Australian Teens Consume Less News After Age Restrictions & X Pledges Faster Action on Hate Content in UK | The Free Flow 5/21/26

The ECtHR has ruled against a man over a TikTok criticizing Tbilisi public officials, the New York Times files its second lawsuit against the Pentagon over new press policies, and more.

This Week at a Glance 🔎

— 🇺🇸 NYT Sues Pentagon Over Press Requirements

— 🤖 Nebraska’s Social Media Age Verification Law Challenged

— 🇬🇧 X Pledges Faster Action on Hate Speech, Terrorist Content for UK Users

— 🇳🇪 Niger Suspends Nine French Media Outlets Over Threat to Public Order

— 🇮🇩 Indonesia Plans to Vet Who Qualifies as Human Rights Defender

First of All 🇺🇸

» New York Times Sues Pentagon Over Press Restrictions

• The New York Times sued the Pentagon on May 18 to block a requirement that all reporters be escorted on Pentagon grounds, calling the policy unconstitutional.

• Context:

  • The suit follows an earlier Times victory: a federal judge had previously blocked the Pentagon’s strict credentialing rules that limited how defense reporters could solicit information. The Pentagon's escort requirement is its response to the judgment.

  • The suit asks the court to block the escort requirement and to restore access rules in effect prior to the Trump administration.

  • In its filing, the New York Times argues the restrictions have a clear aim: “closing the Pentagon to any journalist or news organization unwilling to report only what Department officials approve,” and that is “patently unconstitutional.”

  • The Times’ complaint lists examples of what stories reporters would no longer be able to cover under the escort requirement, including “routine unplanned interactions” with Pentagon personnel and stories that “capture the mood and atmosphere within the Pentagon during times of consequential military operations.”

  • Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X: “The latest filing by the New York Times, while dressed up to look like a constitutional challenge, is nothing more than an attempt to remove the barriers to them getting their hands on classified information.”

» Ninth Circuit Affirms University of Washington Violated Professor’s First Amendment Rights

• The Ninth Circuit has ruled in favor of University of Washington computer science professor Stuart Reges, affirming that the university violated his First Amendment rights after he included a parody of its “land acknowledgment” statement in his course syllabus.

• Details:

  • In his winter 2022 syllabus, Reges replaced the university’s land acknowledgment, which recognized UW’s location on Coast Salish tribal land, with a parody drawing on John Locke’s labor theory of property: “I acknowledge that by the labor theory of property, the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of almost none of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington.”

  • A lower court had ruled the statement unprotected because it caused disruption on campus. A 2–1 Ninth Circuit panel disagreed, reversed the ruling, and remanded the case for further proceedings.

  • In the ruling, Judge Daniel Bress said, “When we place limits on what professors may say or impose punishment for the views they express, we destock the marketplace of ideas and imperil future generations who must be exposed to a range of ideas and readied for the disharmony of a democratic society.”

The Digital Age 🤖

» Tennessee Man Jailed Over Charlie Kirk Post Wins $835,000 Settlement

• Tennessee officials agreed to pay $835,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Larry Bushart, a retired police officer who spent 37 days in jail over Facebook memes posted after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

• Details:

  • Bushart was arrested in September after refusing to remove posts mocking reactions to Kirk’s killing, including a meme quoting President Trump’s remarks following a 2024 Iowa school shooting: “We have to get over it.”

  • Perry County authorities claimed one post referencing “Perry High School” caused panic because residents believed it threatened the local school, even though Sheriff Nick Weems acknowledged the meme referred to a school in Iowa.

  • Bushart was charged with a felony, held on $2 million bail, lost his post-retirement job, and missed major family milestones while detained. Prosecutors later dropped the charge in October.

  • The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which helped represent Bushart in his lawsuit, stated that the settlement should serve as a warning to law enforcement officials that “respect the First Amendment today, or be prepared to pay the price tomorrow.”

» Texas Woman Sues City After Arrest Over Facebook Post on Water Quality

• A Texas woman filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Trinidad after she was arrested over a Facebook post claiming residents had been hospitalized due to bacteria in the local water supply.

