Tag: social media

Failing French President Macron Wants To Ban Under-15 Kids From Social Media – And He Wants It Done Fast

France’s Emmanuel Macron is a ‘leader’ in the quest for a cause.

A failing lame-duck President polling in the 16-18% range, fresh from the historic low of 11% approval, he needs some issue that will help him back into the good graces of the French voters who don’t trust him, and believe he has been a failure as head of state.

Usually, Macron tries to find it in ‘global warming’, but that con is not working anymore – so he tried to be a ‘warrior leader’ meddling in Ukraine, and lately sent an astonishing 15 soldiers from the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade to Greenland.

What a Napoleon, right?

Now, it appears that ‘Le Petit Roi’ has found a new cause that can make him appear in a positive light for part of the French society.

Macron is pushing his government to ban children under the age of 15 from social media and – what’s more – he wants to ‘fast-track the legal process’.

He means to ensure that the ban can enter into force in September, at the start of the next school year.

CBS News reported:

“In a video released late Saturday by French broadcaster BFM-TV, Macron said he had asked his government to initiate an accelerated procedure so that the proposed legislation can move as quickly as possible and be passed by the Senate in time.

‘The brains of our children and our teenagers are not for sale’, Macron said. ‘The emotions of our children and our teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated. Neither by American platforms, nor by Chinese algorithms’.”

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Only ‘braindead’ believe WhatsApp is secure – Durov

Pavel Durov, the Russian tech entrepreneur who created the Telegram messenger app,  has claimed there is no doubt WhatsApp lacks any meaningful privacy, after its parent company was hit with a new lawsuit.

In a major class-action lawsuit filed against Meta Platforms, Inc. in a US district court last week, an international group of plaintiffs from countries including Australia, Brazil and India has accused the company of making false claims about the privacy of its WhatsApp service.

“You’d have to be braindead to believe WhatsApp is secure in 2026,” Durov posted on X on Monday, mocking suggestions that Meta cannot read users’ messages. “When we analyzed how WhatsApp implemented its ‘encryption’, we found multiple attack vectors.”

The lawsuit challenges the cornerstone of WhatsApp’s privacy promise: its default end-to-end encryption, which uses the Signal protocol. The plaintiffs allege that, contrary to its in-app claim that “only people in this chat can read, listen to, or share” messages, Meta and WhatsApp “store, analyze, and can access virtually all of WhatsApp users’ purportedly ‘private’ communications.” The complaint cites unspecified whistleblowers as the source of this information.

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EXPOSED: Walz-Linked Radicals Running an ICE-Hunting Ring Like a Criminal Cartel

An online commentator known as PatriotDadEV2.0 is drawing renewed attention to allegations that a sophisticated and well-funded network has infiltrated the Minneapolis ICE Watch Signal chat, following disclosures by investigative journalist Cam Higby that are now circulating widely on X.

According to PatriotDadEV2.0, Higby obtained access to internal Signal chat conversations tied to the Minneapolis ICE Watch network and began releasing material publicly earlier this week.

The disclosures, PatriotDadEV2.0 said, include screen recordings showing the group’s member lists, which investigators and independent researchers have since analyzed.

“Yesterday, investigative journalist cam Higby began releasing information obtained after infiltrating the Minneapolis ice Watch Signal chat conversations, and the information that he has found and released to the public is absolutely incredible,” PatriotDadEV2.0 said.

“He began by releasing screen recordings of their members list, and investigators over on X have been taking that list and researching who these people are when they’ve decided to use their real names.”

PatriotDadEV2.0 claimed that the individuals identified through this process include elected officials, media figures, and people allegedly connected to Minnesota’s highest levels of government.

“We’re talking about local politicians. We’re talking about national journalists, and yes, even people connected directly to Governor Walz himself,” he said.

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Senior FBI Official Describes ‘Surreal’ Call Where Kash Patel Dictated Social Media Strategy Right After Kirk Assassination

In the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination in September, FBI Director Kash Patel prioritized social media strategy over the bureau’s response to the killing, according to a senior FBI official.

On Thursday, The New York Times published accounts of Patel’s tenure from 45 people who either currently work at the FBI or left during President Donald Trump’s second term.

“Beginning with Trump’s selection of Patel, our sources narrated the events that most troubled them over the last year,” the Times stated. “Many details of what we learned are reported here for the first time.”

