Internet Censorship Archive

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.