Facebook Antitrust
Reveal Chat Holdco et al. filed a federal antitrust class action against Facebook, claiming its acquisition of WhatsApp, Instagram and other competitors violates the Sherman and Clayton acts.
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Police Facebook Posts
A federal court in Pennsylvania dismissed a police inspector’s claims that he was defamed when an investigative journalism project published one of his comments on a Facebook post in a collection of social media posts by police officers that “appeared to endorse violence, racism and bigotry.”
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Federal Lawsuit Challenges Ohio’s Stalking and Harassment Laws
An Ohio woman claimed in a federal lawsuit Monday that the state’s anti-stalking and harassment laws have made her afraid that she will be prosecuted for criticizing government officials online.
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Instagram Pulls Account Impersonating US Government Agency
An Instagram account masquerading as a U.S. government news agency was used to promote misinformation about potential fallout from America’s targeted killing last week of Iran’s top general.
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Video Edited to Suggest Biden Made Racist Remark
A video of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden that was selectively edited to falsely suggest he made racist remarks during a recent speech made the rounds Thursday on social media, raking in more than 1 million views on one tweet alone.
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Rights Groups Urge Secrecy for Nunes Parody Accounts
A cadre of civil liberties groups have filed an amicus brief in Devin Nunes’ defamation lawsuit against Twitter, claiming the Republican congressman’s attempt to unmask users behind parody accounts could lead to a First Amendment violation.
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One-Third of Americans Rely on News Sources They Consider ‘Less Reliable’
A new report released Monday shows that a third of Americans use admittedly less reliable news sources, such as social media and peers, while two-thirds consider their sources to be trustworthy, consisting of printed news and broadcast television.
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Anti-Vaxxer Arrested as Samoa Battles Measles Epidemic
Samoan authorities warned Friday that anti-vaccine propaganda would not be tolerated, after a social media campaigner was arrested for opposing a mass immunization drive aimed at containing the Pacific nation’s deadly measles epidemic.
Read moreFilmmakers Sue Over Visa Social Media Disclosure Requirement
Two documentary film organizations filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security in the District of Columbia Thursday over the registration requirement that forces 14.7 million visa applicants to disclose their social media aliases.
Read moreElon Musk Testifies ‘Pedo Guy’ Tweet Was ‘Off the Cuff’
Billionaire Elon Musk endured a second day of questioning Wednesday in a defamation suit over his tweet calling a British cave expert a “pedo guy.”
Read moreElon Musk Defends Himself in ‘Pedo Guy’ Defamation Trial
A defamation trial against Tesla CEO Elon Musk began Tuesday with his attorney claiming that Musk calling a British cave diver a pedophile in a tweet was part of an argument between the men.
Read moreRussia Passes Bill Targeting Bloggers and Journalists
Russia’s lower house of parliament has passed a bill that gives the government the right to register bloggers, journalists and social media users as foreign agents.
Read moreJudge Rules FBI Cannot Hide Use of Social Media Surveillance Tools
The FBI cannot hide whether it uses powerful surveillance tools to monitor the social media activity of millions of Americans and noncitizens, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Read moreSnap-Chatting Cheerleader Defends Speech Rights at 3rd Circuit
A lawyer for a cheerleader kicked off of her high school squad over a scurrilous Snap post urged the Third Circuit on Tuesday to affirm their courtroom victory.
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Internet Increasingly Used for Government Surveillance
Freedom House issued its annual report Tuesday, warning that social media is an increasingly dangerous tool for mass surveillance and manipulation of elections. Global internet freedom also declined for the ninth straight year, the nonpartisan, government-supported organization found.
Read moreOcasio-Cortez Averts Courtroom Face-Off Over Twitter Block
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has unblocked a former New York politician on Twitter and apologized to him, just before she was to take the stand in his First Amendment lawsuit against her.
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Zuckerberg Unrepentant as Twitter Bans Political Ads
Twitter’s ban on political advertising is ratcheting up pressure on Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg to follow suit. But so far, that doesn’t appear likely to happen.
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Most Americans Back Social Media Ban on False Political Ads
Most registered voters want social media giants to enact policies banning all false or misleading political ads on their platforms, a Morning Consult poll found Thursday.
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