August 3, 2026

Social Media Watch

UK Backs off Tweet Police Charges Against Famous Comedian

pgnewser October 22, 2025 0

Graham Linehan, a UK comedian now living in America most famous for creating shows like “The IT Crowd,” was arrested in London for tweeting “offensive” comments about transgenders. He was met at Heathrow Airport where he was detained for hours, producing a medical event for Linehan.

On October 20, Linehan broke the news, “The police have informed my lawyers that I face no further action in respect of the arrest at Heathrow in September. After a successful hearing to get my bail conditions lifted (one which the police officer in charge of the case didn’t even bother to attend) the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case. With the aid of the Free Speech Union, I still aim to hold the police accountable for what is only the latest attempt to silence and suppress gender critical voices on behalf of dangerous and disturbed men.”

Blurb:

The UK government has, for once, tacitly admitted to unjustifiable censorship as it dropped the case against a comedy writer who wrote social media posts critical of transgender ideology.

Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, who now lives in the United States, criticized transgenderism online before flying to London, where police arrested him at Heathrow Airport. But Linehan announced on X Monday, “the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case” against him. He vowed to pursue accountability for the police involved in his arrest, however.

Congressmen Demand Netflix Explain ‘Demonic’ Transgender Content in Children’s Shows– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser October 15, 2025 0

Blurb:

Tennessee Republican Congressman Tim Burchett is calling for Netflix executives to explain the massive amounts of “demonic” transgender content in its children’s programing.

Burchett and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R, KY) have presented the streamer with a letter calling executives to a committee hearing after learning of the cartoon series called, Dead End: Paranormal Park, which was aimed at children under 13, featured a transgender main character.

“We need to get them for the committee and ask them what their intentions are with this and if, in fact, they realize what the heck is going on,” Rep. Burchett told Fox News.

Newsom Forces Apple And Google To Track Kids’ Ages Under New California Law– dailycaller.com

pgnewser October 14, 2025 0

Blurb:

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a first-in-the-nation law that forces operating systems and app stores to pass along users’ age brackets to apps — a win for Big Tech over Hollywood in a year-long fight over how to police kids online.

The Digital Age Assurance Act, carried by Democratic Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, pushes age-gating up the stack to Apple, Google and other OS makers starting Jan. 1, 2027, with civil penalties up to $7,500 per child for willful violations. It avoids photo-ID uploads and instead has parents enter a birth date at device setup; apps must request the resulting age signal via API.

Social media - Wikipedia

Social Media Sued by NYC for Driving Children Mad

pgnewser October 9, 2025 2

New York City has filed a 327-page lawsuit in federal court against all the major social media companies, alleging they have driven children into a mental health crisis. They join a growing list of civic authorities nationwide bringing similar suits. So far, about 2,050 similar lawsuits are working their way through the court system.

The city declared in its lawsuit, “Defendants should be held to account for the harms their conduct has inflicted. As it stands now, [the] plaintiffs are left to abate the nuisance and foot the bill.”

NYC sues social media giants for allegedly addicting children

from www.aljazeera.com

Blurb:

New York City has filed a lawsuit accusing Facebook, Google, Snapchat, TikTok and other online platforms of fuelling a mental health crisis among children by addicting them to social media.

The 327-page complaint filed on Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan seeks damages from Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms, Google and YouTube owner Alphabet, Snapchat owner Snap and TikTok owner ByteDance. It accused the defendants of gross negligence and causing a public nuisance.

The city joined other governments, school districts and individuals pursuing about 2,050 similar lawsuits in nationwide litigation in the Oakland, California, federal court.

New York City is among the largest plaintiffs with a population of 8.48 million, including about 1.8 million under age 18. Its school and healthcare systems are also plaintiffs.

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said allegations concerning YouTube are “simply not true”, in part because it is a streaming service and not a social network where people catch up with friends.

The People's Lawyers': Attorneys General Letitia James and Dana ...

NY Hopes to become a Social Media Cop, and Letitia James is the Wanna-be Chief

pgnewser October 7, 2025 0

The People's Lawyers': Attorneys General Letitia James and Dana ...

