9 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Speech

On today’s internet, the boundaries of acceptable speech are set by a few massive platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and a handful of others. If those companies find something unacceptable, it can’t travel far — a restriction that’s had a massive impact for everyone from copyright violators to sex workers. At the same time, vile content that doesn’t violate platform rules can find shockingly broad audiences, leading to a chilling rise in white nationalism and violent misogyny online. After years of outcry, platforms have grown more willing to ban the worst actors online, but each ban comes with a new political fight, and companies are slow to respond in the best of circumstances. As gleeful disinformation figures like Alex Jones gain power — and the sheer scale of these platforms begins to overwhelm moderation efforts — the problems have only gotten uglier and harder to ignore. At the same time, the hard questions of moderation are only getting harder.

KOSA sponsors urge ‘quick and clean’ Senate vote with a recess loomingKOSA sponsors urge ‘quick and clean’ Senate vote with a recess looming
Chuck Schumer plans to bring two major kids online safety bills to the Senate floor this weekChuck Schumer plans to bring two major kids online safety bills to the Senate floor this week
NetChoice decision is already influencing how courts consider social media lawsNetChoice decision is already influencing how courts consider social media laws
The aftermath of the Supreme Court’s NetChoice ruling

Here’s what the SCOTUS decision might mean for everything from kids online safety laws to the TikTok ‘ban.’

Lauren Feiner
Judge blocks Mississippi law that required age verification on social mediaJudge blocks Mississippi law that required age verification on social media
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Meta is changing its policy on when it removes “shaheed.”

The board previously said the policy “disproportionately restricts free expression” because while the term is “sometimes used by extremists to praise or glorify people who have died while committing violent terrorist acts,” there are also alternate meanings.

In a test, Meta said, removing the term when “paired with otherwise violating content” captured “the most potentially harmful content without disproportionality impacting voice.”

Correction: Meta said it’s implementing the Board’s recommendations, not seeking further guidance.

PAO on the treatment of the term “shaheed” (شهيد) | Transparency Center

[transparency.meta.com]

Supreme Court protects the future of content moderationSupreme Court protects the future of content moderation
SCOTUS: White House can keep yelling at Facebook about covid misinfo, for nowSCOTUS: White House can keep yelling at Facebook about covid misinfo, for now
TikTok’s AI tool accidentally let you put Hitler’s words in a paid actor’s mouthTikTok’s AI tool accidentally let you put Hitler’s words in a paid actor’s mouth
TikTok makes its First Amendment caseTikTok makes its First Amendment case
Lauren Feiner
New York bans ‘addictive feeds’ for teensNew York bans ‘addictive feeds’ for teens
A major disinformation research center’s future looks uncertainA major disinformation research center’s future looks uncertain
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
A deep dive into how a former deputy sheriff became a Russian disinformation powerhouse.

The New York Times followed the harrowing journey of John Mark Dougan from his time as a deputy sheriff in Palm Beach County, Florida to his new residence in Moscow. From there, he reportedly he runs a vast network of largely AI-generated websites that spout disinformation. He’s apparently managed to build over 160 fake websites, according to The Times.

Once a Sheriff’s Deputy in Florida, Now a Source of Disinformation From Russia

[The New York Times]

X is hiding likes to encourage ‘edgy’ engagementX is hiding likes to encourage ‘edgy’ engagement
Gaby Del Valle
Gaby Del Valle
Billionaires urged NYC mayor to sic police on Columbia encampment.

In a WhatsApp groupchat, prominent businessmen discussed how to use their “leverage” to persuade Columbia’s president to call in the NYPD.

Some members, including hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, attended a Zoom meeting with NYC mayor Eric Adams on April 26th. Some participants offered to pay for private investigators to help crack down on protesters, while others promised to donate to Adams’s campaign.

Business titans privately urged NYC mayor to use police on Columbia protesters, chats show

[The Washington Post]

RFK Jr. sues Meta for ‘election interference’ after it temporarily removed a campaign videoRFK Jr. sues Meta for ‘election interference’ after it temporarily removed a campaign video
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Two key lawmakers want to strong-arm action on Section 230.

The top two lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), proposed a new bill to sunset Section 230 protections for the tech industry. It would give Congress about 18 months to create a new framework to replace the legal liability shield for user-generated content, or lose the protection entirely.

Opinion | Sunset of Section 230 Would Force Big Tech’s Hand

[WSJ]

Republicans release tech executives’ internal communicationsRepublicans release tech executives’ internal communications
The legal challenges that lie ahead for TikTok — in both the US and China

Having lost its fight in Congress, TikTok faces a tough battle in US courts and with China’s own export controls.

Lauren Feiner
Columbia University has a doxxing problem

Protestors wanted to expose Columbia, Columbia exposed its students.

