UK Ban on Palestine Action Ruled Unlawful & Snapchat CEO Slams Australia Social Media Ban | The Free Flow 2/18/26
The UK High Court ruled the government's ban on Palestine Action is unlawful, Snapchat CEO says Australia's social media ban for minors is backfiring, and more.
This Week at a Glance 🔎
— 🇺🇲 DHS Seeks to Unmask Anti-ICE Social Media Accounts
— 🇷🇺 Russia Scrubs YouTube and WhatsApp Domains
— 🇬🇧 UK Ban on Palestine Action Ruled Unlawful
— 🇮🇷 Iranian Security Raids and Arrests Protesters
— 🇦🇺 SnapChat CEO Slams Australia’s Social Media Ban for Minors
First of All 🇺🇲
» DHS Uses Subpoenas to Unmask Anti-ICE Social Media Accounts
The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly sent hundreds of subpoenas to tech companies seeking to unmask anonymous accounts criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or describing the location of agents in recent months.
Details:
The subpoenas demand that tech companies turn over the names, email addresses, telephone numbers, and other identifying data behind the accounts.
Four government officials and tech employees privy to the requests told the New York Times that Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta have received hundreds of such subpoenas in recent months.
Government officials also said that Google, Meta, and Reddit had complied with some of the requests, though tech companies can choose whether or not to provide the information.
Some of the companies notify the people whom the government has requested data on and give them 10 to 14 days to fight against the subpoena in court.
» Stephen Colbert Says CBS Declined to Air Interview with Political Candidate, Citing FCC ‘Equal Time’ Concerns
Stephen Colbert, host of the “Late Show,” said CBS declined to air his interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico following pressure from the Federal Communications Commission to enforce its “equal time” rule.
Details:
The “equal time” rule requires broadcast networks to provide comparable airtime to legally qualified political candidates and their opponents.
However, “bona fide” news interviews have historically been exempted from the requirement. Interviews on daytime and evening talk shows have also been exempted.
The FCC has not formally eliminated the exemption, though FCC Chairman Brendan Carr suggested in a January 21 letter that the exemption should no longer apply to programs “motivated by partisan purposes.”
Colbert said that while the FCC has not formally enforced a change, CBS “is unilaterally enforcing it as if he had,” adding that the network “clearly did not want him to talk about this.”
The interview was aired on “The Late Show” YouTube channel and featured Talarico, who is running for the U.S. Senate, discussing the FCC crackdown.
In a statement, CBS News said the show was “not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview” and that the “show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule.” It also “presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled.”
» Judge Blocks Pentagon Action Against Sen. Mark Kelly, Calls Speech ‘Unquestionably Protected’
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has granted Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) a preliminary injunction against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from pursuing penalties over a social media video where Kelly and other lawmakers reminded U.S. military personnel they can “refuse illegal orders.”
Background:
All the lawmakers who appeared in the November video had served in the armed forces or intelligence agencies, but Kelly was the only one facing potential disciplinary action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, under a disputed theory that retirees remain subject to the code.
In a January 5 letter of censure, Hegseth said Kelly had “engaged in a sustained pattern of public statements that characterized lawful military operations as illegal and counseled members of the Armed Forces to refuse orders.”
Hegseth said the evidence was sufficient to lower Kelly’s retirement rank and pension, and that he could be subject to “criminal prosecution” if he continued to threaten order and discipline.
Judge Richard J. Leon’s Ruling:
Leon said Kelly’s speech was “unquestionably protected,” and determined he was likely to prevail in his claim that Hegseth had retaliated against him for his speech.
Leon added that extending the limited First Amendment protections of active-duty military to legislators, who have heightened free speech protections, was constitutionally unsound.
The Digital Age 🤖
» Russia Scrubs YouTube and WhatsApp Domains
Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has begun removing banned and blocked websites from the National Domain Name System (NSDI), including YouTube, WhatsApp, and at least 13 other resources.
The Removals:
Reports surfaced on February 10 that YouTube had disappeared from the domain system, with WhatsApp following a day later.
Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Windscribe, Apkmirror, Tor, have also been removed.
Media outlets, including BBC, Current Time, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and The Moscow Times, have disappeared.
According to Mikhail Klimarev, director of the Internet Protection Society, when users attempt to access a blocked website in Russia, they receive a response stating that “such a site does not exist.”
Broader Context:
The news comes as the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of Parliament, is preparing to review amendments to the country’s Law on Communications that would allow the Federal Security Service (FSB) to suspend communications nationwide.
The FSB would be able to order telecom providers to temporarily cut mobile internet access, fixed broadband connections, and telephone services “to protect citizens and the state from security threats.”
» Snap CEO Says Australia’s Teen Social Media Ban Is ‘Backfiring’
In a Financial Times op-ed, Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc, the owner of Snapchat, warns that Australia’s under-16 social media ban is a “massive experiment with high stakes.”
Background:
In December, Australia implemented a law barring anyone under 16 from using designated “social platforms,” including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, as detailed in a previous Free Flow.
To comply, Snap has locked or disabled more than 415,000 Australian accounts it believes belong to underage users.
Other countries — including Germany, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and France — are considering similar measures.
Spiegel’s Op-Ed:
Spiegel’s op-ed does not frame his critique in free speech terms, but instead questions whether the policy will achieve its stated child-safety goals and warns about unintended consequences.
Spiegel argues that the law might lead teens to migrate to lesser-known platforms with fewer safety precautions, encourage the incorrect verification of users' ages because automated age-estimation technology is imperfect, and harm adolescent well-being, according to research.
Emmanuel Macron Responds: At an AI Summit in New Delhi, French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed Spiegel and other tech companies’ complaints, saying that their invocation of free speech was “pure bullshit” and arguing that opaque algorithms undermine meaningful democratic choice.
Macron said: “Having no clue about how their algorithm is made, how it’s tested, trained and where it will guide you — the democratic consequences of this bias could be huge. Some of them claim to be in favor of free speech — OK, we are in favor of free algorithms — totally transparent. Free speech is pure bullshit if nobody knows how you are guided to this so-called free speech, especially when it is guided from one hate speech to another.”
» Hillary Clinton and Al Gore Call for Social Media Regulation
In two recent interviews, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore spoke about the need for social media regulation.
Hillary Clinton: In an interview with BBC News, Hillary Clinton praised the EU’s Digital Services Act:
“But remember, the European Union is the only serious regulator of technology in the world right now. [ . . . ] When we first started talking about putting seatbelts in the cars because we had so many deaths from car accidents, the car makers complained, drivers complained, everybody complained. Who wants to have these straps over their body? We should be free in our cars. And the regulators said, we’re going to save lives. Now, I don’t think Elon Musk should determine the future of either our children or civilization. Of course, he doesn’t like it, but the Digital Services Act that the European Union passed is the only comprehensive effort to try to rein it in.
Al Gore: In a recent discussion at #BloombergGreen, Al Gore talked about the threat of social media to democracy:
“If you have social media that is dominated by algorithms, that pull people down these rabbit holes . . . these algorithms are the digital equivalent of AR-15s. They ought to be banned; they really ought to be banned. It’s an abuse of the public forum. But when people are pulled down these rabbit holes, you know what’s at the bottom of the rabbit hole? That’s where the echo chamber is. And if you spend too much time in the echo chamber, what’s weaponized is another form of AI, not artificial intelligence, artificial insanity . . . These devices are the enemies of self-government. And they’re the enemies of democracy.”
The Brussels Effect: Europe and Beyond 🇪🇺
» UK Ban on Palestine Action Ruled Unlawful
The UK’s High Court of Justice has ruled that the government’s ban on ‘Palestine Action,’ a direct-action network, under anti-terrorism laws was unlawful.
The Ban:
Judge Victoria Sharp, the president of the King’s Bench Division of the High Court, said, “The nature and scale of Palestine Action’s activities falling within the definition of terrorism had not yet reached the level, scale, and persistence to warrant proscription.”
More than 2,500 people arrested for supporting the group since its proscription are left in legal limbo after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced she would appeal against the ban.
In the meantime, London police announced they will discontinue arresting people for showing support for Palestine Action, though they will continue to gather evidence for potential future prosecution.
Context:
Of the 2,500 arrested, most were accused of violating section 13 of the Terrorism Act for holding placards that read “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” and could face a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
Showing support for or being a member of a proscribed group carries a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment under section 12 of the Terrorism Act.
More than 500 of those arrested have been charged.
» Belgium Summons U.S. Ambassador Over Social Media Post
Belgium has summoned the U.S. Ambassador, Bill White, after he accused the country of antisemitic prosecution in a post on X.
Context:
Belgian authorities are investigating three men for allegedly performing circumcisions without certified medical training, according to national broadcaster VRT.
White posted on X that the investigation was “unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community” in Belgium, adding, “You must make a legal provision to allow Jewish religious MOHELS to perform their duties here in Belgium.”
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot argued, “An ambassador accredited to Belgium has a responsibility to respect our institutions,” and “Personal attacks against a Belgian minister and interference in judicial matters violate basic diplomatic norms.”
Free Speech Recession 🌍
» Iranian Security Raids and Arrests Protesters
Iranian security agents have reportedly been raiding homes and workplaces in major cities and even rural areas to arrest individuals accused of participating in the ongoing nationwide protests calling for the end of the country’s theocratic rule.
Details:
Detainees are often held incommunicado and prohibited from contacting family members or lawyers, leaving relatives in the dark.
The Committee for Monitoring the Status of Detained Protesters (CMSDP), an international activist group, said authorities have been using municipal street cameras, store surveillance cameras, and drone footage to track participants in protests to their homes or workplaces.
Dadban, a group of Iranian lawyers based abroad documenting detentions, said families have reported that authorities have moved to suspend bank accounts, block SIM cards, and confiscate the property of protesters’ relatives or people who publicly express support for them.
Human Rights Activists News Agency has estimated that the number of arrests exceeds 50,000, with 107 university students, 82 children as young as 13, 19 lawyers, and 106 doctors verified by the CMSDP.
The news comes as the death toll from the protests climbs above 7,000, according to some estimates.
» Turkish Court Sentences Woman to Over 12 Years in Prison for Involvement in 2013 Protests
A Turkish court has sentenced Ayse Barim, a well-known talent manager, to 12 years and six months in prison on charges of aiding an attempt to overthrow the government.
Context:
Barim was arrested last year as part of an investigation into the 2013 nationwide “Gezi Park” protests against plans to build a shopping mall in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square.
The protests swelled into hundreds of thousands protesting against the government, sparking a sweeping crackdown that left more than 8,000 injured, more than 3,000 arrested, and 11 dead.
Prosecutors alleged that Barim coordinated with the actors she worked with and asked them to support the protests, a claim Barim denies.
Ashley Haek is a communications coordinator and research assistant at The Future of Free Speech.
Justin Hayes is the Director of Communications at The Future of Free Speech and the Managing Editor of The Bedrock Principle.
Abigail Pope is a communications intern at The Future of Free Speech and a student at Vanderbilt University studying economics.