NY’s unconstitutional “Stop Hiding Hate” act takes effect January 1, 2026, and Letitia James is expecting social media companies to submit their hate speech standards biannually. The key element of the unconstitutional law lies in the requirement by social media companies to effectively show how they’re fighting “hate” on their platform, a term that is highly subjective. A Democrat’s Hate is a Republican’s righteous truth, and vice versa.

Letitia James has informed social media companies of her intention to enforce this Soviet-styled law, setting up a legal showdown for January 1, 2026. The social media companies face potential fines for every violation of the Orwellian law.

A regulatory analysis website, regulatoryoversight.com, summed up the regulations in the law: “Social media companies are required to submit reports twice a year to the New York AG’s office. These reports must include statements on their terms of service, including whether the policy defines terms such as hate speech, racism, extremism, and radicalization, among others. The company must also describe its policy and how it enforces it, such as how the company uses automated process and addresses user reports to address conduct that violates the policy.”

New York’s “Stop Hiding Hate” Act: What It Means for Social Media Companies – regulatoryoversight.com
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Excerpt:

On October 2, New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James announced that, in accordance with the “Stop Hiding Hate” Act, social media companies are now required to report their content moderation policies to her office, with first reports due no later than January 1, 2026. This legislation, sponsored by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Grace Lee and signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul, mandates that platforms operating in New York with more than $100 million in gross annual revenue must post their content moderation policies publicly, provide consumers with a contact to report violations of the policy, and submit biannual reports to James’ office concerning compliance.

Netflix value continues to plummet as subscribers reject its trans grooming of kids– www.lifesitenews.com

pgnewser October 6, 2025 0

Netflix value continues to plummet as subscribers reject its trans grooming of kids– www.lifesitenews.com
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Excerpt:


(LifeSiteNews) — Netflix has ended this week having lost an estimated $25 billion in stock value.

On October 1, Elon Musk encouraged his 227 million X followers to cancel their subscriptions following troubling accounts of the giant streaming platform pushing radical transgender messaging on young children and teens.

In one of many posts calling for the boycott of Netflix, Musk wrote “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids.”  The post has been viewed over 90 million times and has received 1 million “Likes.”

<b>Macron rejects Trump's plan for Greenland, proposal for Putin to mediate Israel-Iran crisis</b>- <i> www.cbc.ca</i>

Trump’s YouTube-Insurrection Settlement Will Fund Golden White House Ballroom– www.vanityfair.com

pgnewser October 3, 2025 0

<b>Macron rejects Trump's plan for Greenland, proposal for Putin to mediate Israel-Iran crisis</b>- <i> www.cbc.ca</i>

Trump’s YouTube-Insurrection Settlement Will Fund Golden White House Ballroom– www.vanityfair.com
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Excerpt:

Over the summer, the Trump administration announced that it would construct a 90,000-square-foot ballroom at the White House, which press secretary Karoline Leavitt described to reporters as a “much-needed and exquisite addition.” Not surprisingly, a rendering looks very Versailles-esque and includes an unrestrained use of the color gold; though the room was initially expected to have a seating capacity for 650 people, Trump later said it would hold 900.) In a statement that she may or may not have been contractually obligated to release, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told the public: “President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail.” Following the announcement, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer wondered aloud. “Where’d this money come from? Did Congress appropriate it? I don’t think so. It’s almost like DOGE was never about waste.” In September, CBS reported that a collection of individual and corporate donors—including Google, Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, and Palantir—had pledged to donate nearly $200 million for construction costs.

American TikTok deal doesn’t address the platform’s potential for manipulation, only who profits– phys.org

pgnewser October 3, 2025 0

American TikTok deal doesn’t address the platform’s potential for manipulation, only who profits– phys.org
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Excerpt:

On Sept. 25, the Donald Trump administration in the United States again extended the TikTok ban-or-divest law, possibly for the last time. The latest extension to the law, which was passed in 2024 by the Joe Biden administration, includes a deal to transfer TikTok to American owners as a condition required to avoid a ban.

