This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact Luke Wachob at [email protected].  

Appen Media: ‘Mama Bears’ sue Forsyth County Schools for censorship

By Chamian Cruz

.....A group of moms is suing the Forsyth County Board of Education on grounds that their First Amendment rights have been violated.

Mercury News: League of Women Voters sues Cupertino over lobbyist ordinance

.....Over concerns that nonprofit employees and everyday citizens may be subject to Cupertino’s lobbyist ordinance, the League of Women Voters this week filed a lawsuit against the city arguing the law is unconstitutional, “hopelessly overbroad” and anti-nonprofit.

Glenn Greenwald: Court Rejects Google's Attempt to Dismiss Rumble's Antitrust Lawsuit, Ensuring Vast Discovery

.....A federal district court in California on Friday denied Google's motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the Silicon Valley giant is violating federal antitrust laws by preventing fair competition against its YouTube video platform...

OpenSecrets: Campaign finance watchdog alleges WinRed processed billions in political contributions without disclosing operating expenses

By Taylor Giorno

.....Online Republican fundraising platform WinRed may have failed to fully disclose operating expenses, the nonpartisan watchdog Campaign Legal Center alleges in a new complaint filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission. 

Washington Post: The GOP went to war against Google over spam — and may win

By Isaac Stanley-Becker and Josh Dawsey 

.....The occasion was lunch. The setting was an ornate room off the Senate chamber.

Just the News: CDC told Big Tech to censor COVID claims now debated by mainstream scientists, documents show

.....The newly revealed scope of collaboration between the feds and Big Tech in stamping out purported COVID-19 misinformation and promoting government narratives has opened a new chapter in constitutional challenges to state-influenced censorship by private actors.

On Wednesday night, America First Legal (AFL) published the first 286-page batch of emails among CDC, Google, Twitter and Meta staffers, some of whom were former Hill and White House aides. The production was compelled through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, and typical of government document dumps, it's not text-searchable.

The Hill: Twitter reports record high government demands for account info

.....Twitter reported on Thursday that it received record numbers of government legal demands targeting journalists from July to December of last year.

The tech giant reported an increase of 103 percent increase in overall legal demands related to verified journalists and news outlets, such as requests to remove content or court orders.

Forbes: Sen. Cortez Masto Opposes Dark Money In Politics, Even Though One Of Her Biggest Supporters Is A Dark Money Group

.....Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto believes dark money is “a threat to our political system.” To combat it, she has backed several campaign finance reform proposals, including a constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to regulate campaign money more strictly...

RealClear Opinion Research: Billionaires: Have Americans' Views Changed?

.....Although most Americans have no problem with the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk financing such pursuits as engaging their own personal space race, by more than a 3-1 margin U.S. voters think billionaires should have their wings clipped when it comes to exerting outsized influence over U.S. political campaigns.

Miami Herald: Florida congresswoman asks feds to investigate FPL over ‘dark money’ reports

.....A longtime Tampa Democratic congresswoman has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest electric utility, over its use of dark money and reports that it sought to manipulate elections and coverage in its favor. “Generally, electric utilities should operate in the public interest and it appears that FPL and its officers use dark money, pressure campaigns and illicit, and possibly illegal, activity to disadvantage the citizens of Florida,” U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor wrote in a letter Thursday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. In recent months, FPL has been the subject of news headlines after leaked documents, reported by the Orlando Sentinel, Florida Times Union and Miami Herald, showed how political consultants tied to the company have used a network of nonprofit groups to secretly back candidate in numerous Florida races and hire private investigators to tail reporters.

Washington Post: Ron DeSantis is taking on woke corporations. Good.

.....Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is seeking to bar financial intermediaries, such as banks, from discriminating against customers on the basis of their political, religious or social views. That’s a great idea — and an excellent reason for why he’s surging among Republicans nationwide.

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