Some closing thoughts: The likes of Sean Davis seem to think the government censorship issue is less of a problem now bc Trump & FCC are so brazen about it. And ultimately, as Berenson emphasized, the lack of transparency in federal gov. comms w/ platforms is, retrospectively, problematic

Hearing is well underway. There's a lot of abstract "government censorship happened but I dont know how" from Sean Davis. Kimmelman, former PK CEO, expresses concerns about media ownership and the control of dominant social media platforms. Berenson has legitimate concerns over lack of transparency

Another censorship hearing today! This one headed by Sen. Ted Cruz in Cmte on Commerce, Science & Transport. It coincides with release of report on "censorship campaign conducted in secret by the Biden administration’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)"

Ted Cruz and broken clocks. Calls out FCC Chair Carr's censorship threats, turns around an almost immediately tries strongarm Wikipedia for having "left-wing bias". Reminder to Cruz: 1A means Wikipedia has no obligation to be "neutral". ("neutral" is entirely subjective anyway)

Judge Young: "The First Amendment does not draw President Trump’s invidious distinction and it is not to be found in our history or jurisprudence." An extraordinary, historic victory for democratic freedom. knightcolumbia.org/content/in-l...

Last Friday's dismissal of Trump's frivolous $15bn defamation suit against NYT seems like old news. But Trump's attorneys are likely to try to resubmit the complaint. NYT may be able to withstand the suit (again), but most news outlets can't. That's why federal anti-SLAPP law is urgently needed.

FCC Chair Carr knows regulatory pressure is effective at making broadcasters fall in line by silencing Trump's opponents. It's a shame he uses the murder of a free speech advocate to censor critics' speech. Carr himself said censorship is a threat to democracy. He should listen to his own words.

Tuning in to the House Judiciary hearing "Europe's Threat to American Speech and Innovation". Rep. Jim Jordan is repeating his frankly tired claims about the censorship complex, Biden era jaw jawboning. Name-dropped Twitter files journos Shellenberger and Taibbi for helping "expose" censorship.

On Monday, Sept. 8, join us for a panel event on online #childsafety! I'll be moderating a panel digging into product liability lawsuits, and how such cases may impact the design of social media platforms with kids in mind. RSVP today at the link below:

A small cartel of billionaires and conglomerates dominates the U.S. media landscape. And too many of these companies are caving to Trump. Check out our Media Capitulation Index to learn more: https://www.freepress.net/who-owns-media

YouTube has begun its rollout of an age estimation system using machine learning, in order to provide what they call the "best and most age appropriate" experience for its users. @mwils.bsky.social explains how this might have unexpected consequences for many.

If you're paying attention to the age verification rollout in the UK for the Online Safety Act, you're seeing how messy it can be to age-gate content from kids. This new piece from me argues: if age verification is a necessary evil, age-gate the high-risk features of platforms - not the content.

New Paper from Public Knowledge on Child Online Safety: "Rather than asking children to navigate exploitative systems or parents to police every online interaction their kids have, we the people should demand that companies build platforms that are safe for everyone by default." Read it here:

Around DC on September 8th? Swing by the Intercontinental Hotel in the Wharf for a full-day event on Child Online Safety. @publicknowledge.bsky.social aims to push the conversation beyond KOSA and Age Verification to solutions that reduce harm while preserving free expression. Register here:

Public Knowledge is proud to announce this year’s awardees for the 22nd Annual IP3 Awards! RSVP today to join us for this prestigious ceremony celebrating these trailblazers in tech policy. publicknowledge.org/IP3Awards

This is the right decision. Products Liability isn't relevant here. Plaintiffs tried to disentangle algorithmically promoted radicalizing content from the content itself, but its still ultimately about the content , and therefore Section 230 protected. I wrote about it here:

The stipulations in this merger aren't a shock, frankly. It is weird to keep the news distortion docket open despite CBS having met the original complaint's demands.

Yesterday, the FCC released its Order approving the $8 billion Paramount Global & Skydance merger. The Order imposes unprecedented merger conditions—notably an agreement that the new entity will not engage in any diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. Our statement from @mwils.bsky.social:

Senate faces deadline this week to vote to cut funding to public broadcasting — which, more than anything, impacts local radio and news. It’ll be a close vote, and likely down to the wire. Tune in if you can !

Beautifully put: "Trump’s presidential library will be a permanent monument to Paramount’s surrender, a continual reminder of its failure to defend freedoms that are essential to our democracy."

"Today is a sad day for press freedom. ... Paramount should have fought this extortionate lawsuit in court, and it would have prevailed." See our statement from @jameeljaffer.bsky.social following Paramount’s announcement that it has agreed to settle with Trump. knightcolumbia.org/content/para...

Paramount settling Trump's extortionate lawsuit over 60 Minutes is unsurprising but still infuriating. 1A law scholars, media experts, and journalists everywhere knew this lawsuit was meritless. But an $8bn merger was on the line, press freedoms be damned! Statement w/ @publicknowledge.bsky.social:

The Senate just passed its budget bill, including efforts to auction off public spectrum. Under this text, the FCC could be forced to sell off as much as half of the currently unlicensed spectrum in the 6 GHz band -- which could lead to slower Wi-Fi. publicknowledge.org/public-knowl...

