Technology
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Technology
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Media Matters hits FTC with suit to block probe
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Media Matters for America sued the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday to block the agency’s investigation into the progressive media watchdog group, arguing the probe amounts to unlawful retaliation.
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© AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File
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The group received a request from the FTC last month for documents and communications related to several advertising and watchdog groups, as well as its legal battle with Elon Musk’s social platform X.
“Media Matters faces an ongoing campaign of retribution for exercising its First Amendment rights,” the lawsuit reads. “For the third time, Media Matters must ask this Court to halt this ‘government campaign of retaliation.’"
X sued the watchdog group in 2023 over a report that outlined how the social media site had placed ads for mainstream brands next to hateful content.
The report, combined with controversial comments from Musk at the time, prompted advertisers to halt their spending on the platform.
Texas and Missouri followed suit, opening investigations into Media Matters and requesting documents from the group that were later blocked in court.
“Now the Federal Trade Commission seeks to punish Media Matters for its journalism and speech in exposing matters of substantial public concern,” the group wrote in its complaint. “The campaign of retribution against Media Matters must stop.”
Media Matters argues the FTC’s request is “overbroad and designed to be maximally burdensome.
The FTC did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
Read more at TheHill.com
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Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.
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How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:
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Ford has recalled more than 197,000 Mustang Mach-Es because of an issue that can leave passengers trapped inside vehicles. The hazard affecting model years 2021-2025 is especially dangerous for children, who could end up stuck in the back seat during extreme heat, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The issue affects door latches inside the electric vehicles. If the car’s battery gets …
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In a test case for the artificial intelligence industry, a federal judge has ruled that AI company Anthropic didn’t break the law by training its chatbot Claude on millions of copyrighted books. But the company is still on the hook and must now go to trial over how it acquired those books by downloading them from online “shadow libraries” of pirated copies. U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco said in a ruling …
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Messaging app WhatsApp has been banned on congressional staffers’ government devices, the House’s chief administrative officer confirmed Monday. “Protecting the People’s House is our topmost priority, and we are always monitoring and analyzing for potential cybersecurity risks that could endanger the data of House Members and staff,” Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor said in a statement …
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News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
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- Google faces UK push to loosen its grip on search (Financial Times)
- Senate antitrust proposal targets Apple, Google app stores (Bloomberg Law)
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Senate takes steps toward market structure bill
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Welcome to Crypto Corner, a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.
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The Senate is slowly but surely taking steps toward making its market structure bill a reality.
Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) released a set of "principles" Tuesday to guide the development of legislation that seeks to divvy up oversight of the digital asset market.
This includes:
- Clearly drawing a line between digital asset securities and commodities
- Clearly allocating regulatory authority over digital assets
- Modernizing regulation to account for the "unique nature" of digital assets, including drawing distinctions between centralized and decentralized protocols
- Establishing "targeted and pro-innovation" provisions to prevent money laundering and sanctions evasion
The principles are meant to serve as "an important baseline for negotiations on this bill," said Scott, who serves as chair of the Senate Banking Committee.
"I’m hopeful my colleagues will put politics aside and provide long-overdue clarity for digital asset regulation,” he added.
The movement on market structure legislation comes after the Senate passed the GENIUS Act last week, which aims to create a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.
The Trump administration and GOP lawmakers have made passing stablecoin and market structure legislation a key priority, with hopes of getting both across the finish line by August.
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Two key stories on The Hill right now:
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President Trump’s strategy of playing both sides is coming into question as he fumed over Israel and Iran’s continued fighting while demanding peace … Read more
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The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly torpedoed an effort by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) to impeach President Trump over the U.S. strikes on Iran, underscoring … Read more
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Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill:
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!
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