This raises the question on the validity of the warnings about the app as a tool of Chinese influence and whether American ownership will help.

Canada should be watching closely, because anxieties about foreign manipulation and social media exist north of the border, too. These range from bans on TikTok and concerns about Beijing-linked surveillance to efforts like Bill C-18 aimed at safeguarding domestic news sources.

What happens in the Canadian information environment has always been shaped by the U.S., a dependence that is even more precarious now that American politics has turned hostile to Canada.

TikTok: The Complete History and Strategy

Netanyahu Hopes TikTok Deal will help Israel combat Hamas agitprop

pgnewser October 1, 2025 0

TikTok: The Complete History and Strategy

Netanyahu hails TikTok takeover as Israel’s new ‘weapon’ in information war– www.lifesitenews.com
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Excerpt:

NEW YORK (LifeSiteNews) — Benjamin Netanyahu described the expected purchase of the social media platform TikTok by allies of Israel as the acquisition of a “weapon” that is “most important” to “fight the fight.” And he believes this development “could be extremely consequential.”

The Israeli prime minister was speaking to a group of “pro-Israel influencers” in a meeting after his address at the United Nations General Assembly last Friday were an overwhelming majority of national delegations walked out in apparent protest to what is widely considered a genocidal war he and his nation are inflicting against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

A media release from Netanyahu’s office reported the prime minister spoke with this group of “pro-Israel American influencers” about “challenges in the new era, as well as the public diplomacy efforts and the influence of the social networks on the discourse for and against Israel.”

Asked about how to combat dangers to the Zionist cause due to a potential loss of Evangelical support in the United States, which is also impacted by popular Israel-critics Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, Netanyahu directed his listeners to considering social media as “tools for battle” and then emphasized the expected purchase of TikTok to be “most important” in serving Israel’s interests in this regard.

“What we have to do is we have to secure that part of the base of our support in the United States, that is being challenged systematically… How do we fight back? Our influencers, I think you should also talk to them if you have a chance,” the prime minister said. “And secondly, we’re going to have to use the tools of battle. The weapons change over time… we have to fight with the weapons that apply to the battlefields within which we’re engaged. And the most important ones are on social media.”

Venezuelan president’s YouTube account offline as tensions with US escalate– abcnews.go.com

pgnewser September 22, 2025 0

Venezuelan president’s YouTube account offline as tensions with US escalate– abcnews.go.com
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Excerpt:

BOGOTA, Colombia — The YouTube account of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was offline Saturday, with Venezuelan state-run channel Telesur claiming in a message on X that it was “eliminated” late the previous night without justification.

YouTube’s parent company Google did not immediately respond to questions on the apparent termination of the Venezuelan president’s account. It comes amid rising tensions between Venezuela and the United States over the deployment of American warships and fighter jets in the southern Caribbean.

Maduro’s YouTube account had more than 200,000 followers before it became unavailable Friday and was used to publish the Venezuelan president’s speeches, as well as clips from his weekly show on Venezuelan state TV.

On its website, YouTube says it eliminates accounts that commit “repeated violations of community guidelines” that include publishing misinformation, hate speech and content that “interferes with democratic processes.”

Maduro has been widely accused of stealing last year’s presidential election in Venezuela, which he lost by a landslide according to tally sheets gathered by hundreds of Venezuelan opposition activists. Venezuela’s elections agency, which is controlled by the ruling socialist party, never published tally sheets to support its claim that Maduro won the vote.

TikTok’s Algorithm Will Soon Be “Controlled By America” – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser September 22, 2025 0

TikTok’s Algorithm Will Soon Be “Controlled By America” – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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Excerpt:

After years of bipartisan warnings about TikTok’s potential national security risks, users may soon confront a different kind of threat, perhaps even worse: an algorithm “controlled by America.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the detail on Saturday, a key aspect of the emerging agreement announced by the Trump administration last week between the United States and China. The deal could finally settle TikTok’s fate in the US following months of uncertainty with a brief ban, reversal by the Trump administration, and shifting, self-imposed deadlines for an agreement.

