New Hampshire
Congress silenced free speech in TikTok law, platform tells federal court • New Hampshire Bulletin
TikTok and its parent company argued Thursday in a federal court in the District of Columbia that the recently enacted law forcing a nationwide ban or sale of the popular platform violates the First Amendment.
TikTok Inc., which operates the video-sharing service in the United States, and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., which was founded by a Chinese national, filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit calling the law President Joe Biden signed in April an unprecedented restriction on the constitutional right to free speech.
“Never before has Congress expressly singled out and shut down a specific speech forum,” the brief reads. “Never before has Congress silenced so much speech in a single act.”
Upholding such an “extraordinary speech restriction” would require the court to undertake “exacting scrutiny” of Congress’ action, but Congress provided only a hypothetical national security argument to advance the bill, the companies said.
“Congress gave this Court almost nothing to review,” the brief continues. “Congress enacted no findings, so there is no way to know why majorities of the House and Senate decided to ban TikTok.”
Many individual lawmakers who supported the law raised national security concerns, saying ByteDance’s relationship with the Chinese government meant the country’s Communist Party leaders could demand access to TikTok users’ private data.
They also said the platform, which the company says has 170 million users in the U.S., could be used to spread propaganda.
But under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, labeling speech as foreign propaganda does not allow the government to overlook First Amendment protections, TikTok said in its brief.
Speculation about how the app “might” or “could” be used, rather than any concrete examples of misconduct, do not clear the high bar required to restrict speech, the companies added.
“A claim of national security does not override the Constitution,” the companies wrote Thursday.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department, which is defending the law, highlighted the intelligence community’s national security concerns with TikTok and said the law was consistent with the First Amendment.
“This legislation addresses critical national security concerns in a manner that is consistent with the First Amendment and other constitutional limitations,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement to States Newsroom. “We look forward to defending the legislation in court.
“Alongside others in our intelligence community and in Congress, the Justice Department has consistently warned about the threat of autocratic nations that can weaponize technology – such as the apps and software that run on our phones – to use against us. This threat is compounded when those autocratic nations require companies under their control to turn over sensitive data to the government in secret.”
Response to lawmakers
The brief said Congress had not included any official findings of harm from TikTok, but several individual members raised specific concerns about the kind of speech found on the platform.
The companies said Thursday those specific complaints bolstered the argument that TikTok is being denied free speech protections.
The brief cited several lawmaker statements:
- U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat who is ranking member on the House Select Committee on China, and former Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican who chaired the panel, said the platform’s algorithm fed an overwhelming share of pro-Palestinian content over videos that favor Israel.
- Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, said the platform “exposes children to harmful content.”
- Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, said the law would “make TikTok safer for our children and national security.”
- Nebraska Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts noted the popularity of the hashtag #StandwithKashmir, which protests a policy of India, a geopolitical rival of China.
“Legislators’ perception of the content reflected on TikTok was misinformed,” the companies said. “But well-founded or not, governmental policing of content differences is antithetical to the First Amendment.”
Oral arguments in September
Both chambers of Congress passed the law with bipartisan votes as part of a package that included aid to Israel and Ukraine. Biden signed the measure April 24.
TikTok pledged to sue and filed its legal challenge last month.
Tuesday’s brief expands on the company’s arguments. The government’s response is due July 26 and oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 16.
Divestment unworkable, TikTok says
TikTok and ByteDance said Thursday the provision in the bill to avoid a ban by divesting the service to a company without ties to China is unworkable, especially within the nine-month timeline required by the law.
Such a move would be technically complex, requiring years of engineering work, the companies said. It would also isolate the U.S. user base from the rest of the world, limiting revenue from advertisements.
And even if it were feasible from a technical or business standpoint, selling the platform would likely be rejected by the Chinese government, which has the authority to block exportation of technology developed in the country, the companies said.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire 6-year-old tests positive for cocaine, cannabis; mother faces multiple charges
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A New Hampshire woman was charged with child endangerment and witness tampering after her daughter ingested a THC gummy and later tested positive for cannabinoids and cocaine, according to officials.
The incident prompted a police investigation after the state Division for Children, Youth and Families notified the Nashua Police Department Nov. 3.
According to a release shared by Nashua Police Department, detectives learned the 6-year-old had been hospitalized following the ingestion and that her mother, Paige Goulet, allegedly told a witness not to cooperate with investigators.
DRUG-LACED CANDY DISGUISED AS KIDS’ TREATS FUELS NEW HALLOWEEN SAFETY WARNING FOR PARENTS: POLICE
The Nashua Police Department took custody of Goulet and formally charged her. (Nashua Police Department)
“While at the hospital, the juvenile victim tested positive for the illegal drugs, cannabinoids, and cocaine,” the release said.
“Detectives learned that Goulet had told a witness not to cooperate with the police investigation, and detectives determined that Goulet had neglected her duty to care for her juvenile daughter.”
Goulet, 30, was arrested Monday by Meredith police on a felony warrant for tampering with witnesses involved in the Nashua police investigation.
GUATEMALAN NATIONAL FREED WITHOUT BAIL IN THC GUMMIES CASE THAT SENT 12 MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS TO THE HOSPITAL
Nashua police determined Goulet had neglected her duty to care for her daughter. (Wang Zhao/AFP/GettyImages)
She was taken into custody by Nashua police and formally charged.
She is facing charges of tampering with witnesses and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the release.
FLORIDA PARENTS ARRESTED AFTER 4-YEAR-OLD TWINS ALLEGEDLY SHOT THEMSELVES
Paige Goulet was taken to the Nashua Police Department and charged with witness tampering and child endangerment after her daughter’s THC gummy ingestion. (Google Maps)
Goulet was released on $300 cash bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Nashua District Court Jan. 7.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Meredith and Nashua police departments for comment.
New Hampshire
It’s been 50 years since turkeys were reintroduced to N.H. A survey will check on the population. – The Boston Globe
In recent years, the survey has helped identify about 910 flocks on average, with about 16,488 birds reported per year.
Those numbers can fluctuate based on winter conditions. The birds are more likely to congregate at backyard feeders during winters with heavy snow and limited food, driving up reported numbers. On the other hand, when birds can easily get the food they need in the wild, reports tend to decrease, according to Daniel Ellingwood, a wildlife biologist and turkey project leader at New Hampshire Fish and Game.
He said the state has been conducting the survey for about 20 years. This year, the survey started in December and will run through March.
Right now, the turkey population in New Hampshire includes about 48,000 birds, Fish and Game estimated.
But just over 50 years ago, there weren’t any turkeys in the state at all. In fact, Ellingwood said, turkeys had been absent from New Hampshire’s landscape for about 125 years — starting in the 1850s and lasting until a successful reintroduction effort began in 1975.
Populations were diminished to the point of disappearing because of human activities like hunting and deforestation.
Then, in 1975, the state launched a successful effort to bring the turkeys back.
“A single flock from southwest New York was captured and translocated to Walpole, New Hampshire in ’75,” Ellingwood said. “That population took hold and began to expand.”
That first flock included about 25 birds. In the following years, other flocks were relocated to New Hampshire, and the turkey population began spreading to other parts of the state.
At this point, the birds have made a remarkable recovery.
“The population is largely stable and healthy,” Ellingwood said.
This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, sign up here.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
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