U.S. Court Blocks Deportation of Tufts Student & Hong Kong Activist Sentenced to 20 Years | The Free Flow 2/12/26

The FTC warned bias on Apple News app could violate consumer protection laws, EU preliminary findings suggest TikTok's 'addictive features' violate the DSA, and more.

This Week at a Glance 🔎

— 🇺🇲 FTC Warns Apple on News App Bias

— 🇮🇳 India Reduces Time to Comply with Online Takedown Orders

— 🇪🇺 EU Says TikTok ‘Addictive Features’ Breached DSA

— 🇨🇳 Hong Kong Activist Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

— 🇹🇷 Turkish Journalist Faces Prison for Social Media Posts

First of All 🇺🇲

» FTC Warns Apple News App Bias May Violate Consumer Protection Laws

• In a February 11 letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson warned the company that it may be violating consumer protection laws by stifling conservative media on its news app.

• Details:

  • The letter from the FTC chair comes a day after the New York Post reported on a study by the Media Research Center, a conservative media criticism organization, alleging that Apple News’ aggregation did not include right-leaning outlets.

  • The FTC’s letter pointed to Section 5 of the FTC Act that prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” and requested the company to review whether its curation practices do not violate the terms of service it provides to consumers.

  • “Any act or practice by Apple News to suppress or promote news articles based on the perceived ideological or political viewpoint of the article or publication, if inconsistent with Apple’s terms of service or the reasonable expectations of consumers, may violate the FTC Act,” Ferguson wrote.

  • The letter qualified that the FTC “is not the speech police” and that the agency does not “have the authority to require Apple or any other firm to take affirmative positions on any political issue” or “curate news offerings consistent with one ideology or another.”

  • Apple News claims to be the top news app in the country and features a mix of content curated by editors, while other content surfaces via algorithmic recommendations.

» Grand Jury Declines Charges against Congressional Democrats’ Social Media Post

• A federal grand jury refused to indict six congressional Democrats targeted by the Justice Department over a social media post encouraging members of the military to reject “illegal orders.”

• Background:

  • On November 24, the Pentagon announced an investigation into the lawmakers’ “potentially unlawful comments,” as detailed in a previous Free Flow.

  • In the video, the group, who were also all military veterans or former members of the intelligence community, told military personnel that they “must refuse illegal orders,” following a series of proposals from President Trump.

  • Two sources told CBS News that the Justice Department sought to charge the group under a criminal statute that threatens a 10-year maximum prison sentence for anybody who “advises, counsels, urges, or in any manner causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military.”

» FIRE Sues FTC Following Investigation into NewsGuard

• The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission and its chairman, Andrew Ferguson, on behalf of NewsGuard, a news media rating service.

• The complaint was filed in response to the FTC’s demands for NewsGuard’s documents and records, as well as allegations that the organization was biased. The agency claims that the inquiry was part of an antitrust investigation.

• Background:

  • NewsGuard employs a team of journalists who review the reliability of news sites and assign a score, which is used by consumers, AI companies, search engines, news aggregators, brands, and researchers.

  • The FTC and Ferguson targeted the company, alleging it violated antitrust laws after it assigned Newsmax, a conservative-leaning website, a low score.

• The Lawsuit:

  • The suit claims the agency demanded all documents, including emails, texts, reporters’ notes, and subscriber lists, dating back to NewsGuard’s founding “under the guise of a supposed antitrust investigation.”

  • It also points to a provision added to a draft merger order between Omnicom and Interpublic Group that prohibits either from prescribing or relying on the service.

  • The added condition bars Omnicom from doing business with any entity that engages in the “veracity of news reporting or other politically or ideologically contested facts, such as their characterization as ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ ‘bias’ or similar terms.”

  • The suit claims that both the demand for NewsGuard materials and merger conditions “came at the urging of Newsmax.”

  • The FTC “is brazenly using its power not for any issue concerning trade or commerce, but rather to censor speech,” the suit read, adding that “the government’s legitimate role is not to decide ‘what counts as the right balance of private expression— to ‘un-bias’ what it thinks biased.”

» US Immigration Court Blocks Tufts Student’s Deportation over Op-Ed

• An immigration court has blocked the deportation of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish Tufts University graduate student who was detained in March 2025 after co-authoring an op-ed criticizing her university’s response to the war in Gaza.

• Details:

  • In a letter to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Öztürk’s attorneys wrote that the immigration court determined the Department of Homeland Security had not proven that she should be removed from the U.S. and terminated her removal proceedings.

  • The DHS has the option to appeal the court’s decision and may try to detain her again, according to her attorneys.

