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

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.....It struck us the FEC’s “Draft Final Rule and Explanation and Justification for Internet Communications Disclaimers” on the agenda today doesn’t explain or justify the 25% threshold for using an adaptive disclaimer, which was in the previous draft’s Alternative A. But alternative B’s proposal suggested a 10% threshold.

SCOTUSblog: Justices worry that broad reading of federal bribery law could sweep in lobbyists

.....The Supreme Court appears poised to reverse the conviction of a powerful New York political aide who took money in exchange for helping to facilitate a real estate development. Joseph Percoco was sentenced to six years in prison for violating a federal fraud law that makes it a crime to deprive members of the public of the intangible right to “honest services.” But justices of all ideological stripes were concerned on Monday that upholding the conviction of Percoco, who served as the manager of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s re-election campaign when he took the actions that led to his conviction, could have far-reaching effects for other private citizens – most notably, lobbyists.

Washington Post: Here's a first: Journalists and a U.S. citizen are suing NSO Group

.....A lawsuit filed against spyware industry leader NSO Group on Wednesday represents the first of its kind from a U.S. citizen and the first by journalists in U.S. courts.

It’s the latest salvo in a multi-front battle against foreign commercial spyware...

Wednesday’s lawsuit accuses NSO Group of violating the main federal anti-hacking law, as well as a computer access and fraud law in California, the location of the federal court where the plaintiffs filed their complaint. The plaintiffs are reporters and others who work for El Faro, a Salvadoran news organization, who allege they were targets of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.

The plaintiffs want a judge to declare that NSO Group has violated U.S. law. They also want a judge to order the company to disclose the client who spied on them, Carrie DeCell, senior staff attorney with the Knight First Amendment Institute, told me.

Daily Signal: Exclusive: Documents Reveal Senate Democrat Pressured IRS, DOJ to Target Conservative Groups

.....Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., called for revoking a tax exemption for a conservative group for not masking up and socially distancing during the pandemic, insisted on a slew of investigations of other conservative groups, and pressed for the Internal Revenue Service to expand its reach. 

A total of 176 pages of correspondence from and to Whitehouse was obtained from the IRS by the conservative watchdog group American Accountability Foundation through the Freedom of Information Act and shared with The Daily Signal. 

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley: Hawley Investigation: DHS Documents Expose Shocking New Details on Disinfo Board Censorship Agenda

.....Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) revealed new documents obtained from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of his investigation into President Joe Biden’s plans to establish a so-called “Disinformation Governance Board” to monitor and suppress the speech of American citizens. The hundreds of pages of heavily redacted internal emails, which can be read in full below, expose that DHS’s plans for the Disinformation Governance Board were much more extensive than the Biden administration has publicly acknowledged.

Washington Examiner: FEC moves off massive ad regulation scheme

.....In a victory for deregulation, a bipartisan team of commissioners has cleaned up a loosely written plan to unleash a massive wave of rules on political online ads just in time for a vote Thursday by the Federal Election Commission.

Under fire for an earlier proposal to force disclaimers on tiny digital political ads, even those placed for free, commissioners rewrote the rule to honor the agency’s historic support for free speech on the internet.

Harvard Crimson: Nearly 250 Harvard Affiliates Sign ‘Free Speech’ Petition Addressed to University Presidential Search Committee

By J. Sellers Hill and Leah J. Teichholtz

.....Nearly 250 Harvard affiliates signed onto a petition this month calling on the University's Presidential Search Committee to nominate a candidate who “actively affirms the importance of free speech” on campus.

Insider: Sam Bankman-Fried says he's the Republicans' third-biggest donor, but used 'dark money' to avoid media criticism

By Pete Syme 

.....Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, says he's the Republicans' third-biggest donor – but used "dark money" to avoid criticism.

BDN: Democratic group fined by Maine regulators for not disclosing top donors

By Michael Shepherd

.....A group associated with the legislative campaign arm of national Democrats that played heavily in Maine House of Representatives elections this year was fined $10,000 by ethics regulators on Wednesday for ads that did not disclose top donors.

The penalty is a major one for the Maine Ethics Commission and is among the first for a violation of a campaign finance law passed by voters in 2015 that requires political groups to disclose their top three funders in written material and video advertisements.

Center Square: After spending $39 million, California's campaign finance website still trapped in 2000

By Madison Hirneisen 

.....Despite nearly $40 million spent to update California’s antiquated campaign finance website, state lawmakers are still awaiting the roll out of a new platform that was initially scheduled to go live in 2019. Now that may be pushed back to June 2026.

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