Kirk, the conservative activist and founder of TPUSA, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. In an unusual move for an FBI director, Patel traveled to the crime scene that day. Previously, it had been reported that Patel refused to get off the FBI plane in Provo until he was given a medium-sized raid jacket. In its report on Thursday, the Times cited an anonymous “senior executive” in the bureau who described a conference call on the day of the killing.

The official said Patel prioritized social media strategy over next steps in the investigation:

Whenever there’s a critical incident, one of the first things that happens is a conference call with everybody — all the executives, most of the field offices dial in. The director rarely speaks, because someone with situational awareness is leading the call. They’ll say: Here’s what happened. Here’s what we know. Here’s what we need. But we get on, and it’s just Kash berating the special agent in charge in Salt Lake. He’s super emotional.

And then it turns surreal. He and [then-Deputy Director Dan] Bongino start talking about their Twitter strategy. And Kash is like: I’m gonna tweet this. Salt Lake, you tweet that. Dan, you come in with this. Then I’ll come back with this. They’re literally scripting out their social media, not talking about how we’re going to respond or resources or the situation. He’s screaming that he wants to put stuff out, but it’s not even vetted yet. It’s not even accurate.

When I was an agent, I did hundreds of these cases. The initial information that comes in is always wrong. There’s too much coming in, and it takes time to vet. And it was obvious that Kash can’t understand that and doesn’t want to understand that.

Everyone on the call is just like: This guy is completely out of control. On another call, he said: When a crisis happens, the only thing you need to do is call me. The most important thing in any crisis is controlling the narrative. I was like: No, no, no. We actually have to do some work here. We’re going to have to investigate, to solve this.

Hours after Kirk’s assassination, Patel posted on X that the shooter was in custody, but later said the person had been released. The next day, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson turned himself in to authorities.

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Rand Paul Turns Against Section 230, Citing YouTube Video Accusing Him of Taking Money From Maduro

Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) has long been one of the few refreshing voices out of Washington, D.C., when it comes to free speech, including free speech on social media and elsewhere in the digital realm. He was one of just two senators to vote against FOSTA, the law that started the trend of trying to carve out Section 230 exceptions for every bad thing.

As readers of this newsletter know, Section 230 has been fundamental to the development and flourishing of free speech online.

Now, Paul has changed his mind about it. “I will pursue legislation toward” ending Section 230’s protections for tech companies, the Kentucky Republican wrote in the New York Post this week.

A Section 230 Refresher

For those who need a refresher (if not, skip to the next section): Section 230 of the Communications Act protects tech companies and their users from frivolous lawsuits and spurious charges. It says: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” If someone else is speaking (or posting), they—not you or Instagram or Reddit or YouTube or any other entity—are legally liable for that speech.

Politicians, state attorneys general, and people looking to make money off tech companies that they blame for their troubles hate Section 230. It stops the latter—including all sorts of ambulance-chasing lawyers—from getting big payouts from tech companies over speech for which these companies merely served as an unwitting conduit. It stops attorneys general from making good on big, splashy lawsuits framed around fighting the latest moral panic. And it prevents politicians from being more in control of what we all can say online.

If a politician doesn’t like something that someone has posted about them on the internet, doesn’t like their Google search results, or resents the fact that people can speak freely—and sometimes falsely—about political issues, it would be a lot easier to censor whatever it is that’s irking them in a world without Section 230. They could simply go to a tech platform hosting that speech and threaten a lawsuit if it was not removed.

Tech platforms might very well win many such lawsuits on First Amendment grounds, if they had the resources to fight them and chose that route. But it would be a lot easier, in many cases, for them to simply give in and do politicians’ bidding, rather than fight a protracted lawsuit. Section 230 gives them the impetus to resist and ensures that any suits that go forward will likely be over quickly, in their favor.

But here’s the key: Section 230 does not stop authorities from punishing companies for violations of federal law, and it does not stop anyone from going after the speakers of any illegal content. If someone posts a true threat on Facebook, they can still be hauled in for questioning about it. If someone uses Google ads to commit fraud, they’re not magically exempted from punishment for that fraud. And if someone posts a defamatory rant about you on X, you can still sue them for that rant.

