If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. In a landmark decision‚ the US Supreme Court has established a significant precedent for free speech in the digital realm. On Friday‚ the court unanimously ruled that‚ under certain conditions‚ government officials may face lawsuits for violating the First Amendment if they block critics on social media. This decision introduces a critical test for assessing whether officials are acting within their governmental capacity when they silence online dissent. The rulings from the Supreme Court‚ which emerged from two cases in California and Michigan‚ bring clarity to the issue of public officials’ actions on social media. The justices emphasized that the First Amendment’s free speech protections typically apply to government actors‚ rather than private individuals. We obtained a copy of the opinion for you here. According to the new criteria‚ an official is deemed to be engaged in governmental action if they possess “actual authority to speak on behalf of the state on a particular matter” and are seen “purporting to exercise that authority in the relevant posts.” The Court’s intervention became necessary following the dismissal of lower court rulings in these two cases. Plaintiffs in both instances claimed First Amendment violations after they were barred from engaging with local officials’ social media accounts due to their critical comments. The justices instructed the lower courts to reevaluate these cases using the newly established standard. This issue of blocking users on social media‚ often a tactic to suppress dissent‚ was previously considered by the Supreme Court in 2021. The case involved former President Donald Trump’s attempt to block critics on a platform then known as Twitter. However‚ the Court did not resolve the issue at the time‚ deeming it moot after Trump’s presidency ended. At the core of both cases were claims of First Amendment rights infringement. In California‚ two Poway public school board trustees‚ Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and T.J. Zane‚ faced a lawsuit from parents they had blocked on social media platforms‚ including Facebook‚ for posting hundreds of critical comments on various issues. A federal judge and the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals both found that the trustees violated the parents’ First Amendment rights. Similarly‚ in Michigan‚ City Manager James Freed blocked resident Kevin Lindke from his public Facebook page after Lindke posted critical remarks about the city’s COVID-19 response. While a federal judge and the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals initially sided with Freed‚ the Supreme Court’s decision now casts these rulings in a new light. The post Supreme Court Unanimously Rules Public Can Sue Officials Who Block Them on Social Media in Some Circumstances appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The list of supporters and promoters of the implementation of digital IDs‚ strongly criticized by privacy and security advocates‚ quite unsurprisingly includes the likes of the World Bank and Verizon. What is interesting is the way they are explaining the push‚ and also how they propose to make mass‚ worldwide adoption of digital IDs a reality. There’s also a corporate-speak cliche-in-the-making for all this: “digital transformation journey.” The pairing that is the World Bank and Verizon makes sense because in order to have people’s identities and financial assets centralized in the way proposed by various digital ID schemes‚ they need to first have access to the internet. A recent meeting in Washington DC‚ dubbed the Global Digital Summit‚ saw the two respective financial and telecommunications heavy-hitters “agree” that governments must make digital IDs a component of what’s known as the social contract with citizens. What this would mean is that citizens willingly defer to the authorities as they accept digital IDs‚ and do this supposedly to their own advantage. World Bank Group President Ajay Banga seemed particularly keen on expanding digital ID adoption “top-down‚” by getting as many governments as possible on side‚ who would then‚ thanks to the “social contract” idea‚ impose it on citizens – rather than wait for citizens to‚ if ever‚ warm up to the scheme. “I think that if governments embrace digital‚ they would create transparency‚ clean governance‚ and citizen engagement‚” Banga said. He also noted that the World Bank is spending money in Africa in a bid to “give” access to electricity to hundreds of millions of people who don’t yet have it – as the precondition for getting them “connected.” Banga also complained that there are many people around the world who do have access to the internet – but this potential is underused. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg‚ naturally‚ agreed that the world needs more connectivity – for the sake of “digital transformation‚” and both said they believe improving this situation would speed up “socio-economic” development. It looks like when selling the digital ID idea (and possibly‚ experimenting with implementations)‚ undeveloped and developing countries are an important target‚ while promises of economic progress are a way of persuading them to join in. The post World Bank and Verizon Chiefs Say Digital ID Part of “Social Contract” Between Government and Citizens appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Big Tech alliance Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFTC) research “partner” Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET) has published an article revisiting the pandemic‚ always‚ of course‚ in the context of “misinformation.” GIFTC’s founding members are Microsoft‚ Facebook‚ X (Twitter)‚ and YouTube (Google)‚ while “general members” include these four and pretty much every tech company you’ve ever heard of‚ from Amazon and Airbnb to BitChute and Giphy. GIFTC has previously come under criticism for censorship practices without oversight‚ whereas GIFTC now goes after “Covid misinformation” – including by conflating it with extremism‚ and is urging “interventions to address the spread of problematic content.” The piece claims that its goal is to understand the mechanisms that allow for “problematic information” to disseminate across platforms and then spread between the world’s regions‚ all for the sake of being able to stop that “diffusion.” It looks into things like the geographical location of different participants in the “diffusion‚” their cultural and linguistic similarities‚ as well as thematic similarity of content (such as religious and political themes). The study also clearly positions itself ideologically when it‚ in passing‚ refers to former US and Brazilian presidents Trump and Bolsonaro as having “extremist predispositions.” With that in mind‚ the choice of topics – the pandemic‚ misinformation‚ as well as “methodology and findings” become easier to understand. Regarding the first‚ the authors chose to look into Facebook groups and organizations and individuals like Doctors for Truth and microbiologist Didier Raoult‚ collectively accused of sharing “false and misleading content” about coronavirus‚ vaccines‚ masks‚ hydroxychloroquine‚ etc.‚ in one form or other. And‚ the goal is to find out what helped this information travel from “Global North” to “Global South.” Soon enough‚ what’s supposed to be countered thanks to the findings from this “research” is referred to as extremism in online networks‚ suggesting that Covid “misinformation” qualifies. Because the “findings” show that interplay tied to language‚ culture‚ and themes covered by content shared by various groups is not easy to untangle and go after‚ the recommendation is to come up with “targeted network-informed interventions” that would prevent information flowing from one part of the world to another. “By identifying key factors influencing tie formation‚ policymakers‚ and platform moderators can implement targeted interventions to mitigate the spread of extremist content‚” those behind the article said. The post Big Tech Alliance Targets Covid-19 “Misinformation‚” Links it to “Extremism‚” Calls for Content Censorship appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

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Republican Rep. Nancy Mace joined Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna on Friday’s edition of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher where she tussled with the pair over her take on her Sunday interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. Mace accused Stephanopoulos of “rape shaming” her for supporting Donald Trump‚ which she had no patience for considering he is “a guy who covered for the Clintons.” Mace‚ who was raped when she was 16‚ gave her take on the interview where she was asked about Trump‚ her support of him‚ and E. Jean Carroll: So‚ it takes a lot of courage‚ but then to feel like he was weaponizing my own rape for a political hit job and it was wrong and my daughter was there‚ it was awful‚ I felt bullied‚ the least they could have done was ‘hey‚ we’re going to talk about this‚ but we’re going to lead with it’ and it was my ten minute interview about my own rape‚ it was completely‚ I think‚ wholly inappropriate. I will answer the tough questions‚ I have talked about it‚ but that video‚ that speech I give-- gave triggers me. I know I gave it publicly‚ but it’s hard.     