A Conservative Judge Complicates Biden’s Social Media Policy

admin July 5, 2023

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New holes appear in Washington’s social media efforts

The government’s efforts to interact with social media platforms were hit hard on Tuesday when a federal judge restricted the Biden administration from communicating with tech companies about extensive online content.

The 155-page ruling, which the administration is likely to appeal, raises questions about how governments should interact with platforms used by billions. It also complicates the prospect of tech companies regulating user-submitted content.

Verdict: Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana said broad sections of the government, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI, cannot discuss with social media companies in any way that leads to this issue. “remove, delete, suppress or reduce” content.

“If plaintiffs’ allegations are true, this lawsuit will likely involve the most massive attack on free speech in American history,” said Doughty, who was appointed by President Donald Trump. rice field.

A victory for the Republican state attorney general who sued the administration. It claimed that federal authorities were trying to limit users’ First Amendment rights. Plaintiffs cited the following emails and text messages in their lawsuit: they claimedfederal officials have been pressuring tech executives to remove or censor posts on issues such as federal pandemic policy, articles about Hunter Biden, and election security.

Doughty also pointed to efforts to remove or downplay content from anti-vaccine activist Robert Kennedy Jr., who is currently challenging President Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kennedy encouraged the decision by saying, “Happy Independence Day everyone!” he tweeted.

Doughty cited several exceptions in his ruling, including crimes, national security threats and foreign attempts to influence elections. Also, other government officials, including lawmakers, will continue to have access to his social platform.

Critics of the ruling say it is too broad and problematic. In particular, it applies to government efforts to encourage rather than coerce corporate behavior. Jameel Jafar, of Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, said, “There is no way that governments can violate the First Amendment simply by engaging platforms in their content moderation decisions and policies.” told The Times.

Experts also worry that it will only increase misinformation on social platforms that have already cut content management teams.

This injunction could have far-reaching implications for technical regulation. Other Republican state officials are moving to ban internet platforms from removing some political content, a move likely to go all the way to the Supreme Court, legal experts say.

Meanwhile, plaintiffs in the lawsuit allege that the Biden administration blackmailed tech companies. Amending the Antimonopoly Act or Section 230 The Communications Decency Act, a legal shield that protects online platforms from lawsuits over user content. (It is worth noting that the Trump administration again There was an uproar about the revision of Article 230. )

While Section 230 is unlikely to be overturned at this point, Doughty’s ruling has raised the speculation that certain pressures to overhaul technology regulations could be viewed as undue pressure on tech companies. .

what is going on here

Global temperature set a record. What is the average global temperature on Tuesday? 17.2℃ It’s the latest example of extreme weather hitting people from China to India to Texas. A recurring El Niño event is likely to bring warmer temperatures, prompting climate officials to take further action to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

A short but fulfilling week awaits investors. The Fed will release the minutes of last month’s rate-setting meeting this afternoon. Markets will be watching how central bankers feel that multiple rate hikes this year will be necessary to keep inflation under control. On Friday, the Labor Department will release its monthly employment figures. Economists polled by Reuters expect employers to: 225,000 new jobs last month.

SPAC Settles with SEC to Take Donald Trump’s Media Company IPO Digital World Acquisition Corporation has announced that it will pay $18 million in liquidated damages and amend its securities registration statement to resolve an investigation into its planned merger with the parent company of Truth Social online platform. But it’s unclear whether Trump’s company wants to go ahead with the merger.

Illumina could reportedly face a record penalty from the European Union. Genetic sequencing companies could be fined up to $453 million. 10 percent of sales, for completing its $8 billion acquisition of cancer-detection business Grail despite ongoing investigations into the deal, according to the Financial Times. (EU regulators ultimately opposed the deal.) Such fines would be much higher than those previously imposed by Brussels.

China hedges bets

Janet Yellen is due to arrive in Beijing on Thursday for her first visit to China by a Treasury secretary, the latest effort by the Biden administration to improve dialogue between the world’s two largest economies. Experts do not expect much progress, especially since the trade war shows little sign of abating. But with China’s economy stagnant and Beijing’s focus on next year’s U.S. and Taiwan elections, Chinese policymakers are pushing the calculation that China is still worth engaging. .