  • In a statement, the DHS argued, “Visas provided to foreign students to live, study, and work in the United States are a privilege, not a right — no matter what this or any other activist judicial ruling says.”

  • Öztürk was arrested while walking down a street and placed in an unmarked vehicle, and remained in a Louisiana immigrant detention center until May 2025. She’s currently back on the Tufts campus in Massachusetts.

» Drag Performances Face New Threats in Tennessee

• A recently filed bill, HB 884, equates Tennessee drag performers with burlesque dancers and would limit where they can perform or remove their clothing.

• Details:

  • The bill would expand a 2023 “anti-drag” law by automatically placing adult cabaret under the legal term “adult-oriented establishments.”

  • Adult-oriented establishments are currently defined as businesses that offer sexually oriented material, devices, paraphernalia, or sexual activities as their “principal or predominant stock or trade.”

  • The expanded legislation would consider any business that hosts “adult cabaret” performances, even sporadically, as “adult-oriented establishments.”

  • Businesses that host these events could potentially be denied a license if they are located within 1,000 feet of residences, churches, schools, or daycare centers.

  • For small businesses, the cost of a license alone could prevent them from hosting even a one-time performance.

  • House Rep. Chris Todd, who submitted HB 884, said the state “leads the nation in passing commonsense policies to protect children from dangerous left-wing social policies.”

  • The bill has already passed the House and awaits Senate consideration.

Our Take: In a statement posted to X, we wrote that “burdening this expressive conduct — presented to consenting adult audiences — through zoning and licensing regimes designed for entirely different activity raises serious concerns about overbreadth and content-based regulation.”

The Digital Age 🤖

» India Reduces Time to Comply with Takedown Orders to 3 Hours

• On February 10, India published amendments to its 2021 IT Rules that direct social media platforms to escalate scrubbing of AI-generated deepfakes and impersonations. It also compresses the time they have to comply with such orders.

• The Amendments:

  • Platforms have three hours to respond to official takedown requests and two hours for certain urgent user complaints, or they risk losing their safe-harbor protections enshrined in Indian law.

  • Social media platforms that allow users to upload or share audiovisual content must require disclosures on whether the material is synthetically generated.

  • Platforms must also deploy tools to verify these user disclosures, identify and label deepfakes, embed traceable technology in deepfakes, and prevent the creation or sharing of prohibited synthetic content.

  • Prohibited content has expanded to include deceptive impersonations, non-consensual intimate imagery, and material linked to serious crimes, which could result in increased penalties and enable platforms to disclose users’ identities to private complainants without judicial oversight.

  • The amended law will take effect on February 20, giving platforms 10 days to adjust their compliance and moderation systems.

» Russia Throttles Telegram Over Legal Violations

• On February 11, Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, announced that Telegram — a messaging platform with over 60 million Russian users — would begin slowing its nationwide service.

• Details:

  • Roskomnadzor accused the platform of failing to address regulatory violations, though it provided no further details.

  • The Kremlin spokesperson said officials were in contact with Telegram representatives and that they would take further action “in accordance with our legislation” if the company fails to respond.

  • A day before the announcement, users reported sluggish traffic and delayed video and image downloads, though the app continued to work.

  • The news comes as officials continue promoting Max, a state-backed messaging platform that advances a push for a “sovereign internet” cut off from foreign influence.

  • The throttling has sparked backlash from the pro-war blogging community and the army, with both describing the app as an essential communications tool.

The Brussels Effect: Europe and Beyond 🇪🇺

» EU Investigation Says TikTok’s ‘Addictive Design’ Breached DSA

• Following its two-year investigation into TikTok, the European Union has accused the company of breaching the Digital Services Act with “addictive design” features that led to compulsive use by children.

• The Preliminary Findings:

  • Thomas Regnier, a spokesman of the European Commission, said TikTok’s features, including infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommender systems, “pose major risks” to users’ well-being.

  • The commission determined that the company failed to put in place “reasonable, proportionate and effective” safeguards to prevent compulsive use.

  • Although TikTok has existing time-management controls, the Commission said these are easy to dismiss and that parental controls require “additional time and skills” from parents.

  • The Commission wants TikTok to disable “infinite scroll,” add more effective screen-time breaks, including at night, and change its algorithmic recommender system.

• What’s Next:

  • In a statement, TikTok argued the preliminary findings “present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform.”

  • The company has said it uses multiple tools, including custom screen-time limits, sleep reminders, and teen accounts with parental controls that prompt users to switch off in the evenings.

  • TikTok has an opportunity to respond to the commission’s findings, but could face fines of up to 6% of its total annual revenue.

