The 53rd ALEC Annual Meeting is coming up fast! From the White House, Representative @RepDanielSingh and Senator @Dan_Laursen of Wyoming, who also serve as ALEC State Chairs, share their excitement for all the upcoming events in Orlando!
Register here:
https://t.co/UC5b84L4Ef
Massachusetts House just voted 129-25 to ban kids under 14 from social media. To enforce it, every user in the state has to verify their age. Asked about the privacy implications, the House Speaker basically said "we're doing it to protect kids" and moved on...
🚨👏 YESSSS!!! @USComptroller just said the OCC opposes federal encroachment on states' authority to charter banks, citing both the @federalreserve blocking master account access for state-chartered banks & the FDIC similarly using deposit insurance access as a cudgel to "second-guess state banking authorities' decisions." @ProfJulieHill
Thank you to Senator Lummis and federal leaders for coming to Wyoming. While others slow innovation, Wyoming leads, and Washington is now looking to Cheyenne.
@SenLummis@CaitlinLong_
Visited WY Fresh today. Local beef, milk, honey and more all from Wyoming producers. We should source our food here, not Brazil or Argentina. Proud to support local agriculture and businesses 🥩🌾🇺🇸
The Wyoming GRANITE Act would shield Reddit from this fine and allow Reddit to bring a lawsuit against the UK Information Commissioner's Office for it.
HB70-The Wyoming GRANITE Act passed 3rd reading in the House! This bill would shield US citizens from the enforcement of foreign censorship laws that conflict with the US Constitution’s 1st Amend by creating a private right of action for Wyoming residents and businesses.
🚨 The Wyoming GRANITE Act just cleared the House, 46–12.
The GRANITE Act is America’s first explicit foreign censorship shield law. It protects Wyoming residents and businesses with a nexus in Wyoming from being punished by foreign governments trying to enforce their speech laws on US soil.
Now it heads to the Senate...
BREAKING: the Wyoming GRANITE Act, America's first-ever foreign censorship shield bill, has PASSED the Wyoming House of Representatives, 46-12!
On to the Wyoming Senate!
Explaining:
1) Ofcom's original demand in August
Ofcom originally sent 4chan a demand to explain its content moderation practices.
That demand was refused on 1st, 4th, and 5th Amendment grounds; 4chan is not required to explain its content moderation decisions, is not required to hand over internal information without a warrant, and cannot be compelled to be a witness against itself. That was the subject of our DC case.
Ofcom has no lawful power in the United States to compel my client to surrender these rights.
Ofcom has renewed its demand from August in this latest notice. Ofcom has also now said it will fine 4chan for:
2) Not including provisions in its Terms of Service specifying how individuals are to be protected from "illegal content."
"Illegal content" in the UK includes constitutionally protected speech, such as e.g. "grossly offensive" speech or politically controversial speech.
4chan cannot, under the First Amendment, be compelled to explain how it intends to comply with UK law nor is it required to implement UK content moderation law on its US platform.
3) Not conducting age verification.
4chan is an anonymous web board. 4chan's users have the right to be anonymous, and 4chan has the right to permit anonymous speech, under the First Amendment.
In each case, Ofcom has no lawful power in the United States to compel my client to de-anonymize its users. The Constitution would bar any American court from domesticating Ofcom's orders to do these things.
4) Also, in all cases, Ofcom has made these demands to 4chan by e-mail.
It is axiomatic, private international law 101, that Ofcom cannot compel an American company to do something in America without domesticating its orders in an American court.
We have explained to Ofcom - on many, many occasions - that it is required to seek our courts' permission first if it wants to compel my client to lift so much as a pinky finger.
Ofcom doesn't want to do this in American courts, because it knows that our courts would refuse to domesticate Ofcom's orders on First Amendment grounds.
We asked a court in D.C. to confirm this for us. Ofcom's response to our lawsuit was to invoke America's Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, or FSIA, to shield them from our courts. In effect, Ofcom’s position is that American law doesn’t protect Americans from the UK when the UK threatens Americans, but it absolutely protects the UK from Americans when we seek judicial protection from the UK.
This is why the GRANITE Act proposals invite Congress to amend the FSIA. Foreign censors are using America's own laws as a shield for their terrible behavior. We should take that shield away.
Ofcom doesn't want to play by America's rules. That's not my client's problem. It's not America's problem. It's Ofcom's problem.
SLAM DUNK: the Wyoming GRANITE Act, which, if enacted would be the first foreign censorship shield law in history, has passed its introduction vote 57-5.
Foreign censors, enjoy coming after Americans while you still can - because your time to do so is running short.