Meta Threatens Shut Down in New Mexico & Global Press Freedom at 25 Year Low | The Free Flow 5/7/26

FCC Commisioner condemns the early license review of Disney's broadcast stations, Meta threatens to shut down its platforms in New Mexico, press freedom hits global all-time low, and more.

This Week at a Glance 🔎

— 🇺🇸 FCC Commissioner Condemns Disney Stations’ Early License Review

— 🌍 RSF Report: Global Press Freedom at Lowest Point in 25 Years

— 🤖 Meta Threatens Shut Down of Instagram, Facebook in New Mexico

— 🇺🇲 U.S. Senate Considers Bill to Require ID Checks for AI Chatbots

— 🇲🇲 Myanmar Revokes Publishing Licenses of Three News Outlets

First of All 🇺🇸

» FCC Commissioner Condemns Disney-Owned Stations’ Early License Review

• Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Anna Gomez publicly condemned the agency’s initiation of an early review process for Disney-owned broadcast stations’ licenses as “the most egregious action this FCC has taken in violation of the First Amendment to date.”

• Details:

  • The criticism focuses on the FCC’s order directing Disney’s eight television stations to file their broadcast license renewals ahead of schedule following a controversial monologue from Jimmy Kimmel, a late-night host on Disney’s ABC network, as mentioned in last week’s Free Flow.

  • FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has repeatedly said that the agency has a duty to scrutinize whether broadcasters that rely on public airwaves are serving “the public interest.”

  • Gomez argued that the move, which comes after a separate FCC investigation into Disney’s diversity practices, is evidence that the Trump administration is attempting to intimidate critics in the media.

  • “This should be a lesson to media companies that no amount of capitulation to this Administration will buy them protection,” Gomez added. “The only choice is to stand up and stand firm in defense of the First Amendment.”

» FBI Launches Criminal Leak Investigation Over The Atlantic’s Reporting on Director Patel

• The FBI has launched a criminal leak investigation into The Atlantic magazine journalist who wrote that FBI Director Kash Patel had “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”

• Details:

  • The investigation comes two weeks after Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the publication and the reporter, Sarah Fitzpatrick, as mentioned in a previous Free Flow.

  • Criminal leak investigations typically look into government officials who may have disclosed state secrets or classified documents, which makes its application to this case, where unclassified information was leaked to a reporter, unusual.

  • The investigation could allow agents to obtain Fitzpatrick’s phone number, run her name and personal information through databases, and examine her social media contacts, though it is not known what steps have been taken.

  • A spokesperson denied the existence of the investigation to MS NOW, and said, “Every time there’s a publication of false claims by anonymous sources that gets called out, the media plays the victim via investigations that do not exist.”

  • Fitzpatrick’s story included over two dozen anonymous sources that detailed concern among FBI officials over Patel’s alcohol consumption.

» Federal Trade Commission Withdraws Appeal, Comes to an Agreement with Media Matters

• Media Matters for America has won its case against the Federal Trade Commission’s retaliatory investigation into the organization last June.

• Context:

  • In June 2025, Media Matters sued to block the FTC’s investigation following its article about social media platform X’s placement of antisemitic posts next to major brands’ advertisements.

  • In August, the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. granted a temporary injunction blocking the agency from enforcing its investigation and determining it had likely acted with “retaliatory animus.”

  • Two months later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to stay the lower court’s decision, preventing the investigation from moving forward.

  • In April of this year, judges questioned the FTC’s counsel, asking that the FTC explain whether there was something “radically left” about being anti-Nazi.

  • The FTC later sought to withdraw its appeal and has now agreed to a binding agreement that guarantees it will never reissue investigative demands to the company.

The Digital Age 🤖

» Meta Threatens to Pull Instagram and Facebook from New Mexico Over Age-Verification Dispute

• Meta warned it may shut down Instagram and Facebook in New Mexico entirely rather than comply with a push by state prosecutors for fundamental changes to platforms’ child accounts.

• Context:

  • The push comes after a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for knowingly harming children’s mental health and concealing what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

  • The second phase of the case will unfold next week during a bench trial on allegations that Meta poses a public nuisance.

  • State prosecutors are now asking the court to order a series of changes to children’s social media accounts, including age-verification mandates, default privacy settings, and more stringent oversight.

• The Warning:

  • In a court filing, Meta argued it was unrealistic for the company to meet a proposed requirement for 99% accuracy in verifying that platforms’ child users are at least 13, among other demands.

  • “As a practical matter, this requirement effectively requires Meta to shut down its services — for all users in the state — or else comply with impossible obligations,” the filing read.