Maher thought the question was not as unexpected‚ “I mean‚ there was a reason. It didn't come out of left field‚ there's a reason why he asked the question—” Mace interjected to add‚ “It was a political hit job‚” as Maher continued‚ “it was related to something with Donald Trump and Donald Trump—I mean‚ you went to The Citadel‚ right?” After confirming that she did‚ Mace added‚ “I will say George Stephanopoulos wouldn't last 30 seconds at The Citadel‚ that place made me tough‚ I will answer all the questions—” Earlier in the segment‚ Khanna expressed admiration that Mace has been willing to tell her story‚ but still believed Stephanopoulos’s question was fair‚ and he would repeat himself “I think in a time‚ I know we share a view of the First Amendment‚ I mean‚ journalists are supposed to ask basic questions and not just of Nancy but of any Republican -- I think here's a fair question‚ should you support someone as a president who has a civil conviction of sexual assault‚ and who didn't concede the January 6 election? Every Republican should be asked that.” Mace felt blindsided by Stephanopoulos’s question‚ but beyond that‚ she also claimed that he was the worst possible person to ask it‚ “But asked by a guy‚ asked by George Stephanopoulos‚ who covered for Bill—” That response was drowned out by Khanna’s continuing defense‚ “We have got to get in this country not only that we can talk to each other‚ but we aren't censoring people asking tough questions. You know‚ being a member of Congress is‚ like‚ one of the most privileged things in human history. You’re .0001 percent privileged‚ so you go and get asked the tough question‚ that's the job of journalists. That’s what we—anyway.” Khanna’s ramblings complete‚ Mace was able to more clearly repeat her earlier point‚ “It was more than that‚ and you know it was‚ it was a political hit job‚ it was bullying and it was rape shaming was what it was. Asked by George Stephanopoulos‚ a guy who covered for the Clintons for years and called women ‘bimbos.’ Like‚ no‚ thank you. No‚ thank you.” Mace’s appearance on Real Time showed she was willing to answer questions about Trump and Carroll‚ but it also shows why ABC hiring a former Clinton operative to be their main newsman is fraught with all sorts of problems. Here is a transcript for the March 15 show: HBO Real Time with Bill Maher 3/15/2024 10:36 PM ET NANCY MACE: So‚ it takes a lot of courage‚ but then to feel like he was weaponizing my own rape for a political hit job and it was wrong and my daughter was there‚ it was awful‚ I felt bullied‚ the least they could have done was “hey‚ we’re going to talk about this‚ but we’re going to lead with it” and it was my ten minute interview about my own rape‚ it was completely‚ I think‚ wholly inappropriate. I will answer the tough questions‚ I have talked about it but that video‚ that speech I give-- gave triggers me. I know I gave it publicly‚ but it’s hard. BILL MAHER: I mean‚ there was a reason. It didn't come out of left field‚ there's a reason why he asked the question— MACE: It was a political hit job. MAHER: -- it was related to something with Donald Trump and Donald Trump—I mean‚ you went to The Citadel‚ right?  MACE: Yeah‚ and I will say George Stephanopoulos wouldn't last 30 seconds at The Citadel‚ that place made me tough‚ I will answer all the questions— MAHER: I’ll bet. Oh‚ I’ll RO KHANNA: I think in a time‚ I know we share a view of the First Amendment‚ I mean‚ journalists are supposed to ask basic questions and not just of Nancy but of any Republican -- I think here's a fair question‚ should you support someone as a president who has a civil conviction of sexual assault‚ and who didn't concede the January 6 election? Every Republican should be asked that. MACE: But asked by a guy‚ asked by George Stephanopoulos‚ who covered for Bill— KHANNA: And I think whether its-- you know‚ I go on Fox‚ Nancy goes on MSNBC— MACE: On Bill Maher. KHANNA: -- Bill Maher.  MAHER Yeah. No‚ true. KHANNA: We have got to get in this country not only that we can talk to each other‚ but we aren't censoring people asking tough questions. You know‚ being a member of Congress is‚ like‚ one of the most privileged things in human history.  MACE: It is. It is KHANNA: You’re .0001 percent privileged‚ so you go and get asked the tough question‚ that's the job of journalists. That’s what we—anyway. MACE: It was more than that and you know it was‚ it was a political hit job‚ it was bullying and it was rape shaming was what it was. MAHER: Okay. MACE: Asked by George Stephanopoulos‚ a guy who covered for the Clintons for years and called women “bimbos.” Like‚ no‚ thank you. No‚ thank you.

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I’ve loved the Mass Effect series since I first bought my copy of the original game on Xbox 360 back in 2007. The series has done a great job of introducing us to intriguing alien races such as the alluring Asari and the telepathic Hanar. Among these‚ the Batarians stand out as a tragically misunderstood race that‚ despite their negative depiction in the first four games‚ deserves more love and redemption in the upcoming Mass Effect 5.