A newsletter briefing on the intersection of technology and politics.
with research by David DiMolfetta
A newsletter briefing on the intersection of technology and politics.
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Below: Some Montanans are fighting back against the state’s TikTok ban, and one Democratic lawmaker emerges as a top contender for a key antitrust post. First:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his nonprofit, the Children’s Health Defense, have become some of the most prolific spreaders of misleading and false health claims on social media in recent years, gaining particular notoriety stoking conspiracy theories about covid-19 and vaccines.
In response, social media platforms cracked down on their pages. Instagram and YouTube banned Kennedy’s accounts in 2021 and Facebook and Instagram removed his organization’s accounts in 2022. Each company cited the accounts repeatedly sharing dubious medical claims.
But Kennedy, now a presidential candidate, is quickly recovering his online reach.
Kennedy tweeted Thursday that his campaign had been unable to create a new account on Instagram due to his ban, calling it “undemocratic” for the site to restrict a candidate for office. Andy Stone, spokesman for Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta, called it a mistake and said in a statement Sunday that the company “quickly fixed the issue.”
Instagram went step further by restoring his account, as I reported, with Stone saying the company took the step since “he is now an active candidate for president of the United States.” Kennedy’s account, which returned Sunday with its verified status, has over 760,000 followers.
And on Monday, Kennedy is set to participate in an audio event on Twitter with owner Elon Musk, who invited the controversial nephew of the late president John F. Kennedy to the event after he accused Instagram of trying to “silence” his newly launched campaign. (Musk recently hosted a similar event with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate.)
Taken together, the moves give Kennedy — one of the most prominent voices of the anti-vaccine movement — his biggest boost in social media visibility in years.
Kennedy still faces restrictions: While Instagram lifted its ban against his personal account, his nonprofit remains suspended on both Instagram and Facebook, Stone confirmed.
But the platforms’ latest actions are likely to spark backlash from critics who say tech companies have acted too meekly in the face of a deluge of health misinformation, which Kennedy and his groups played a key role in spreading.
Democratic lawmakers, civil rights groups and others for years have criticized Facebook, Instagram and other platforms for failing to crack down against or fact check misleading or hateful posts by public officials.
Meta has long shielded government leaders from some enforcement actions under a “public interest” exemption, arguing that users should be able to see and engage with posts from political leaders and candidates running for office.
But critics have argued that some platforms have been too lenient against potentially rule-breaking posts by prominent figures like Kennedy and former president Donald Trump. Earlier this year, Meta lifted a separate ban it issued against Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, reinstating his accounts on Instagram and Facebook.
While Instagram took down Kennedy’s account in 2021, its parent company left up his account on Facebook, which has over 378,000 followers. Kennedy in April became the second Democratic candidate to launch a challenge against President Biden for the White House in 2024.
Social media rules on health misinformation became a major political lightning rod during the covid-19 pandemic, with Republicans accusing Meta and other companies of stifling opposing viewpoints about the coronavirus.
Meta’s oversight board, a group of experts to advise on its rulings and policies, in April recommended that the social media giant “maintain” its current policies against covid-19 misinformation as long as global health authorities deem it an international health emergency.
Biden in April signed a Republican-led measure formally ending the coronavirus national emergency in the United States. In May, the World Health Organization said it no longer considered the coronavirus pandemic a public health emergency of international concern.
After Montana enacted a strict ban against TikTok, some state residents who rely on the platform are fighting back, our colleague Lisa Bonos reports.
Content creator Carly Ann Goddard has built a livelihood chronicling her life, earning between $2,000 and $6,000 a month for endorsing merchants who sell items she discusses in her TikTok videos, Lisa writes.
The ban, which takes effect in January, “has forced Goddard and her husband to put on hold plans of expanding their family and contemplate moving to Florida, where they met, though the ban … faces at least two legal challenges — including the lawsuit Goddard joined last month with four fellow TikTokers who say the ban violates their First Amendment rights,” Lisa adds.
Concern about TikTok in Montana intensified after an alleged Chinese spy balloon was reported over the state in February. “The bill’s lead sponsor, state Sen. Shelley Vance (R), argued that banning TikTok would put ‘an end to China’s surveillance operation in Montana,’” the report says.
“Interviews with dozens of residents show that Montanans, like Americans at large, are divided on what to do about TikTok,” the report adds. A March poll conducted by The Washington Post showed 41 percent of Americans support banning the app, while 25 percent opposed a ban and 34 percent said they were unsure.
Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) — a lawmaker who opposed legislative efforts to rein in the tech giants — is the top contender for the lead Democratic seat on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, Lauren Feiner reports for CNBC.
Correa “is being discussed as the likely successor to prior Ranking Member David Cicilline, D-R.I., according to four sources who spoke on background about private discussions,” Feiner writes. Cicilline stepped down this month to lead the Rhode Island Foundation, his state’s largest philanthropic organization.
“If Correa ascends to the role, it would represent a stark reversal in attitude” for top leadership in the subcommittee, the report says. It adds that “several sources … said Correa’s track record suggests tech antitrust would take a back seat for a while in the subcommittee if he gets the nod.”
Cicilline spearheaded a 16-month investigation into allegations of anti-competitive abuses by tech giants — as well as a major legislative effort to rein in their conduct — when he led the House’s antitrust panel. Cicilline in a March interview said he’s still confident antitrust advocates will win down the line, even if he’s not there to lead them.
Microsoft President Brad Smith will meet with U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to voice frustrations over the nation’s decision to block the company’s purchase of video game company Activision Blizzard, Samuel Stolton and Alex Wickham report for Bloomberg News.
They write: “Smith is set to hold talks with Hunt as well as officials from the Competition and Markets Authority, the agency that wielded the April 26 veto, according to people familiar with the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.”
Smith is expected to frame the purchase as a benefit to the video game industry, Bloomberg adds. Microsoft last month appealed the U.K. antitrust enforcer’s decision to block the deal. “Smith will also sit down with Microsoft’s legal representatives to discuss the firm’s strategy to counter the CMA decision, laying out a series of options that the company could take to save the deal,” the report says.
E.U. antitrust enforcers recently broke from the U.K. to approve the transaction, arguing that Microsoft addressed concerns that the purchase could stifle innovation and competition in the video game market.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the deal. An administrative judge will hold a hearing to examine the lawsuit in August.
Majority of EU countries against network fee levy on Big Tech, sources say (Reuters)
House Democrat’s bill would mandate AI disclosure (Axios)
The tech industry was deflating. Then came ChatGPT. (Gerrit De Vynck)
House lawmakers urge US to rally allies over China Micron ban (Reuters)
Meta found liable as court blocks firing of moderators (TechCrunch)
ChatGPT has a problem no one wants to talk about (Will Oremus)
Ex-NBCUniversal executive Joe Benarroch to join Twitter (Reuters)
the miami heat heading home for the finals with home court advantage: pic.twitter.com/BWbzCe4xIs
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