Gaby Del Valle
Threads will now automatically filter out offensive words from your feedsThreads will now automatically filter out offensive words from your feeds
TikTok to restrict users who repeatedly post problematic topics from ‘For You’ feedTikTok to restrict users who repeatedly post problematic topics from ‘For You’ feed
Why Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince is the internet’s unlikely defender

What free speech, war zones, and Aristotle have to do with internet infrastructure.

Nilay Patel
Patreon is taking Reddit’s approach to content moderationPatreon is taking Reddit’s approach to content moderation
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Porn industry group plans to bring Texas age verification fight to the Supreme Court.

The Free Speech Coalition, which represents the adult entertainment industry, has asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to keep the Texas age verification law from taking effect while it appeals it to the Supreme Court.

Pornhub disabled its site in the state earlier this month, displaying a message that said providing an ID for an adult website “is not an effective solution for protecting users online.”

Motion to Stay in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton (5th Cir., 23-50627)

[CourtListener]

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Oversight Board says Meta “disproportionately restricts free expression” with its ban on “shaheed.”

The independent body funded by Meta recommended it change its approach to moderating the term “shaheed.” The word “is sometimes used by extremists to praise or glorify people who have died while committing violent terrorist acts,” says the board. But it says there are alternate meanings, not intended to glorify.

The group was finalizing the opinion before the October 7 Hamas attack, but paused publication. Further research confirmed the recommendation “held up.”

Oversight Board Publishes Policy Advisory Opinion on Referring to Designated Dangerous Individuals as “Shaheed”

[www.oversightboard.com]

Elon Musk has fully bought into the ‘great replacement’Elon Musk has fully bought into the ‘great replacement’
Ron DeSantis signs bill requiring parental consent for kids under 16 to hold social media accountsRon DeSantis signs bill requiring parental consent for kids under 16 to hold social media accounts
The Supreme Court is skeptical of restricting the White House from talking to social media platformsThe Supreme Court is skeptical of restricting the White House from talking to social media platforms
Supreme Court defines when it’s illegal for public officials to block social media criticsSupreme Court defines when it’s illegal for public officials to block social media critics
Supreme Court to hear case on how the government talks to social media companiesSupreme Court to hear case on how the government talks to social media companies
Pornhub shuts down in Texas to protest age verification lawPornhub shuts down in Texas to protest age verification law
Google fired an employee who protested its contract with the Israeli militaryGoogle fired an employee who protested its contract with the Israeli military
Adi Robertson
Adi Robertson
The post office is not an interactive computer service.

Legal blogger Eric Goldman covers a weird (and rightfully smacked down) attempt at getting Section 230 immunity for nonconsensually distributing nude pictures through the mail — including some brief, useful observations on the state of nonconsensual pornography law both on- and offline.

Section 230 Doesn't Apply to Sending Non-Consensual Pornography by Postal Mail-Doe v. Spencer - Technology & Marketing Law Blog

[Technology & Marketing Law Blog]

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
DeSantis vetoes bill that would have barred teens under 16 from using social media, but teases a “superior” one.

He explained that the veto was “because the Legislature is about to produce a different, superior bill.” The Florida governor added that he expects that new bill “will be signed into law soon.”

On X, Speaker Paul Renner later posted that the state Senate would hear a new bill, HB3, on Monday, which “will empower parents to control what their children can access online.”

DeSantis letter to Florida House of Representatives Speaker

[www.flgov.com]

Adi Robertson
Adi Robertson
“He didn’t shotgun a beer, crunch the can against his head, rip his robe off, and scream ‘First Amendment forever, motherfuckers!’ But that was the vibe.”

Corbin Barthold at The Daily Beast has a good piece on Brett Kavanaugh’s role at yesterday’s Supreme Court arguments: the only one in the room (besides NetChoice’s own lawyer) treating government censorship as a unique and serious concern.

Kavanaugh called the states out for trying to turn the First Amendment upside down. “In your opening remarks,” he told Florida’s solicitor general, “you said the design of the First Amendment is to prevent ‘suppression of speech.’ And you left out…three words…, by the government.”

God Help Us, but Brett Kavanaugh Could Save the First Amendment

[The Daily Beast]

Texas sues Pornhub owner for not adding age verification requirementsTexas sues Pornhub owner for not adding age verification requirements
Why Uber and Etsy came up so much in the Supreme Court’s social media argumentsWhy Uber and Etsy came up so much in the Supreme Court’s social media arguments
Supreme Court hears arguments on the future of online speech: all the newsSupreme Court hears arguments on the future of online speech: all the news
The Supreme Court hears arguments for two cases that could reshape the future of the internetThe Supreme Court hears arguments for two cases that could reshape the future of the internet

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