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Congress Revives Kids Off Social Media Act, a “Child Safety” Bill Poised to Expand Online Digital ID Checks

Congress is once again positioning itself as the protector of children online, reviving the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA) in a new round of hearings on technology and youth.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

Introduced by Senators Ted Cruz and Brian Schatz, the bill surfaced again during a Senate Commerce Committee session examining the effects of screen time and social media on mental health.

Cruz warned that a “phone-based childhood” has left many kids “lost in the virtual world,” pointing to studies linking heavy screen use to anxiety, depression, and social isolation.

KOSMA’s key provisions would ban social media accounts for anyone under 13 and restrict recommendation algorithms for teens aged 13 to 17.

Pushers of the plan say it would “empower parents” and “hold Big Tech accountable,” but in reality, it shifts control away from families and toward corporate compliance systems.

The bill’s structure leaves companies legally responsible for determining users’ ages, even though it does not directly require age verification.

The legal wording is crucial. KOSMA compels platforms to delete accounts if they have “actual knowledge” or what can be “fairly implied” as knowledge that a user is under 13.

That open-ended standard puts enormous pressure on companies to avoid errors.

The most predictable outcome is a move toward mandatory age verification systems, where users must confirm their age or identity to access social platforms. In effect, KOSMA would link access to everyday online life to a form of digital ID.

That system would not only affect children. It would reach everyone. To prove compliance, companies could require users to submit documents such as driver’s licenses, facial scans, or other biometric data.

The infrastructure needed to verify ages at scale looks almost identical to the infrastructure needed for national digital identity systems. Once built, those systems rarely stay limited to a single use. A measure framed as protecting kids could easily become the foundation for a broader identity-based internet.

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Discord Expands Age Verification ID System to More Regions

Discord is pressing forward with government ID checks for users in new regions, even after a major customer-support breach in October 2025 exposed sensitive identity documents belonging to tens of thousands of people.

The expansion of its age-verification system reflects growing pressure under the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act, a law that effectively compels platforms to collect and process personal identification data in order to comply with its censorship and content-control mandates.

The October 2025 incident highlighted exactly why such measures alarm privacy advocates.

Around 70,000 Discord users had images of government-issued IDs leaked after attackers gained access to a third-party customer service system tied to the company.

The hackers claim to have extracted as much as 1.6 terabytes of information, including 8.4 million support tickets and over 100 gigabytes of transcripts.

Discord disputed the scale but admits the breach stemmed from a compromised contractor account within its outsourced Zendesk environment, not its own internal systems.

Despite the exposure, Discord continues to expand mandatory age-verification. The company’s new “privacy-forward age assurance” program is now required for all UK and Australian users beginning December 9, 2025.

Users must verify that they are over 18 to unblur “sensitive content,” disable message-request filters, or enter age-restricted channels.

Verification occurs through the third-party vendors k-ID and, in some UK cases, Persona, which process either a government ID scan or a facial-analysis selfie to confirm age.

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Germany’s Censorship Frontier And The Rise Of Digital Control

Some achieve notoriety and fame by chance. Fortune may fall into one person’s lap, another may experience his ten minutes of public shine through a fluke rhetorical spark. In the case of the Minister‑President of Schleswig‑Holstein in Germany, however, this is a dubious honor.

In his appearance on Markus Lanz’s show on Germany’s state TV “ZDF”, CDU politician Daniel Günther slid into that revealing tone of small talk to which people are prone precisely when they believe themselves in a supposedly safe social environment – a place where no criticism is expected, no matter what leaves their lips.

What emerged during his guest spot on Lanz was a condemnable attitude toward the principle of free speech and toward critical media: the threat of censorship up to and including the blocking of individual platforms, including the portal Nius, reveals a profound ethical collapse. A growing, subtly operating apparatus of repression is now reaching us – a warning we should take seriously.

It was almost comical how Lanz, styled by public‑broadcasting elites as a star moderator, in tandem with the state‑aligned media sector repeatedly sought in the aftermath to rhetorically downplay Günther’s clearly articulated desire for censorship. Decontextualize, diffuse, and smother the real scandal with new waves of outrage like the Greenland debate – that’s how the media repair operation works.

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Miami Beach police chief defends detectives’ visit to activist over Facebook post about mayor

Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones issued a statement Friday explaining why detectives visited the home of a local political activist earlier this week following a social media comment about Mayor Steven Meiner.