“There will be seven seats on the board that controls the app in the US, and six of those seats will be Americans,” Leavitt told Fox News. “The data and privacy will be led by one of America’s greatest tech companies, Oracle, and the algorithm will also be controlled by America.”

It’s unclear what exactly a US-controlled algorithm will involve. Right-wing conspiracy theories? Charlie Kirk memorials? Coupons for MAGA swag? Nor did Leavitt specify which American individuals would be involved in determining an algorithm. We also have little details on how Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, a Trump loyalist, intends to approach the responsibility for managing TikTok’s data and security while the Trump administration weaponizes everything from voting data to confidential Social Security records.

Colorado - Government, Society, Politics | Britannica

Colorado Government Forcing Social Media Warning Messages to Minors

pgnewser September 18, 2025 0

Colorado - Government, Society, Politics | Britannica

Sending Government-Mandated Messages to Minors on Social Media Platforms: Colorado’s Unconstitutional Experiment | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org
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Excerpt:

“Attention youth: We interrupt your social media experience to bring you this government-compelled, state-sanctioned message to help you ‘understand the impact of social media on the developing brain and the mental and physical health of youth users.’ This message will be repeated.’”

That sounds like a far-fetched way to educate minors about alleged and vehemently contested problems with using social media, but something similar might soon become reality in Colorado unless a judge issues an injunction in NetChoice v. Weiser. Compelling private entities to host disputed messages they disagree with––NetChoice calls Colorado’s statements “state-compelled opinions”––raises profound First Amendment problems, but that’s what the statute in Weiser seemingly does.

Via Adobe Stock.

The US Supreme Court has “held time and again that freedom of speech ‘includes both the right to speak freely and the right to refrain from speaking at all.’” It recently added that the government generally “may not compel a person to speak its own preferred messages.” Given this principle against government-compelled expression, the better––and constitutional––method for addressing Colorado’s frets about minors’ social media usage is for the state to run its own educational and advertising campaigns––ones that don’t co-opt platforms to do the hard work for it.

TikTok restoring US service as Trump promises executive order to ...

Oracle, Among Others, Prepares to take over TikTok

pgnewser September 18, 2025 0

TikTok restoring US service as Trump promises executive order to ...

TikTok to be controlled by US-led group including Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz: report – New York Post
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Excerpt:

President Trump’s potential deal to avoid a TikTok ban is taking shape – with several prominent US tech and investor firms set to take majority control of the China-owned app.

Under the proposed terms, a group including billionaire Larry Ellison’s Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz would form a new entity overseeing TikTok’s US operations, The Wall Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The US group will reportedly own a combined stake of approximately 80%, with Chinese investors holding the rest. Under the TikTok divestment law passed by Congress last year, Chinese ownership can’t exceed 20%.

YouTube’s paid creators $100 billion in four years– mashable.com

pgnewser September 17, 2025 0

YouTube’s paid creators $100 billion in four years– mashable.com
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Excerpt:

There’s a reason creators often try to migrate their audience to YouTube: It pays.

The Google-owned streaming giant said it has paid out more than $100 billion in the last four years to creators, artists, and media companies. YouTube announced the figure at the Made on YouTube event on Tuesday.

“We didn’t just create a platform. We built an economy,” said YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.

As Mashable reported earlier this year, creator jobs have grown 7.5 times in recent years. In surveys, young people also consistently identify being a creator as a popular career goal. And YouTube has played an outsized role in building the modern creator economy.

It pays to be a popular creator and/or influencer on any platform, but YouTube’s widely regarded as the most lucrative social media site when it comes to direct view-to-payment value. And creators are making more money off of folks watching YouTube on traditional TV sets, rather than mobile devices. The company reported that the number of YouTube channels making more than $100,000 from TV screens rose 45 percent year over year.

Clearly, YouTube isn’t just for streamers anymore. Heck, the platform is broadcasting NFL games — arguably the single biggest product in American culture — with great success. But if you want to make it big as a creator, YouTube remains the place where you can carve out a highly lucrative living.

