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Top Facebook Official Says Social Media Companies Are ‘Not Bound by the First Amendment’
A top Facebook official dismissed criticism that the social media giant violated former President Donald Trump‘s First Amendment rights by keeping him off the platform.
Michael McConnell, co-chairman of Facebook’s Oversight Board, discussed the company’s recent decision to uphold its ban on Trump for six months while the company clarifies its policy. The former president was kicked off the platform after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“Private companies are not bound by the First Amendment,” McConnell said Sunday on Fox News. “And so, he has no First Amendment rights. He’s a customer. Facebook is not a government, and he is not a citizen of Facebook.”
It May Be Time to Relax Indoor Face Mask Mandates, Fauci Says
Sunday on ABC News, Fauci was asked whether it’s time to start relaxing indoor masks requirements. Fauci replied, “I think so, and I think you’re going to probably be seeing that as we go along, and as more people get vaccinated.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be updating its guidance almost in real time, as more Americans get vaccinated, said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The CDC relaxed its guidance last month on wearing masks outdoors, but still advises both vaccinated and unvaccinated people to still wear masks in indoor public spaces, such as a mall, movie theater or museum.
Want to Party? You Might Need a ‘Vaccine Passport.’
You could hear the music from the sidewalk, high-spirited renditions of “Ice Ice Baby” and “MMMBop.”
It was ’90s night at Rumi, a ballroom and event space in the Chelsea section of Manhattan in New York City, and millennials and Gen Zers lined up to get inside. They dressed the part in tracksuits, neon crop tops, denim overalls and scrunchies.
To enter, they had to pass two checkpoints. First, a bouncer verified IDs and took temperatures. Then, Joseph Ko, one of the ballroom’s owners, confirmed that each person had been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. The process took about five minutes.
Tech, Healthcare Titans Who Donated to Gov. Newsom Were Rewarded With Lucrative, No-Bid Contracts
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has embraced Silicon Valley tech companies and healthcare industry titans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic like no other governor in America — routinely outsourcing life-or-death public health duties to his allies in the private sector.
At least 30 tech and health care companies have received lucrative, no-bid government contracts, or helped fund and carry out critical public health activities during the state’s battle against the coronavirus, a Kaiser Health News (KHN) analysis has found. The vast majority are Newsom supporters and donors who have contributed more than $113 million to his political campaigns and charitable causes, or to fund his policy initiatives, since his first run for statewide office in 2010.