• Background:

  • Jennifer Combs was charged with felony “false alarm or report” after posting that residents had reported illnesses linked to Trinidad’s water system and urging locals to share information about discoloration, odors, or health issues.

  • Trinidad police accused Combs of spreading “false information” that caused panic in the community, while Police Chief Charles Gregory defended the arrest as “cut and dry.”

  • City officials acknowledged ongoing water infrastructure problems, including aging pipes dating back to the 1950s, and the city later issued a boil-water notice in April. Texas environmental regulators also confirmed an investigation into water quality complaints is ongoing.

  • Combs argues the arrest was politically motivated retaliation for criticizing city leadership and raising concerns about a matter of public interest.

» ACLU Sues Indiana AG Investigator Who Threatened Man Over ‘86’ Facebook Post

• Indiana resident Lee Lawmaster and the ACLU of Indiana have sued Kurt Spivey, Director of Investigations for the Indiana Attorney General’s office, alleging that he threatened Lawmaster with an indictment for posting “86” on state officials’ Facebook pages.

• Details:

  • After Lawmaster posted “86” to the Facebook pages of Indiana officials, Spivey visited his home, where a door camera recorded him telling Lawmaster to “tone down the rhetoric” or face indictment.

  • ‘86’ is a common shorthand for “get rid of.” The term gained heightened scrutiny after former FBI Director James Comey used it in an Instagram post apparently referencing President Trump, which served as the basis for two federal indictments against Comey, as mentioned in a previous Free Flow.

  • The ACLU seeks damages and an injunction blocking Spivey from further intimidating Indiana residents in the exercise of their First Amendment rights.

  • Ken Falk, legal director for the ACLU of Indiana: “If someone who’s law enforcement [says] you could be indicted right now if you do this again, people aren’t going to do it again. And when that thing that they’re not doing again is exercising their First Amendment rights, that is very serious.”

  • AG Rokita’s office declined an interview. Spokesperson Joshua DeFonce said in a statement: “With death threats against elected officials being very prominent across the nation and in our state, the Attorney General and his family are a top target.”

» NetChoice Challenges Nebraska’s Social Media Age-Verification Law

• NetChoice, a tech trade group, has sued Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers over the state’s Parental Rights in Social Media Act, which would require all social media platforms to verify a user’s age before an account can be created.

• Details:

  • The Act, set to take effect July 1, would allow minors to create social media accounts only with “express parental consent”—parental age-verification and a signed form submitted to the social media company by the parent.

  • Parents must also have the ability to revoke consent under the law, and companies would be required to establish a dashboard that allows parents to access all posts, interactions, and private messages from minors’ accounts.

  • NetChoice argues that the Act violates minors’ constitutional rights by “significantly curtailing (and, in some cases, eliminating) their ability to engage in core First Amendment activities on many of the most popular online services.”

  • The group adds that the “severe burdens” that the requirements impose could force some social media companies to “restrict Nebraskans from accessing their websites altogether.”

  • Companies violating the law could face fines of up to $2,500 per violation.

» Minnesota Senate Passes Social Media Restrictions for Minors

• The Minnesota Senate passed legislation on May 15 that would require parental consent for users under 16 to create social media accounts, clearing the chamber 66–0 with bipartisan support.

• Details:

  • The bill also bans addictive platform features for minors — including infinite scrolling, push notifications, autoplay videos, and targeted advertising.

  • The bill requires the strictest available privacy settings for minors’ accounts and also seeks to limit the data companies can collect from these users.

  • The bill was passed by the House but amended on the Senate floor, and will return to the House for a concurrence vote before heading to the governor’s office.

  • If signed into law, the state would join about 20 others that have enacted laws regulating minors' social media access, many of which are currently being challenged in court.

» Survey Suggests Australian Social Media Ban Leaves Teens With Less News

• A new survey finds that among Australian teenagers whose social media use has been affected by age restrictions, over half report consuming less news.

• Details:

  • Researchers surveyed 1,027 young people aged 10 to 17 in Australia two months after the country barred minors from social media.