“Given the real, ongoing national and international concerns surrounding antisemitic attacks and recent rhetoric that has led to violence against political figures,” Jones wrote that he “directed two of his detectives to initiate a brief, voluntary conversation regarding certain inflammatory, potentially inciteful false remarks made by a resident to ensure there was no immediate threat to the elected official or the broader community that might emerge as a result of the post.”

He went on to write that “the interaction was handled professionally and at no time did the mayor or any other official direct me to take action.”

The statement comes after Raquel Pacheco, a Miami Beach political activist and veteran who previously ran for city commission and a Democratic state Senate candidate, said Miami Beach detectives arrived at her home.

“He said, ‘We are here to talk to you about a Facebook comment’ and I said – ‘What? Is this really happening?” Pacheco told Local 10 News.

Pacheco had commented on a Facebook post by Meiner, who is Jewish, in which he described Miami Beach as “a safe haven for everyone,” contrasting it with New York City, which he said was “intentionally removing protections” for and “promoting boycotts” of Israeli and Jewish businesses.

Pacheco responded to the post by writing, “The guy who consistently calls for the death of all Palestinians, tried to shut down a theater for showing a movie that hurt his feelings, and REFUSES to stand up for the LGBTQ community in any way (even leaves the room when they vote on related matters) wants you to know that you’re all welcome here,” followed by three clown emojis.

She recorded the brief exchange with the detective who spoke with her about the post. In the video, Pacheco is heard asking, “Am I being charged with a crime?” and “So you are here to investigate a statement I allegedly made on Facebook?”

She later added, “This is freedom of speech. This is America, right?”

Pacheco said she believes the visit was politically motivated rather than a matter of public safety.

In the video, the detective is heard saying, “What we are just trying to prevent is somebody else getting agitated or agreeing with the statement, we are not saying if it’s true or not.”

“So that, to me, is a clear indication that people are not allowed to agree with anyone but the mayor and that is not how America works,” Pacheco said. “I don’t agree with him and I am going to continue to voice that.”

The encounter comes amid a national conversation about censorship and free speech, including recent debates sparked by the brief suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

While the First Amendment does not apply to private companies, it does protect Americans from government interference in speech.

In the video, the detective advised Pacheco to “refrain from posting things like that,” telling her that her comment about Meiner’s views on Palestinians “can probably incite somebody to do something radical.”

Pacheco, who said she was simply “calling out” what she described as Meiner’s “hypocrisy,” said her comments do not meet that standard.

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Jacksonville official placed on leave after urging social media followers to dodge ICE enforcement

A Jacksonville city employee tasked with outreach to the Hispanic community has been placed on administrative leave after using her taxpayer-funded position and recording the video in her city office during work hours to broadcast warnings and evasion tips to potential immigration violators, undermining the critical work of federal agents enforcing U.S. law.

Yanira Cardona, the Hispanic Outreach Coordinator appointed by Mayor Donna Deegan, went live on Instagram on Wednesday, sounding the alarm that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were “out and about” in the city. She detailed alleged hotspots like speed traps on Emerson, Beach Boulevard, Atlantic Boulevard, and highways, where agents were supposedly targeting lawn care companies, air conditioning services, and construction vans.

“They are literally stopping them just to make sure that they have their paperwork,” Cardona complained in the video, framing routine immigration checks as some kind of harassment rather than the essential law enforcement Florida demands.

Her “advice” to followers included stocking up on lawyers, granting power of attorney for businesses and children to trusted contacts, and, after all the scheming, cooperating if actually stopped.

“I wish I could do more, and I wish I could say more,” she added.

Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed the situation during a press conference on a separate topic. “I know you had that one woman in the City of Jacksonville government putting out information. Look, that’s not the way we roll here in thestate of Florida,” he said. “You know, we’re going to respect the law enforcement, respect the rule of law.”

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier condemned the post as “illegal and needs to be seriously addressed.”

The Republican Party of Florida demanded accountability, calling Cardona’s rhetoric “dangerous” and urging Mayor Deegan to act decisively.

“Florida taxpayers should not foot the bill for deranged anti-ICE rants on how to evade law endorsement,” they said. “[Mayor Deegan] must hold Yanira Cardona accountable for her dangerous rhetoric!”

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