» Italian Cabinet Slated to Approve Proposal Expanding Police Power Over Protests

• Italy’s cabinet is set to approve a decree on February 12 that would expand police powers, including the ability to detain protesters without a charge for up to 12 hours.

• Details:

  • Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the rules are necessary following violent protests in the city of Turin over the eviction of anti-establishment activists occupying a community center.

  • Recent demonstrations over the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s involvement in security for the 2026 Olympics have amplified tensions.

Free Speech Recession 🌍

» Hong Kong Activist Jimmy Lai Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

• The longest sentence since the enactment of China’s 2020 national security law was imposed on Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, founder of the Apple Daily newspaper, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

• Details:

  • Lai was convicted of collusion with foreign forces, endangering national security, and conspiracy to publish seditious materials, as detailed in a previous Free Flow.

  • He was arrested in August 2020 following widespread pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019, and has been serving a separate prison term over fraud charges for the past five years.

  • In 2021, police arrested Apple Daily employees and froze its assets.

  • Authorities insist Lai used reporting as a pretext to commit acts that threatened China’s security, and accused him of lobbying foreign governments to impose sanctions, blockades, and engage in hostile activities in Hong Kong.

» Two Chinese Journalists Detained for Alleging Corruption

• Two Chinese journalists, Qu Yingjiao and Liu Hu, have been detained after publishing a report that accused a southwestern Chinese official of corruption.

• Details:

  • The pair published a joint investigative report examining Pu Fayou, the Communist Party secretary of the Sichuan county of Pujiang, on WeChat.

  • The report has since been deleted from WeChat, and police announced an investigation into the journalists on suspicion of “making false accusations” and “illegal business operations.”

» Turkish Journalist Faces Up to 5 Years Imprisonment Over Social Media Posts

• Sedef Kabaş, a Turkish journalist, has been indicted on charges of “inciting crime” in her social media posts and faces prison sentences of up to five years.

• Details:

  • The indictment cites a social media post in which Kabaş warned elections could become “merely symbolic” and advocated for civil disobedience.

  • Kabaş was detained on January 26, but later released under judicial supervision, which includes an international travel ban and requires her to regularly report to a police station for the next four months.

  • Kabaş has a history of being targeted for “insulting the president,” including a three-year sentence in 2022 for remarks she made during a television program, and an ongoing trial from 2023 over 25 social media posts.

» Malian Authorities Arrest Journalist for Criticizing Niger Military Leader

• Malian authorities have arrested Youssouf Sissoko, editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper L’Alternance, for criticizing the military leader of its neighboring country, Niger.

• Context:

  • Both Mali and Niger are ruled by military “junta” leaders who forcefully seized power and created their own security alliance.

  • Malian authorities have cracked down on journalists, banning the sale of the Pan-African magazine Jeune Afrique and several French media outlets, including France 24 and Radio France International, since January 2025.

• Sissoko’s Arrest:

  • On February 2, L’Alternance published an article questioning accusations made by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchani that the presidents of France, Benin, and the Ivory Coast supported extremist groups that attacked an airport in Niger’s capital, Niamey, last month.

  • Human Rights Watch reported that Sissoko was charged with “spreading false information and insulting a foreign head of state, among other offenses,” before he was detained in pretrial custody.

» Brazilian Woman Faces Up to 10 Years Imprisonment for Social Media Comments

• Isadora Borges, a Brazilian veterinary student, is facing criminal prosecution over social media comments where she claimed males cannot become female, with potential prison sentences ranging from 4 to 10 years.

• Details:

  • Borges made two posts on X in November 2020, one stating that transgender women “were obviously born male” and the other echoing remarks from a Sydney University emeritus professor that said “a person who identifies as transgender retains their birth DNA. No surgery, synthetic hormone, or change of clothes will alter this fact.”

  • In September 2025, Borges was charged with two counts of transphobia, with each count carrying a punishment of 2-5 years in prison.

» Russian Comedian Sentenced to Prison for War Veteran Joke

• Artemy Ostanin, a Moscow-based stand-up comedian, has been sentenced to almost six years for a joke he made about a war veteran who lost his legs at a show last year.

• Details:

  • Video footage of Ostanin telling a story about bumping into a disabled veteran on the metro, who he referred to as a “legless skater,” circulated on social media along with calls for the comic to be punished for insulting Russian soldiers.

  • The comedian was arrested last year and added to Moscow’s list of terrorists and extremists.

  • A Moscow court convicted him of inciting veterans of the “special military operation,” Moscow’s term for the war in Ukraine, and for inciting hatred and insulting religious feelings with a separate joke.

  • He was sentenced to five years and nine months in a “general regime penal colony.”

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

Abigail Pope is a communications intern at The Future of Free Speech and a student at Vanderbilt University studying economics.