Category: Big Tech, Censorship, and Socialism

Sen. Josh Hawley Proposes Legal Minimum Age for Youth to Use Social Media

Amid growing backlash against social media platforms, including legislation targeting Chinese-owned TikTok and other apps, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said in a Feb. 7 interview with NBC News that he plans to sponsor legislation that will set a minimum age of 16 for users of social media and that he also plans to commission a…



Warner, Rubio Question Facebook’s Zuckerberg Over China’s Access to User Data

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter (pdf) to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, questioning him about crucial data Meta’s Facebook platform shared with developers in China in recent years. Warner and Rubio alleged, based on past reporting and company documents, that Facebook has known that…


Apple Removes Decentralized Twitter-Like App Damus From Chinese App Store

Apple has reportedly removed Damus, a Twitter-like social media app backed by the nostr protocol, from its Chinese app store owing to content deemed “illegal” by the Chinese communist regime. Damus shared on Feb. 3 a screenshot of an Apple notification, stating that the app failed a security assessment of “information services with attribute of…


PREMIERING 7:30PM ET: Mike Benz (Part 2): How the ‘Department of Dirty Tricks’ Turned on Americans

Previously, in part one of my interview with Mike Benz, he explained the existence of a “whole-of-society” censorship industry in the West. Benz has been tracking the rise of censorship for years as executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online and a former State Department diplomat. Now in part two, Benz explains how tools…


PREMIERING NOW: Mike Benz (Part 2): How the ‘Department of Dirty Tricks’ Turned on Americans

Previously, in part one of my interview with Mike Benz, he explained the existence of a “whole-of-society” censorship industry in the West. Benz has been tracking the rise of censorship for years as executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online and a former State Department diplomat. Now in part two, Benz explains how tools…


Mike Benz (Part 2): How the ‘Department of Dirty Tricks’ Turned on Americans

Previously, in part one of my interview with Mike Benz, he explained the existence of a “whole-of-society” censorship industry in the West. Benz has been tracking the rise of censorship for years as executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online and a former State Department diplomat. Now in part two, Benz explains how tools…


PREMIERING 2/4 at 7:30PM ET: Mike Benz (Part 2): How the ‘Department of Dirty Tricks’ Turned on Americans

Previously, in part one of my interview with Mike Benz, he explained the existence of a “whole-of-society” censorship industry in the West. Benz has been tracking the rise of censorship for years as executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online and a former State Department diplomat. Now in part two, Benz explains how tools…


Mike Benz (Part 1): The West’s Burgeoning Censorship Industry and the Government Funds Pouring In–From DHS to DARPA to National Science Foundation

“Whoever can control the Department of Dirty Tricks is able to use it to remove all opposition,” says Mike Benz. He is the executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online and a former State Department diplomat under the Trump administration. The Twitter Files were just the tip of the iceberg, says Benz, who has…


PREMIERING 7:30PM ET: Mike Benz (Part 1): The West’s Burgeoning Censorship Industry and the Government Funds Pouring In–From DHS to DARPA to National Science Foundation

“Whoever can control the Department of Dirty Tricks is able to use it to remove all opposition,” says Mike Benz. He is the executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online and a former State Department diplomat under the Trump administration. The Twitter Files were just the tip of the iceberg, says Benz, who has…