  • Among the 26% of young people whose social media use had been affected by the ban, 51% reported consuming less news as a direct result.

  • Many also reported diminished opportunity to discuss news and civic issues with peers.

  • 61% of under-16s who had previously been using banned platforms reported little or no change in their social media use.

The Brussels Effect: Europe and Beyond 🇪🇺

» ECtHR Convicts Georgian Man Over TikTok Video Criticizing Tbilisi Officials

• A new ruling from the European Court of Human Rights convicted a food-delivery driver from Georgia, Irakli Miladze, and fined him approximately 180 euros for uploading a TikTok that insulted the Tbilisi mayor over the city’s bus lane policy.

• Context:

  • In 2018, Tbilisi city authorities announced a transport policy reform intended to reduce car use by bolstering public transport and improving infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

  • Public opinion surveys in 2021 and 2022 revealed that some Tbilisi residents found the reform process ineffective, and discussions about the driving practices of public buses driven by law-enforcement officers have been criticized.

  • In his TikTok, Miladze criticized the traffic situation. “This is your [mayor’s] doing. You turned a three-lane Tchavtchavadze Street into a single lane, and even in that one lane your own people – city hall employees, ministry employees, State Security Service employees – flying down the bus lane with tinted windows like they own the road.”

  • “Go f**k your mothers,” Miladze added, which the ECtHR determined was violent verbal aggression exempt from free speech protections enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

  • The Court also treated TikTok’s reach and youth engagement as factors weighing against the speaker, and because speech travels further on the platform, it should be subject to stricter scrutiny.

Our Take: “A delivery driver on a scooter, raging about traffic policy on social media, has been placed juridically in the same conceptual neighborhood as physical violence,” Jacob Mchangama wrote on X. “That framing comes close to treating citizens like subjects owing deference to rulers.”

» X Pledges Faster Action on Hate and Terrorist Content in The UK

• Following months of regulatory pressure, Britain’s media regulator Ofcom announced that social media platform X has agreed to strengthen protection for UK users against illegal hate speech and terrorist content.

• Details:

  • Following concerns that flagged content was not always addressed, the platform agreed to engage external experts to improve its reporting systems.

  • The agreement stipulates that X will review suspected illegal hate and terrorism-related posts within 24 hours on average, and assess at least 85% within 48 hours.

  • X had also promised to restrict UK users’ access to accounts operated by or on behalf of organizations banned under the country’s terrorism laws.

• Context:

  • The new commitments as Ofcom continues its investigation into X’s systems for tackling illegal content and issues relating to its chatbot, Grok, after it responded to user prompts with sexualized images in February.

  • The company also faces a separate probe from the European Commission into whether it fails to curb hate speech, as well as pressure from the EU, Australia, and Singapore over illegal or militant content on X.

Free Speech Recession 🌍

» Niger Suspends Nine French Media Outlets Over Alleged Threat to Public Order, Burkina Faso Joins Ban

• Niger’s military junta suspended nine France-based news outlets on May 8–9, accusing them of broadcasting content “likely to seriously endanger public order, national unity, social cohesion and the stability of institutions.”

• Burkina Faso, a West African country and ally of Niger and Mali, within the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), banned the broadcasting of one major French channel.

• The Suspensions:

  • The suspended outlets include France 24, Radio France Internationale (RFI), France Afrique Média, AFP (Agence France-Presse), TV5Monde, Jeune Afrique, Mediapart, and TF1 Info.

  • The suspension is “immediate” and applies to “satellite packages, cable networks, digital platforms, websites, and mobile applications.”

  • RFI and France 24 had already been suspended in July 2023, a few days after the coup d’état that brought the junta to power, and the British BBC was suspended in December.

  • The suspensions follow a similar ban by Burkina Faso on TV5Monde. Both are members of the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a bloc of military-led governments in West Africa.

• Burkina Faso’s Ban:

  • Burkina Faso banned the broadcasting of TV5 Monde, accusing the channel of “disinformation” and “apology for terrorism” in its coverage of jihadist violence in the country and Mali, which has also banned French media.

