Free Republic

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are teaming up on legislation to create a new agency that would have the power to regulate tech giants. The bipartisan Digital Consumer Protection Commission Act, unveiled Thursday, would create an agency charged with oversight of Meta, Google, Amazon and other large tech companies and seek to promote industry competition and consumer privacy online. The commission would work alongside the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), the agencies that currently operate as antitrust enforcers, according to the bill.

Originally only able to work on photos, two years ago FaceTune launched a version for short selfie videos that has increasingly grown in its effectiveness since then. The app allows users to both make subtle changes to their facial appearance, such as smoothing over wrinkles, or alternatively - completely transform how they look. For example, they can narrow their face, change the shape and size of their eyes, or give themselves a digital nose-job. Meanwhile, another popular app that allows users to alter their social media photos - Perfect365 - is due to launch its video version later this year....

App Store and 16 other tech companies will be subject to new EU online content rules as of August, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Tuesday.The other 16 companies are booking.com, Facebook, Alphabet’s GOOGL-Q -0.37%decrease Google Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Google Shopping, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube, Microsoft’s Bing and Zalando.

MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann said Friday on “Morning Joe” that the only way to deter Fox News from “promulgating lies” is for the U.S. government to step in and regulate. Co-host Eugene Robinson said, “A lot of people in media who were appalled at what Fox did in defaming Dominion and who were rooting for Fox to lose at the same time, who worried that an adverse ruling to Fox if they’ve gone to trial, might have an impact on libel law, might have an impact on the governing, Supreme Court decisions Sullivan v. The New York Times, that...

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight,” Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) argued that “just like” we regulate roads, cars, alcohol, cigarettes, and other things, “it should not be outside the realm of possibility to regulate guns so that parents don’t live in fear” of their children being shot. Escobar said, “I take issue with folks who say, legislators aren’t doing anything or Congress isn’t doing anything. We need to be precise in our language. Because the only way that we’re going to solve this is to understand where the obstruction to solutions [is]. And there is one party in...

On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” House Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) discussed the subcommittee’s hearing with the CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter and said that the hearing’s purpose was to send the message to tech companies “That we’re going to regulate. We’re going to legislate.” And that there “have to be some limitations, not just on advertising

No, we do not want the government regulating free speech or freedom of association. Not at political rallies or protests, not at churches, schools or public institutions, not at associations or corporations or businesses, not at newspapers or publications, not on the Internet and certainly not at social medias sites! The first amendment reigns supreme in these regards and must remain supreme! Government regulation of free speech no matter how well intended at the start will be the downfall of liberty in the end. The first amendment guarantees our God-given rights to free speech and freedom of association and expressly...

The Food and Drug Administration's proposal to gradually reduce nicotine levels in tobacco to discourage smoking is an extremely bad idea which won't help anyone and could hurt some. Smoking may appear unattractive to non-smokers, but smokers may be doing what is best for someone with their genetic brain structure. I have never had any connection to the tobacco industry. I have never smoked, owned any tobacco company assets or worked in a facility that sold tobacco products. People I cared about have died from medical conditions associated with tobacco use. On a personal level I don't understand how people...

The campaign by Democrats on the Federal Election Commission to regulate the internet, from Twitter and Facebook to Drudge, is back after some liberal commissioners threw in the towel amid GOP opposition. Seizing on an exit report card of the agency by ex-Commissioner Ann Ravel, the left is complaining that the internet isn't being regulated for political content and spending, but should be.Using the "altFEC" twitter account, one of several "alt" sites set up by government workers in agencies resisting the new Trump administration, the proponents reference Ravel's critical report. "It means that the @FEC's disclosure rules have not been...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Alarmed about cities trying to outlaw plastic bags, the director of the Missouri Grocers Association decided to do something about it. So Dan Shaul turned to his state legislator- himself - and guided a bill to passage barring local governments from banning the bags. Shaul's dual role in state government and business may be a bit out of the norm. Yet his actions are not. In capitols across the country, businesses are increasingly using their clout to back laws prohibiting cities and counties from doing things that might affect their ability to make money. In...

