This Week at a Glance 🔎
🇺🇸 DOJ Probes TV Networks Over Boycott
🇹🇷 Turkey Bans Social Media for Under-15s
🇬🇷 Greece Unveils Under-15 Social Media Ban
🇮🇳 India Detains Thousands Before Election Protest
🇮🇱 Netanyahu Orders Prosecution of Documentary Sources
First of All 🇺🇲
» DOJ Probes TV Networks Over Boycott
The Justice Department (DOJ) is investigating whether TV networks violated antitrust laws by suspending their coverage in solidarity with outlets banned from the White House.
The Investigation:
A DOJ spokesperson said the Department is investigating whether boycotts by ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC violate the Sherman Act, a federal antitrust law that aims to curb agreements amongst competitors.
Context:
The five networks suspended coverage in solidarity after President Donald Trump banned MSNOW, Politico, and CNN from the White House Sept. 18, as covered in a previous Free Flow.
On Oct. 13, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a preliminary injunction, finding that the revocations likely violated the First Amendment and that the government did not offer evidence that national security drove the revocation.
Our Take: Ashkhen Kazaryan told GB News’ The Late Show Live that launching the investigation alone could have a chilling effect on the press, and carries serious concerns about government jawboning.
» Military Officer in Solitary After Trump Criticism
Air Force Maj. Jason Watson has been held in solitary confinement since Aug. 18, after publicly calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment, his attorney says.
Details:
Watson was arrested July 1 for “crowding, obstructing and incommoding” during a demonstration at the U.S. Capitol.
Watson called for the impeachment, conviction, and removal of Trump and Vice President JD Vance, demands he repeated during an interview Aug. 17.
He faces charges under three articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including the rarely used Article 88, which bars officers from using “contemptuous words” against the president.
The Air Force referred the charges to a general court-martial, the military’s most serious trial level.
Military law bars punishing service members before trial and requires confinement to be no more rigorous than the circumstances demand.
The Digital Age 🤖
» Turkey Bans Social Media for Under-15s
Turkey is banning social media for under-15s as rights groups urge platforms to resist court orders to block journalists’ and activists’ accounts.
The Ban:
Platforms must verify users’ ages through a government-issued “token” starting Nov. 1.
The law also prohibits platforms from offering minors over 15 services that could have an “addictive effect.”
Account Blocks:
21 human rights groups urged platforms to resist Turkish orders to block accounts of independent media, academics, LGBTQ+ groups, and NGOs.
The statement says the government has targeted more than 1,270 accounts over the past few weeks, citing public safety.
X has said refusing could lead to throttling the whole platform in the country and that it challenges such orders in court.
The groups said they were especially concerned about the blocking of independent news site T24, as covered in a previous Free Flow.
» Brazilian Court Orders Campaign Videos Removed
On Oct. 8, Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ordered President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, first lady Janja, and two congressional allies to pull videos targeting opposition Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro.
Days earlier, it also ordered Bolsonaro to remove AI-generated content linking Lula to organized crime.
Details:
The court gave Janja 24 hours to remove a video claiming Bolsonaro would impose a seven-day workweek and dismantle the free-medicine program.
It gave Lula’s campaign three hours to pull a clip with the slogan “If Flávio wins, you lose.”
The videos said Bolsonaro would raise the retirement age, weaken pension protections, and privatize the state oil company — claims the court found unsubstantiated by his official platform.
The court said parts of the videos were constitutionally protected criticism, but claims about cuts to social programs had no grounding in his plan.
The court also ordered Bolsonaro to delete three X posts: one using AI to simulate Lula in a fabricated scenario, and two linking Lula to the PCC and Comando Vermelho criminal organizations without evidence.
The Brussels Effect: Europe and Beyond 🇪🇺
» Greece Unveils Under-15 Social Media Ban
Greece’s government presented legislation that would ban under-15s from social media starting Jan. 1, 2027.
Details:
The legislation would initially cover Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram, with other platforms added gradually.
Violations would trigger oversight and sanctions under the EU’s Digital Services Act.
The bill went to a parliamentary committee Oct. 13, with a vote targeted for Oct. 22.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the plan in April, as covered in a previous Free Flow.
» Montenegro Expels Russian War Blogger
Montenegro expelled Mikhail Zvinchuk, founder of the Russian pro-war blog Rybar, and four other Russian citizens on national security grounds, police said.
Details:
Rybar posts daily frontline updates from Ukraine and is linked to the Russian military.
Authorities said they detained Zvinchuk, his wife, and associates to prevent “potentially harmful actions” in the country.
Zvinchuk is under British and EU sanctions, and the U.S. has offered $10 million for information on him and other Rybar figures over alleged election interference.
Rybar posted on Telegram that the group was in Montenegro legally to film a documentary.
Montenegro has increasingly fraught relations with Russia, after accusing it of trying to stage a coup in 2016.
Free Speech Recession 🌍
» India Detains Thousands Before Election Protest
Police in New Delhi detained more than 2,000 people ahead of a scheduled Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest demanding the election chief’s resignation.
Details:
The CJP leads a youth movement challenging the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which it accuses of rigging voter lists.
Authorities sealed off the designated protest site, suspended mobile internet, and shut dozens of metro stations to foil the planned Oct. 10 protest.
Three CJP leaders were arrested when their plane landed in New Delhi. A court ordered their release the next day, their lawyers said.
Representatives of two digital outlets said police briefly detained four of their reporters, and a Reuters journalist was also detained.
» Netanyahu Orders Prosecution of Documentary Sources
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the attorney general and the head of the Shin Bet security service to identify and prosecute military personnel interviewed in the NAZA documentary.
Details:
Netanyahu’s letter called for an investigation into “serious information security offenses, criminal defamation, and harming Israel’s diplomatic and security interests.”
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir had earlier ordered military and legal officials to identify soldiers in the film.
Military advocate general Itai Ofir said prosecution would require evidence of security violations or disclosure of classified material, but disciplinary measures remained possible.
Context:
The film, which won the special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival, examines howIsrael’s military selects and strikes targets in Gaza, using AI tools.
The IDF has published a 17-page response rejecting its claims. Culture Minister Miki Zohar had asked officials to examine revoking the directors’ citizenship, as mentioned in a previous Free Flow.
» Turkey Jails Journalists for ‘Disinformation’
An Istanbul court ordered two journalists jailed pending trial and placed two more under house arrest after police questioned them, reportedly over coverage of an investment fund scandal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
Details:
An Istanbul court ordered Mustafa Balcı of Sözcü and freelancer Şaban Sevinç jailed on suspicion of “publicly spreading disinformation.”
İsmail Saymaz, also of Sözcü, and Murat Ağırel of Cumhuriyet and Onlar were placed under house arrest.
The journalists covered the liquidation of 131 investment funds, which had grown to more than $20 billion in assets amid market manipulation allegations.
The arrests follow a threat from an official of the ruling AKP against journalists who “peddle slander.”
Ashley Haek is a Communications Manager at The Future of Free Speech.
Ajdin Muratovic is the Director of Communications at The Future of Free Speech and the Managing Editor of The Bedrock Principle.