Speech

It’s a relatively narrow legal defeat, though. The Ninth Circuit Appeals Court ruled that X — Twitter, at the time of the lawsuit — isn’t protected by Section 230 for failing to report known child sexual abuse material to authorities, nor for designing a bad system to let users flag it. (It hasn’t been held liable for either; that will be argued later.) But the court found Section 230 blocked claims that it “amplified” CSAM by failing to scrub offending hashtags, and it said the controversial FOSTA exception didn’t come into play.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly ignored the bipartisan law banning TikTok from operating in the US unless it’s separated from Chinese parent company ByteDance. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) is calling for a new way to avoid a ban without breaking the law. In a draft bill, Markey proposes letting TikTok operate in the US as long as it provides transparency into its content moderation and keeps US user data out of countries like China.

As first reported by Status, the Freedom of the Press foundation filed a complaint with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at the DC Court of Appeals, arguing his “politicized and unlawful abuse” of his FCC chair position violates the Rules of Professional Conduct he’s bound by as an attorney. His role in the “unconstitutional shakedown” of Paramount was the final straw.

The controversy over Itch.io’s NSFW game delisting isn’t cooling down, but the platform has tried to address some of the most common questions in a new FAQ, including its next steps:

New York Times reporter Ben Mullin has the scoop on a memo from the Jeff Bezos-owned paper’s new opinion editor, including an instruction that it’s “important we communicate with optimism about this country in particular and the future in general.” This follows a previous directive to avoid denigrating “free speech and free markets” and news that the Post will let people submit op-eds composed with help from AI.

Last month, the FTC opened an investigation into the nonprofit watchdog group to determine whether it worked with advertisers to carry out a boycott of X. The Elon Musk-owned platform sued Media Matters for defamation after the organization found neo-Nazi content next to ads on the platform in 2023.

The bill is headed to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk and follows a similar bill passed in the Minnesota legislature. If signed, the bill would require “addictive social media platforms” to display about warnings about the potential mental health harms of using of their products. It’s a concept endorsed by former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and many state attorneys general, but has been critiqued by industry stakeholders as a violation of First Amendment rights.

The Elon Musk-run platform alleges the Stop Hiding Hate Act “impermissibly interferes with the First Amendment-protected editorial judgments” of companies like X to decide how to moderate content. Platforms could face fines unless they disclose what X calls “highly sensitive and controversial speech,” which it says the state may not like. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals already blocked parts of a similar California law on First Amendment grounds, following a separate X challenge.

Platforms could soon have to display tobacco-like warning labels, and include links to mental health resources. It’s a concept former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy pushed for on the federal level and that many states backed. It heads to Gov. Tim Walz (D), but VP of litigation Kathleen Farley at tech industry group Chamber of Progress warns signing it would enact “a clear First Amendment violation, and Minnesota would waste millions defending it in court.”

The National Guard arrived in Los Angeles earlier today in a move that hasn’t been seen since 1965, and protests are stretching into the evening. There’s a Bluesky starter pack of LA-based independent journalists providing text and photo updates, plus news outlets and streamer Hasan Piker live on the ground. And demonstrations in several cities are planned for tomorrow, pushing for the release of union leader David Huerta, arrested during the recent aggressive ICE raids.

Khalil, a Columbia student, was arrested by ICE in March over his involvement in pro-Palestine activism despite being a permanent resident. Citing a Cold War-era law, administration officials claimed Khalil’s presence in the country is detrimental to the US’s foreign policy interest.

Literary journal Barrelhouse addresses a gap noted by Justice Samuel Alito in January’s FSC v. Paxton Supreme Court oral arguments. Almost certainly more fun than the still-awaited ruling will be.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction that prevented the law from taking effect while the lower court hears arguments on the merits. The district court didn’t adequately analyze the full scope of platforms the law could apply to, the appeals court says, as required under the Supreme Court’s ruling in an earlier set of cases brought by tech industry group NetChoice.

In February, the Trump administration started turning Associated Press reporters away from media events at the White House after the outlet refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” Now, District Judge Trevor McFadden has ordered the White House to end the practice, spotted Politico’s Kyle Cheney.