» Nicaragua Shuts Down 31-Year-Old Independent Radio Station

• Nicaragua’s telecommunications authority canceled the license of and seized equipment from Radio Stereo Romance, a radio station that had been on the air for 31 years, on May 8.

• Details:

  • The Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Postal Services (Telcor) claimed the station had “failed to comply with the requirements for license renewal” under administrative resolution 024-2026.

  • Owner and general director of the station, Francisco Gadea, disputed the justification: “Our payments are up to date. We paid the corresponding fees for 2026. They argued that we had not fulfilled the requirements properly and on time, and they came and shut it down.”

  • He added, “They simply requested certain documents all at once, and the different state institutions delayed the process, so it did not go through. But that is beyond our control.”

• The closure adds to a wave of media outlet shutdowns in Nicaragua since 2018, with more than 309 journalists forced into exile. At least 61 media outlets had been shut down or confiscated by March 2025.

» Indonesia Plans to Vet Who Qualifies as a Human Rights Defender

• Indonesia’s Minister of Human Rights, Natalius Pigai, announced that an assessment team will review whether individuals qualify as human rights activists and are entitled to legal protections.

• Details:

  • The team would be created by proposed amendments to the 1999 Human Rights Law and include government officials, civil society, and law enforcement, who would evaluate whether someone is a “genuine” activist.

  • Pigai said state protection would extend only to activists defending the public interest without personal or commercial interests. Activists who are paid for their work would not qualify.

  • Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch: “It’s not up to President Prabowo Subianto’s government to decide who is or isn’t a human rights defender. The Indonesian authorities should protect all those who work to uphold human rights instead of rooting out government critics under the guise of identifying ‘genuine’ rights defenders.”

  • A final draft is expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives for a vote in June or July.

» Sierra Leone Sentences Singer and Opposition Figure to Four Years in Prison

• International calls are growing for the release of Zainab Sheriff, a Sierra Leonean singer who became a political opposition figure who was sentenced to four years and two months in prison on charges of incitement and threatening language.

• Details:

  • Sheriff, a reality-TV show contestant turned opposition politician, was arrested on February 20, repeatedly denied bail, and sentenced on April 14 by a Sierra Leone court.

  • The charges stem from a speech she made at a political rally in January 2026, a video recording of which was played at trial.

  • Prosecutors argued she stated that anyone who rigged an election had committed treason and that they and their families should be killed. Sheriff pleaded not guilty.

  • Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr (All People’s Congress opposition party): “A lot of us feel this isn’t about Sheriff’s words. This is about Sheriff being used as a very, very visible, high-profile example of what you must not do in this society now. You must not speak your mind or you can be charged and end up in jail.”

» Thailand Detains Hong Kong Activist Wanted Under Chinese National Security Law

• Zhang Xinyan, a 54-year-old Hong Kong activist holding UN refugee status, has been arrested in Thailand on charges of overstaying her visa.

• Zhang is wanted by national security police in China for committing subversion, which is illegal under Article 23, and could face deportation from Thailand, where she is currently being held in a detention center.

• Context:

  • The Hong Kong Security Bureau declined to comment on law enforcement actions in other jurisdictions, and said, “Endangering national security is an extremely serious crime… no fugitive should harbour the illusion that they can evade criminal liability by fleeing Hong Kong.”

  • Hong Kong and Thailand have no formal extradition agreement, though transfer of fugitives can be arranged.

  • Zhang holds refugee status from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and is among a group of 19 activists named in a round of arrest warrants issued in Hong Kong in July 2025 under the city’s national security law.

  • Authorities cited the activists’ involvement in the “Hong Kong Parliament,” a group of overseas activists who held unofficial polls outside the city to form a shadow legislature to “pursue the ideal of Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong,” as justification for the warrants.

  • In total, 34 people are wanted under the law on suspicion of offenses such as subversion, inciting secession, and colluding with foreign forces.

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Ashley Haek is a communications coordinator and research assistant at The Future of Free Speech.