» U.S. Senate Panel Advances Bill to Ban Minors From AI Chatbot Companions

• A Senate committee unanimously advanced a bill that would prohibit minors under the age of 18 from accessing AI “companions” and require systems to disclose their “non-human status and lack of professional credentials” for all users.

• The GUARD Act:

  • The bill, known as the Guidelines for User Age-verification and Responsible Dialogue (GUARD) Act, defines an AI companion as a chatbot designed to simulate interpersonal or emotional interaction with the user.

  • It would also establish a new crime for companies that “knowingly” make chatbots that “solicit or produce sexual content” available to minors.

  • The Act proposes age-verification measures to ensure compliance, including the submission of government ID.

Our Take: In a statement to The Hill, Ashkhen Kazaryan said, “By mandating government ID or equivalent age verification for any American who wishes to interact with an AI chatbot, the bill burdens the speech and associational rights of every adult, not just minors.”

» Lawsuit Pushes Back on Minnesota Law Mandating Social Media Health Warnings

• NetChoice, a tech trade group, has filed a lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law that requires social media companies to show users health warning labels on their sites.

• Details:

  • The warnings provided in the legislation were designed by the Minnesota Department of Health and will be required to appear on social media users’ feeds on July 1 if the law is passed.

  • The lawsuit argues that the law violates platforms’ First Amendment rights by requiring them to express “the government’s preferred message.

  • Similar social media warning legislation has passed in states like California (effective Jan 1, 2027), New York (effective date pending state rulemaking), and Colorado, though a federal court has paused Colorado’s law after a similar lawsuit by NetChoice.

• Potential Required Warnings Include:

  • “Warning: The app may repeatedly show similar or upsetting content, which may negatively affect your mental health. Use tools (mute, unfollow, “not interested”) to change what you see. Support is available: Call/text 988 or visit 988Lifeline.org.”

  • “Warning: Infinite scrolling and videos that play automatically may make it difficult to stop. Extended use may affect sleep, school, work, and mood. Call/text 988 or visit 988Lifeline.org.”

  • “Comparing yourself to ‘perfect’ posts? Call/Text 988 or visit 988Lifeline.org. Warning: Many images are edited and may affect self-esteem and mood.”

» UK Children Are Drawing Fake Mustaches to Beat Online Age Checks — and It’s Working

• A report from Internet Matters reveals that a third of children in the UK claim to have bypassed online age checks in the past two months, some by drawing mustaches to trick facial recognition software.

• Details:

  • The report follows the passage of the UK’s Online Safety Act, which began enforcing safety measures, including reporting tools, content warnings, and restrictions on features such as livestreaming, in July 2025.

  • According to the report, 46% of children said they believe age checks are easy to bypass, while 17% said they are difficult to bypass.

  • Children described using fake birthdates, someone else’s identification, submitting videos of other people’s faces, and using video game characters to circumvent facial recognition software.

  • The report also found that 26% parents have allowed their child to bypass age checks, with 17% actively helping them to do so.

» Utah Law Targeting VPN Use Goes Into Effect

• On May 6, Utah’s first-of-its-kind law targeting the use of VPNs to avoid age-verification mandates took effect.

• Details:

  • Utah lawmakers pushed for the bill as VPN usage surged after Pornhub blocked Utah IP addresses from accessing the site because of the state’s age-verification law.

  • The bill, known as the Online Age Verification Amendments, includes provisions that regulate access to websites based on geographic location, regardless of VPN use, and bans the sharing of VPN instructions.

The Brussels Effect: Europe and Beyond 🇪🇺

» EU Accuses Meta of Age-Verification Failures

• The European Commission’s preliminary ruling has found that Meta has failed to implement required safeguards to keep children under the age of 13 off its platforms, Instagram and Facebook.

• Details:

  • The ruling determined that there is no adequate system in place to identify and remove the accounts of minors who manage to bypass the platforms’ age limits.

  • Regulators said Meta’s tool for reporting minors is “difficult to use and not effective,” and that the lack of effective controls appears to violate the Digital Services Act.

  • Under the DSA, the commission can issue a fine of up to 6% of Meta’s worldwide revenue.

  • The findings come as the EU is investigating Meta on other issues, including whether its platforms have an addictive design, and a probe into its recommender systems.

» European MEPs Call for Sanctions Against Georgian TV Channels

• The European Parliament is due to vote on proposed amendments to its annual report on Georgia that call for sanctions against several pro-government broadcasters.

• The Amendments:

  • The amendments, published on March 19, call for restrictive measures against three Georgian TV channels: Imedi, Rustavi 2, and POSTV.