TikTok ‘framework’ deal overshadows U.S.-China trade talks– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser September 16, 2025 0

TikTok ‘framework’ deal overshadows U.S.-China trade talks– www.cnbc.com
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Excerpt:

U.S. and Chinese trade negotiations concluded in Spain Monday, after two days of talks on several sticking points ranging from tariff rates, export controls and the imminent deadline for a divestment of Chinese-owned TikTok.

Talks on trade were overshadowed by a “framework” deal regarding the social media platform, announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Monday.

“It’s between two private parties, but the commercial terms have been agreed upon,” he said from U.S.-China talks in Madrid. Both President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will speak on Friday to discuss the terms.

The news comes ahead of a Wednesday deadline to either divest TikTok’s U.S. business or shut down the social media app in the country.

Bessent led negotiations alongside Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the U.S. side, with the Chinese represented by Vice Premier He Lifeng and top trade negotiator Li Chenggang.

TikTok restoring US service as Trump promises executive order to ...

Trump Teases China-TikTok Deal

pgnewser September 15, 2025 0

TikTok restoring US service as Trump promises executive order to ...

Trump signals deal on trade and TikTok made with China– www.washingtonexaminer.com
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Excerpt:

President Donald Trump teased on Monday that a deal has been made with China regarding trade and the future of TikTok.

“The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save,” he said, referring to TikTok. “They will be very happy!”

TikTok was set to be inaccessible to American users in January, but Trump delayed the start date of the ban’s enactment to find an American buyer for the social media platform. China’s ByteDance owns the app, which poses national security concerns for the United States.

After months of negotiations and setbacks, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. and China are “very close” to finalizing a deal on TikTok.

“We made very good progress on the technical details of the agreement. In terms of the overall agreement itself, our Chinese counterparts have come with a very aggressive ask,” he told reporters in Madrid, Spain, on the second day of talks. “We will see if we can get there. At present, we are not willing to sacrifice our national security for a social media app.”

TikTok removes video honoring Charlie Kirk: violates ‘community guidelines’– www.thecollegefix.com

pgnewser September 15, 2025 0

TikTok removes video honoring Charlie Kirk: violates ‘community guidelines’– www.thecollegefix.com
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Excerpt:

A video by The College Fix honoring TPUSA leader Charlie Kirk in the wake of his assassination has been removed by TikTok, which states the video violates “community guidelines.”

The five-minute video, posted to all The College Fix’s media platforms on Saturday, features Assistant Editor Gabrielle Temaat expressing heartbreak over Kirk’s assassination. It then showcases three clips of Kirk debating students on various hot-button topic, and ends by quoting reactions to his murder.

The video was accepted on X, YouTube and Facebook with no problems….

Emergency Application Filed To Supreme Court Over Red State’s Age Verification Digital ID Law– wltreport.com

pgnewser July 30, 2025 0

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Excerpt:

An internet trade group that represents social media giants, including Meta, TikTok, and X, filed an emergency application to the U.S. Supreme Court to block a Mississippi law that requires age verification for social media users.

NetChoice urged the high court to reinstate a preliminary injunction against Mississippi’s I.D.-for-Speech law, HB 1126.

“This law violates First Amendment rights while manufacturing a cybersecurity nightmare for families that want to use social media. It will force every Mississippian—adults and minors alike—to surrender their personal information to access fully protected online speech and expose families to unprecedented risks,” NetChoice said in a release.

“Indeed, Americans are increasingly using social media to find basic information and news, but this law would burden that access and violate our rights,” it continued.

“Free speech is under attack, and NetChoice is fighting back. Social media is the modern printing press—it allows all Americans to share their thoughts and perspectives. And, until now, Mississippians could do the same free from government interference. But Mississippi’s censorship regime would upend the status quo by forcing people to provide their sensitive, personal information just to access fully protected speech online. That is a massive First Amendment violation,” said Paul Taske, Co-Director of the NetChoice Litigation Center.