Thanks to @markey.senate.gov‬, @cantwell.senate.gov, Marsha Blackburn, & Susan Collins for stripping the AI moratorium from Senate budget bill. This text would have hamstrung state efforts to protect consumers from things like deepfakes & robocalls for 5 years. This cut was the right thing to do.

Public media is on the chopping block. The House has already voted to gut federal funding for NPR and PBS. Act now to tell your Senators to reject proposed cuts to public media: act.pen.org/a/tell-congr...

Late last week, news outlets reported that the FTC may hinge the approval of a merger between ad agencies Interpublic and Omnicom on forcing the new, merged company to not "boycott" online platforms — a requirement that is not only misleading, but unconstitutional as well.

It is so painfully predictable. Loudly incorrect right-wing grifters jump in well before any details are released, claiming confidentiality it must be the "radical, violent left". And when facts don't fit their narrative, they rely on ol' reliable "deep state". We saw the same playbook w/ Jan 6 !

Advertisers avoid platforms with hate speech →Trump admin says this hurts conservative voices → FTC is trying to force ad spending on hate-speech-filled platform X to 'fix' the problem. Does conservative speech = hate speech? btw, this seems extremely unconstitutional.

There's a lot to be concerned about in the info environment surrounding the LA protests. It's predictable atp - similar patterns from NC & hurricane Helene, UK riots, BLM protests, CA fires. Tons of false info & unrelated video clips to establish a narrative that LA is lawless and burning down.

Listening in on this House Rules Committee Hearing on the Rescission Package (which cuts funding to public media and USAID programs). R's exclaim there's obvious fraud, waste & abuse bc USAID targeted LGBTQ population in Africa - a continent where being gay is illegal in some countries

Thank goodness FTC is going after the cabal of villainous doctors who twirl their moustaches as they plot the unfair and deceptive act of luring children to their mutilation chambers. I cant think of anything else the FTC's limited resources should go to! /s

Not a surprise, but notable -- this FTC roundtable on "The Attention Economy" is essentially a patronizing pep rally for KOSA. No constructive conversation of tradeoffs between free expression and kids online safety. No convo on concerns w/ gvmt agency enforcing content-related regulations...

Any payment here would be a payoff, not a settlement. This lawsuit is frivolous. www.wsj.com/business/med...

At the crux of the "tech censorship" discourse is that users, irrespective of political ideology, are fed up with the massive control platforms have over speech. The FTC cannot directly control content moderation, but it can dismantle the power concentration among select social media companies.

It's no secret that the FTC's "tech censorship" request for comments is an attempt to lend credence to the myth that conservative speech is uniquely suppressed. Content moderation isn't perfect, but reality is, right-wing speech is often favored on platforms because it drives so much engagement!

Public Knowledge Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social writes for @techpolicypress.bsky.social that nearly a decade's worth of research indicates that not only do tech platforms advantage right-wing content, but social media moderation disproportionately silences marginalized voices instead:

Public Knowledge policy director Lisa Macpherson reviews the political history of the FTC’s request on tech "censorship," dismantles the notion of the “censorship cartel,” and suggests ways the agency could use its authority to actually improve content moderation and ensure free speech on platforms.

sorry guys but meta's ai social feed slaps

Sen. Bernie Sanders urged CBS News parent company Paramount not to settle the $20 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump. In a letter to Paramount’s lead shareholder, Shari Redstone, Sanders argued that settling would be “a grave mistake.” wapo.st/4k9pK9H

"The perception of bias [among fact checkers] comes from the fact that far-right echo chambers objectively spread more misinformation and are therefore impacted more even under politically neutral platform policies." "Prebunking, debunking, and fact-checking [...] allow more speech to happen."

Honestly, AI would be better.

The State Dept. is getting Twitter Filed. Darren Beattie is collecting correspondence b/w the State Dept and journalists, disinfo researchers, and anti-Trumpers to try and establish that efforts to combat disinfo were part of a corrupt leftist censorship racket.

Congress just passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act, with no Democratic opposition. It is a great example of how Dems are carrying handing Republicans "bipartisan" political wins and dangerous new powers, when their amendments, contributions, and concerns get repeated quashed anyway.

If anyone had the (dis)pleasure of reading the FCC 60 Minutes News Distortion docket express comments, some called for CBS execs to be IMPRISONED bc Pres. Trump has convinced so many that the MSM is lying and out to get him... repeating "fake news" every time something unflattering is published

Make sure to mark your calendars! On April 28 at 1:30pm EDT, join us for the panel "Designing the Digital Platform Commission" where we'll present and discuss this latest paper before a panel of experts for feedback and next steps. Grab your spot today! www.eventbrite.com/e/designing-...

there is some palpable irony in the admin demanding Harvard do DEI but for white conservatives lol

Good for Harvard

After every Censorship Industrial Complex hearing, I ask "what was the point of that?" Renee DiResta's argues the process itself is the punishment: "Americans are in for another round of theatrical hearings designed not to inform legislation but to humiliate and target perceived political enemies."

A significant victory for freedom of the press against this Administration's campaign of censorship and control. apnews.com/article/trum...

PK colleague Alisa Valentin calls out FCC Chair Carr's blatant hypocrisy in his anti-DEI crusade: "when reviewing dismal media ownership statistics [...] and comparing that to the FCC’s recent actions around diversity, equity, and inclusion, it’s clear that Carr’s math is not mathing. "