Free Speech

On Monday, YouTube announced a $25 million investment in the “future of news.” According to its official blog, one of the three members of YouTube’s original working group is Vox Media, which runs liberal news site Vox.com.  

A teenage Iranian gymnast was arrested by the Iranian government for dancing in videos that were posted on Instagram.  

Last week, the California Supreme Court ruled that the review website Yelp cannot be forced to take down negative reviews. The Associated Press reported, in a 4-3 decision, the court claimed that coercing Yelp into taking down reviews “could interfere with and undermine the viability of an online platform.”  

Following a Washington Post report about Twitter purging allegedly fake and suspicious accounts, President Donald Trump recommended the site also suspend the accounts of the “Failing New York Times” and the “propaganda machine for Amazon, the Washington Post.”

Actor Seth Rogen took to Twitter to assert that he has been in communication with CEO Jack Dorsey about the site allegedly verifying the accounts of white supremacists. Rogen claims that after eight months of discussion with Dorsey, he has come to the “conclusion” that Dorsey “simply does not seem to give a f**k.”

If you’re looking for yet another reason to be grateful to live in the United States of America this Fourth of July, look no further than Uganda, which just introduced a tax on social media.  

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, who reportedly made $500 million from to his 2 percent stake in the company, has been recently campaigning on a platform of guaranteed basic income at the expense of the 1 percent.  

A new study released by the Pew Research Center shows that a majority of Americans believe it is likely that social media sites censor political views. A majority of both Democrats and Republicans believe social media sites censor political viewpoints.  

Twitter has received extensive criticism for promoting a left-wing agenda. Its CEO Jack Dorsey just added to the problem. Dorsey shared a post expressing admiration for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old Democratic Socialist who won her primary challenge against incumbent Democrat Rep. Joe Crowley for the 14th congressional district in New York.  

The Wire creator David Simon is back to his old haunts and old ways. And by old ways, we mean tweeting his classic insult “Die of Boils!” at Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.  

Apple CEO Tim Cook offered his endorsement to Apple employees who were marching in the San Francisco Pride Parade on Sunday.

The main Twitter and Facebook accounts representing terrorist group Hezbollah were reportedly shut down over the weekend.  

Facebook cracked down this week on Splinter News for sharing a link to its article revealing Stephen Miller’s personal cell phone number. According to Facebook’s Community Standards, posting links that contain an individual’s personal information, such as a person’s private cell phone number, can violate the site’s policy to prevent identity theft.  

Five congressmen have signed a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai to express their “concerns” over the tech giant’s partnership with the Chinese firm Huawei Technologies. Huawei runs Google’s operating system, Android, on its phones. The lawmakers penned their letter soon after Google ended its partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense.