The Free Flow — February 13, 2025

Judge strikes down Texas social media law, BuzzFeed announces new user-controlled social media app, Germany forces X to hand over election data to researchers, and more.

The Digital Age

Photo by Kampus Production

» Judge Further Restricts Texas Social Media Law

• Federal District Judge Robert Pitman issued an injunction against advertising and age verification restrictions in Texas’ SCOPE Act, calling them “unconstitutionally vague.”

• Background:

  • The Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (SCOPE), passed by Texas’ legislature in 2023, introduces age verification requirements and restrictions on content and advertisements for minors online.

  • Judge Pitman had previously blocked provisions of the law mandating social media companies moderate harmful content, such as information that features self-harm or substance abuse, from a minor's feed.

  • The injunction came as a result of a successful lawsuit filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

» BuzzFeed to Release New Social Media App

• BuzzFeed’s CEO complained about the so-called SNARF—Stakes, Novelty, Anger, Retention, Fear—model that he believes dominates social media today.

• Background:

  • In an “anti-SNARF manifesto” released Tuesday, CEO Jonah Peretti announced the company’s plan to build a new type of social media platform.

  • Instead of amplifying “SNARF” content, Peretti claims BuzzFeed’s new platform will use AI to give more power to users to shape their feeds.

  • Peretti’s “manifesto” criticized Meta’s end of fact-checkers, bemoaning that “every major platform is capitulating to Trump” and that their claims of “ending censorship” is just a “euphemistic way of saying they will let politically charged bullshit and conspiracy theories run wild on their platforms.”

  • While BuzzFeed’s new platform is still in development, Peretti says BuzzFeed’s platforms, including BuzzFeed News, BuzzFeed Studios, HuffPost, and BuzzFeed’s food series Tasty, will continue to promote “anti-SNARF” content.

» Nepal Pushes Forward with Controversial Social Media Bill

• Nepal’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung brought forward the social media bill despite growing free speech concerns.

• Background:

  • The “Social Media Regulation Bill” mandates licensing for companies that operate digital platforms.

  • Firms must renew their licenses every two years to continue running digital platforms.

  • In addition, Nepal’s new bill introduces a litany of restrictions on online speech, including prohibiting sharing, commenting, posting, or reposting with “malicious intent.”

  • The law fails to define what constitutes “malicious intent,” forces individuals to reveal their personal identity to the social media platform they are using, and requires these companies to share the data with the government.

  • Moreover, the law’s enforcement does not rely on ordinary courts or independent regulators but on a “Rapid Response Team” that handles matters of grave public interest, such as disaster relief.

  • The new legislation imposes fines and imprisonment for violators.

» Malaysia Adopts Strict Social Media Licensing

• On January 1st, 2025, the country’s new social media licensing requirements came into force, following amendments to the country’s Communications and Multimedia Act from 1998.

• Background:

  • The government now mandates all platforms with more than 8 million users to apply for an app license.

  • Malaysia’s law also requires platforms to remove “harmful content,” imposing daily accruing fines and imprisonment of up to 10 years for platform owners who fail to comply.

  • Moreover, the law empowers the government to regulate platforms without judicial oversight, for instance, by ordering companies to disclose user data upon request and searches and seizures, all without a judicial warrant.

  • So far, WeChat, ByteDance, TikTok, and Telegram have secured licenses, with Meta expected to follow suit soon. However, Google has protested YouTube’s inclusion among platforms needing a warrant, and X has claimed its Malaysian users fall under the 8 million person threshold.

  • As Senior Legal Fellow Joan Barata argued, “Subjecting social media platforms and messaging applications to a ‘traditional’ media licensing system as well as threats of general bans open the door to government control of speech and removal.”

» Update on Pakistan’s “Cybercrime” Law

• Pakistan’s president recently signed a controversial cybercrime bill — which we wrote about previously — into law, prompting criticism and protests from press groups.

• Background:

  • The bill amended Pakistan’s Prevention of Election Crimes Act (PECA) of 2016.

  • The Act amended PECA to criminalize the spread of “false and fake information” online and includes sentences of up to 3 years in prison for those who are found guilty.

  • The amendments also allow any “individual, including the victim, having substantial reason to believe that the offense has been committed” to bring a complaint against someone.

  • It also allows “a natural person or a body politic or corporate” to bring a complaint, meaning that the law can be used by organizations and government bodies to prosecute people under the law.

  • Finally, it allows forms four new government bodies to act as judge, jury, and executioner:

    • A Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority

    • A Social Media Complaint Council

    • A Social Media Protection Tribunal

    • A National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority

• Before it was signed, hundreds of Pakistani journalists led by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists held rallies in major cities demanding that the government withdraw the bill.

• Several challenges have been filed against the amendments, including to the country’s Supreme Court, seeking to overturn and declare them unconstitutional.

• For a full analysis of the law, read this piece by Usama Khilji, director of Bolo Bhi, an advocacy forum for digital rights.

The Brussels Effect: Europe and Beyond

Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay

» German Court Forces X to Share Election Data

• A German court mandated X hand over engagement data related to the German election to civil rights groups studying alleged election interference groups.

• Background:

  • A lawsuit brought forward by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and the Society for Civil Rights (GFF) accused X of withholding engagement metrics related to the German election, including likes, shares, and visibility data.