The SEC still hasn’t stopped manipulative high speed traders from ripping off investors, even though the abuses have been self-evident for years to anyone paying attention. A series of events have brought the subject of high frequency trading abuses once again to the forefront of the financial news reportage. These events include: The recent arrest of Navinder Sarao, a British trader, who has been accused of being complicit in the infamous “flash crash” that occurred five years ago. Within minutes, the May 10, 2010 incident sent the Dow tumbling almost 1000 points before it recovered, sending shockwaves throughout our financial...

WXAN reports Austin City Council members debated a plan earlier this month to put restrictions on smoke from barbecue restaurants. Council member Pio Renteria asked council to regulate the amount of smoke that comes from food trucks and restaurants within 100 feet of residential areas. Renteria said residents complained to him that smoke coming from BBQ joints caused them to not be able to open their windows or enjoy their backyards. …

The left lifts its boot toward the free flow of information We knew this was coming. Within the last couple of weeks, both the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Election Commission declared their intention to regulate the Internet. Fascists always explain their actions as efforts to either make something more efficient, “fair,” or to supposedly “protect” their target. Sometimes they simply lie, like saying they’re nationalizing health insurance to make it more affordable and to increase access to health care. Now, with the feds’ latest effort, their new slogan might as well be, “If you like your Internet, you...

The internet is under assault. At the Federal Communications Commission, regulators are hard at work crafting a plan that would turn the internet into a taxable utility. In Congress, lawmakers are determining whether and how best to tax the sales that occur on the internet. And over at the Federal Election Commission, the regulation of political speech that takes place on the internet is back on the table. In October, then FEC Vice Chairwoman Ann M. Ravel promised that she would renew a push to regulate online political speech following a deadlocked commission vote that would have subjected political videos...

Do you cherish your God-given constitutional right to own property? UN Agenda 21′s Smart Growth is in full bloom across our nation. In East Tennessee the five county local “Regional” program is called Plan East Tennessee, (Regional Plan for Livable Communities), a plan which will eliminate private property rights in these five counties. Link It is a plan for Smart Growth. Rosa Koire, author of, “Behind the Green Mask,” defines Smart Growth on her website, as “Human habitation as it is referred to now is restricted to lands within the Urban Growth Boundaries of the city. Only certain building designs...

Pet kitties and their wild feral relatives kill a shocking 500 million birds and over 3 billion other animals according to new studies, prompting a leading Washington-based bird protection group to demand that local governments order their dog catchers to snag cats too. One disturbing new study is based on evidence from "KittyCams" strapped on to 60 outdoor pet cats in Athens, Ga. The results: They each averaged 2.1 "kills" a week. Just 13 percent were birds, the rest voles, lizards, chipmunks, frogs and small snakes. Based on the joint University of Georgia-National Geographic study of pet cats and another...

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved a plan to regulate the Internet despite warnings that it could strangle industry investment and damage an economy that is still struggling to recover. The 3-2 vote fell along partisan lines with Democrats capitalizing on their numerical advantage. The rules would prohibit phone and cable companies from abusing their control over broadband connections to discriminate against rival content or services, such as Internet phone calls or online video, or play favorites with Web traffic. Lawmakers in both parties have been arguing for months that Congress, not the Obama administration, should take...

Sometimes, the revolving door spins a little too quickly. James Cole, Obama’s recent nominee for Deputy Attorney General, has worked as an independent consultant at AIG for the past five years – the company at the center of Department of Justice investigations as recently as two months ago. His firm was paid $20 million to assist with AIG’s legal compliances in that investigation. If confirmed, Cole could potentially be responsible for deciding if and how future cases of fraud would be pressed against AIG. Just as alarming was the way he handled the now-closed case when he was working for...

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency moved Thursday to more tightly control air pollution from large power plants, factories and oil refineries, a step to limit emissions widely blamed for global warming. The EPA said it is completing a rule requiring large polluters to reduce the amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that they release into the air. Those emissions can exacerbate asthma and other breathing problems. The rule would require companies to install better technology and improve energy efficiency whenever they build, or significantly modify, a plant. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the rule applies only to...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is defending his latest so-called “nanny” initiative — a controversial crackdown on salt — by comparing the simple seasoning to killer asbestos in the classroom. "Salt and asbestos, clearly both are bad for you," Bloomberg said. "Modern medicine thinks you shouldn't be smoking if you want to live longer. Modern medicine thinks you shouldn't be eating salt, or sodium." Do you think the government should be telling you how much salt you should eat?