future of Press Freedom" project with @randersenjones.bsky.social and @sonjawest.bsky.social are now published in an open-access edited volume from @cambup-law.cambridge.org. 26 essays from an incredible group of scholars 👇
August 5, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
cambup-law.cambridge.org
The Future of Press Freedom: Democracy, Law, and the News in Changing Times eds. @randersenjones.bsky.social of @sjquinney.bsky.social & @sonjawest.bsky.social of @universityofga.bsky.social

Out Now & #OpenAccess

#Politics #LawSky 💙📚

cup.org/3IYbrHA
August 1, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
sjquinney.bsky.social
We're excited to announce that Professor @randersenjones.bsky.social has published a new book with @sonjawest.bsky.social!
August 1, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
stevevladeck.bsky.social
Since April 4, #SCOTUS has issued 15 rulings on 17 emergency applications filed by Trump (three birthright citizenship apps were consolidated).

It has granted relief to Trump ... in all 15 rulings.

It has written majority opinions in only 3.

Today's order is the 7th with no explanation *at all.*
stevevladeck.bsky.social Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · Jul 14
Here we go again: Over an acerbic dissenting opinion by Justice Sotomayor (joined in full by Justices Kagan and Jackson), #SCOTUS, with no explanation, grants a stay in the Department of Education RIFs case—effectively clearing the way for the Trump administration to dismantle much of the agency:
www.supremecourt.gov
July 14, 2025 at 7:38 PM
sonjawest.bsky.social
Also: Bribing public officials is a federal crime, even when you do it in broad daylight.

This will be on the test.
sonjawest.bsky.social Sonja West @sonjawest.bsky.social · Jul 2
Quick First Amendment refresher: The press is supposed to check the government not write checks to the government.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/b...
Paramount to Pay Trump $16 Million to Settle ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit
www.nytimes.com
July 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM
sonjawest.bsky.social
Quick First Amendment refresher: The press is supposed to check the government not write checks to the government.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/b...
Paramount to Pay Trump $16 Million to Settle ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit
www.nytimes.com
July 2, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
jodieginsberg.bsky.social
This is a major blow for press freedom in the United States - a major news outlet caving to groundless threats from the President over coverage www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/b...
Paramount to Pay Trump $16 Million to Settle ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit
www.nytimes.com
July 2, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Reposted by Sonja West
theguardian.com
Trump considers forcing journalists to reveal sources who leaked Iran report
Trump considers forcing journalists to reveal sources who leaked Iran report
President dismisses leaked assessment suggesting strikes only temporarily disrupted Iran’s nuclear development Donald Trump said he is weighing forcing journalists who published leaked details from a US intelligence report assessing the impact of the recent American military strikes on Iran to reveal their sources – and the president also claimed his administration may prosecute those reporters and sources if they don’t comply. In an interview Sunday with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, Trump doubled down on his claim that the 21 June airstrikes aimed at certain Iranian facilities successfully crippled Iran’s nuclear program. He insisted the attacks destroyed key enriched uranium stockpiles, despite Iranian assertions that the material had been relocated before the strikes. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
June 29, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
freedom.press
The targeting of reporters in LA is inexcusable. The public interest in press coverage of protests couldn’t be more self-evident.

We helped lead this letter to remind federal officers of journalists’ constitutional right to report on civil unrest.
media.freedom.press/media/docume...
media.freedom.press
June 9, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
adamrose.bsky.social
Law enforcement is violently targeting press at protests around Los Angeles, from easily recognizable "mainstream" outlets to freelancers and independents. ALL press have explicit legal protections in California. #JournalismIsNotACrime.

This evidence thread may get graphic. 🧵👇
June 8, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Reposted by Sonja West
kylegriffin1.bsky.social
NEW YORK (AP) - Jury finds that The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a 2017 editorial.
April 22, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
postopinions.bsky.social
With blazing clarity, ill will has been embraced by this president as a reason for targeting individuals and institutions, even when it’s, at best, loosely linked to his policy ambitions, Aziz Huq writes.

"This is a serious legal flaw." wapo.st/4cmKAQa
Opinion | Trump has left himself open to a powerful constitutional counterpunch
Trump’s government by spite opens an avenue to challenging his score-settling.
wapo.st
April 11, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
genevievelakier.bsky.social
Want to know why the Trump admin's efforts to exclude the AP from the WH press pool violates central 1A principles not only as of today but as of 1791? Then check out this brief, I wrote with @knightcolumbia.org and 11 other 1A scholars. Spoiler: bc it violates CORE DEMOCRATIC VALUES
jameeljaffer.bsky.social Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · Mar 26
Our first (and possibly last) foray into originalism. Thanks to all of the signatories, and especially to @genevievelakier.bsky.social, who led this effort. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
March 26, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
nytopinion.nytimes.com
The choice by prestigious law firms to keep quiet against President Trump's attacks is deeply wrong, @debpearlstein.bsky.social writes. “Above all, it is futile, as it will do nothing to protect the firms from the extortion-based governance we now appear to face for at least the next four years.”
Opinion | America’s Most Powerful Law Firms Won’t Stand Up to Trump
Bowing to Trump won’t protect their businesses and clients.
www.nytimes.com
March 25, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Reposted by Sonja West
joshchafetz.bsky.social
Excellent statement from a number of Con Law scholars--including some notably conservative ones--on the government's funding cutoff at Columbia/ www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
A Statement from Constitutional Law Scholars on Columbia | Eugene Volokh, Michael C. Dorf, David Cole
We write as constitutional scholars—some liberal and some conservative—who seek to defend academic freedom and the First Amendment in the wake of the
www.nybooks.com
March 20, 2025 at 4:35 PM
sonjawest.bsky.social
My message to my fellow Americans: it’s time to choose Defiant Jazz.
March 15, 2025 at 5:55 PM