  • Another Amendment raises the possibility of extending sanctions to leaders of Georgia’s National Communications Commission and the Public Broadcaster.

  • Individuals from Imedi and POSTV who are explicitly named in the report for spreading “deliberately misleading information” about the war in Ukraine could also face sanctions.

• The Report:

  • The report describes the TV outlets as a “communications arm” of the ruling Georgian Dream party that spreads disinformation and hostile propaganda.

  • It focuses on campaigns targeting EU institutions and representatives, condemning “demeaning narratives” and “manipulative reporting” that undermine public trust in the bloc.

  • Georgia’s status as an EU candidate country is highlighted, with the report adding that such practice runs counter to the country’s commitments to obtain that status, and that disinformation undermines the fundamental principles of democratic accountability.

Free Speech Recession 🌍

» Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index Shows Sharp Global Decline

• Reporters Without Borders (RSF) latest Press Freedom Index shows media freedom is at a 25-year low, with countries like the U.S. falling as many as seven places in the rankings.

• Findings:

  • Out of the 180 countries in the report, 100 experienced a decline in press freedom, and more than half of the countries now fall into the ‘difficult’ or ‘very serious’ categories for press freedom.

  • The U.S. has fallen to 64th place, seven places below its previous ranking, which the report attributes to the Trump administration’s “systematic policy” of “repeated attacks on the press and journalists.”

  • The steepest decline took place in Niger, which fell 37th places to 120th, as a wave of suppression washed over the Sahel region with armed groups and ruling juntas attacking journalists.

  • Meanwhile, Syria saw positive improvements, rising from 177th to 141st, and Ukraine moved by seven places to 55th.

• Pushback from Hong Kong:

  • The Hong Kong government and legislature condemned the reports after it was ranked 140th.

  • The report cited the 20-year sentence given to journalist and activist Jimmy Lai, which the government said was an attempt to “sugarcoat the criminal acts of a national security offender.”

  • The government also called out Deutsche Welle after it awarded Lai its 2026 freedom of speech award, and said the “so-called ‘award’” was an attempt to “slander, smear, as well as attack” authorities.

» 50,000 Protesters Were Arrested During Iran’s Crackdown, Some Face Death Penalty

• Around 50,000 people were arrested in total during anti-regime protests across Iran in January that led up to the Iran war, with some facing charges that carry the death penalty.

• Details:

  • The United Nations reports that at least 21 political prisoners have been executed since the start of the war, and many were forced to confess under torture.

  • Primary reports have revealed that several thousand simply disappeared in custody as well.

» China Pressures Zambia to Cancel World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference

• Access Now, the group that organizes the world’s largest digital rights conference, RightsCon, has said the event was canceled following pressure from the Chinese government.

• Details:

  • A week before the conference was scheduled to take place in Lusaka, Zambia, the Zambian government announced it would be postponed to an unspecified date.

  • Two days before the announcement, Access Now learned that the Chinese government had been informed of the in-person participation of Taiwanese people.

  • It claims the Chinese government tried to influence the Zambian government’s approach to Taiwanese participants’ move across the border.

  • According to Access Now, it was told “informally from multiple sources” that “in order for RightsCon to continue, we would have to moderate specific topics and exclude communities at risk, including our Taiwanese participants, from in-person and online participation.”

» Myanmar Junta Revokes Publishing Licenses of Three Media Outlets

• Myanmar’s military junta revoked the publication licenses of three news agencies (Khonumthung Media Group, Chin World, and Myatmaukkhit News Agency) for publishing and broadcasting content detrimental to national security, the rule of law, and public peace.

• Details:

  • The revocation prohibits the news outlets from publishing or broadcasting on any media platform or technology.

  • The bans took effect on April 9 and were formally announced on April 24.

  • The Independent Myanmar Journalists Association told the Committee to Protect Journalists that several journalists associated with the banned outlets have gone into hiding to avoid arrest or harassment.

» Uganda Passes ‘Foreign Agents’ Law

• The “Protection of Sovereignty” bill, passed on May 5, criminalizes actions deemed to promote the “interests of a foreigner against those of Uganda” and labels anyone receiving money abroad as a foreign agent.

• Details:

  • The bill drew outrage among Ugandans, prompting lawmakers to remove a clause classifying Ugandans abroad as “foreigners” and creating an exemption for certain institutions, including medical, academic, and faith-based organizations, from restrictions on foreign funding.

  • Human Rights Watch said the bill’s vague language could be used to target activists and organizations, and risks shrinking civic space in a country already accused of suppressing dissent.

---

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