Ep. 307: Courts Wade Into Online ‘Disinformation’ Battle

The Biden administration’s efforts to combat “disinformation” online by coordinating with tech giants have long been the subject of partisan sniping, but are now at the center of a testy legal battle that has already yielded a number of twists and turns. First came a 155-page ruling from a Texas judge on the Fourth of July barring the White House from certain engagements with social media companies, which was quickly halted this week by the Fifth Circuit. But the litigation appears poised to settle pressing questions about the government’s role in policing speech online. Also this week, Tesla executives agree to pay back $735 million to settle a stockholder suit accusing them of receiving “outrageous” compensation packages, and the Ninth Circuit revisits a crucial precedent to allow the embedding of Instagram posts without fear of copyright violations. Finally, a truce in the taco marketing wars as “Taco Tuesday” returns to the people.