  • The German court sided with the plaintiffs, forcing X to hand over the data.

  • The decision comes as Elon Musk faces investigation for alleged election interference for hosting an X livestream with the head of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Protest Watch:

• Bangladesh Continues Crack Down On Protestors: Over 1,300 were arrested in a demonstration in favor of the former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

  • The previous PM was deposed after widespread protests against her rule, which culminated in the deaths of some 1400 people between July 1st and August 15th, 2024.

  • This week, UN human rights investigators denounced her government for “crimes against humanity.”

• Columbia Students Sue University: Three graduate students claim the university violated their civil rights by calling in the NYPD to arrest fellow demonstrators and organizing disciplinary hearings.

• Hong Kong Man Arrested for Sheltering Protestors: A man who helped four demonstrators hide from Hong Kong authorities during the 2019 pro-democracy protests was arrested last Thursday.

• German Police Break Up Pro-Palestine Protest: It was the protestors’ alleged use of Arabic chants that moved the police to arrest the demonstrators.

• Tesla Wins Defamation Suit in China: A woman — who began protesting the company after her father’s Tesla Model 3 brakes failed and caused a crash that put him in the hospital — was successfully sued by the company in China.

  • Her case follows that of 11 other individuals, bloggers, and media outlets who were successfully sued by Tesla for damages under China’s defamation laws, even as the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, claims he believes in “free speech absolutism.”

• Greenpeace Sues Oil Firm in EU: The Amsterdam-based environmental protection group filed an anti-intimidation case under the European Union’s new anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) directive following a North Dakota oil pipeline company’s lawsuit against them for organizing a protest in 2016.

Press Freedom Watch:

• Press Freedom Deteriorates in Belarus: The last months of 2024 saw an escalation of prosecutions, home and office searches, and censorship of journalists.

  • The regime used “ani-extremist” legislation to limit freedom of expression and access to independent sources of information.

  • As of September 1, 2024, Belarus blocked 14,000 web resources, with more than 5,000 of them labeled as “extremist information products.”

• Kurdish Journalist Arrested: Öznur Değer was arrested following critical social media posts regarding a Turkish drone strike that killed two fellow Kurdish journalists, Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan, in December.

• EU Rules Against Russian Censorship: The European Court of Human Rights found Russia violated its constitutional guarantee of free speech rights through fines, prosecution, and the shutting down of news outlets that wrote critically about its invasion of Ukraine.

Quick Hits:

• Google and Meta Executives Criticize EU’s AI Act Code of Practice: Google’s top public relations official called the code “a step in the wrong direction,” while a Meta lobbyist said its rules bring “unworkable and technically unfeasible requirements.”

  • (Stay up to date on AI policy in our newsletter .exe-pression).

• Vice President Vance Warns EU Leaders at Paris AI Summit about Excessive Regulation: ". . . the Trump Administration will ensure the AI systems developed in America are free from ideological bias and never restrict our citizens' right to free speech,” said Vance.

• White House Bars Associated Press Over “Gulf of America”: Two AP reporters were prevented from attending two White House events earlier this week after the news outlet did not update its style guide to refer to the former Gulf of Mexico as Gulf of America.

• U.S. Congress Debates TAKE IT DOWN Act: The bill requires digital platforms to take down flagged content within 48 hours, with the laudable aim to accelerate the taking down of non-consensual intimate images posted online.

  • Critics argue the short take down time will force platforms to use unreliable auto-flagging, and the lack of safeguards against bad-faith requests could end up censoring legitimate speech, such as political satire.

• Iowa Bill Criminalizes Exposing Minors to “Obscene Performance”: LGBTQ advocates fear the bill’s vague definition of “obscenity” could cover drag performances.

• Fireman Wins Suit against Nashville Metropolitan Council for Social Media Posts: The Nashville firefighter was demoted to the lowest rank in the fire department for comments made regarding Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter protests. The court found his First Amendment rights were violated and awarded close to 1.8 million in reparations.

• FCC Investigates San Francisco Radio Station: KCBS Radio shared the live locations of undercover ICE agents and is now subject to an FCC inquiry.

• UN Admits to Censoring Saudi Activist’s Remarks in Internet Governance Forum: The UN admitted to acting upon the requests of a “host nation” to edit Saudi activist Lina al Hathloul’s remarks.

• Oklahoma Eyes Bill Mandating Permission Controls For Teens To Use Social Media: The law would ban social media for those under 16 and require parental consent for those between 16 and 18.

• DeepSeek Censorship Worries Professors: The Chinese rival to ChatGPT is heavily censored, avoiding answers to questions about Tiananmen Square and repeating China’s ruling Communist Party’s rhetoric on Taiwan.

• Independent Media in Russia, Ukraine, Suffer with Loss of Aid: Trump’s freeze on USAID is impacting independent media abroad.

• Russia Defines Norwegian Media Outlet as “Undesirable Organization”: Russia’s move comes as part of a years-long crackdown on foreign media in the country.

• Indian Comedian Investigated for Joke: An Indian comedian who sparked controversy with a provocative joke on India’s Got Talent is facing an investigation by the Mumbai police for “promoting obscenity.”