China’s economy has not fully recovered from the coronavirus lockdown. New data released Wednesday Activities of the Service Department It expanded at the slowest pace in five months. Add to this a parade of weak data that point to sluggish consumer spending, lackluster exports and manufacturing. Chinese stocks fallBut hopes for a massive stimulus package seem increasingly distant.

That is one of the reasons why China is intensifying its attraction offensive in global business. I tried to use it with world economic forum meeting in Tianjin last week. But this comes in the wake of a crackdown on Western-linked consulting and due diligence firms, raising concerns about doing business in the country.

Yellen’s visit follows new retaliatory sanctions. China announced export restrictions About two metals used to make semiconductors on Monday. The Netherlands said last week: Dutch companies like ASMLThe company, which makes machinery essential to chip manufacturing, will need government approval to ship some equipment overseas. Washington is also reportedly considering new measures, including: Limit Chinese access to cloud computing technology.

But China looks beyond the US and into 2023. “Beijing policy makers are risk averse.” Lana Mitter, director of the China Center at the University of Oxford, told Dealbook. “They believe that the Biden administration, while soft-spoken, is actually trying to contain China. We are also seeking to build a warmer dialogue with the EU, the UK and other major trading nations.”

The Conflict Between Twitter and Meta Intensifies

This week is going to be tough for Elon Musk and Twitter.The social network receives an unexpected announcement Viewing restrictions on tweets — freeze the power user, potentially hurt The company’s efforts to bring back advertisers — Meta will debut a rival app on Thursday that some have called a “Twitter killer.”

Users are apps, Threads, A forum for posting short messages, much like Musk’s online platform. Its development stems from a longstanding desire of Mark Zuckerberg, who helped oversee Facebook and Instagram as CEO of Meta, to “kick out Twitter and provide a central place for public conversations online.” The Times’ Mike Isaac reports.

For some inside Meta, the Twitter uproar since Mr. Musk took over the company last fall was, in the words of an internal employee post last year, “in search of our own bread and butter.” It was an opportunity to say

Advertisers will be watching closely. meta is strong Relationship with AdvertisersAnd perhaps even more so after many fled Twitter amidst the chaos that followed the sudden policy change Mr. Musk imposed. That flogging on Twitter has become a challenge for Linda Yaccarino, who took over as CEO of the company last month and is tasked with reviving the platform’s advertising business.

Yaccarino’s work may have been complicated by new restrictions on viewing tweets, which may have hurt Google’s ability to do so. Show posts in search results — according to analysts.

(Musk said the new policy is temporary and aims to stop artificial intelligence companies from scraping Twitter posts to train their services without proper payment.)

In case you missed: another Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Dana White, who helped coordinate the fight, said the feud between Musk and Zuckerberg — a possible “cage match” — seems to be progressing.

Blackstone’s Schwartzman Gets Big Salary

Last year was a bad year for most investors, but CEO pay continued to rise.

Steve Schwartzman tops the list of highest paid peopleAccording to Blackstone’s CEO, his total salary exceeded $250 million. wall street journal. Schwartzman’s compensation is $253 million, slightly higher than Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai ($226 billion).

A total of nine CEOs will earn over $100 million in 2022. Among them are management companies that did not perform so well for investors, such as Peloton’s Barry McCarthy ($168 million), whose stock fell about 77% last year, and Steven. Shale of Hearts ($182 million) has recovered from bankruptcy in 2021, with its stock underperforming the S&P 500.

Restricted stock and options are a significant portion of executive compensation. A Blackstone spokeswoman told the journal that 30% of Schwartzman’s compensation could come from the private equity giant’s stock performance in 2021. Last year, Blackstone shares fell about 40%.

Another bonus: About $190 million of Mr. Schwartzman’s compensation is tied to carried interest, a common form of Wall Street salary that is relatively low-tax.Biden Administration Wanted To Close Carrie Interest Loophole, But Officials Condemned Heavy Lobbying in Washington by Private Equity Industry for thwarting their plans.

Options don’t always work. The package received by Peloton’s McCarthy was almost entirely options with a strike price below Wednesday’s $8.19 share price. It will cost you to redeem it.