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Gulf Today
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
What trial 300 years ago tells about Trump's media lawsuits
Scott McIntosh, Tribune News Service President Donald Trump's lawsuit against CBS News reminded me of a famous legal case that I teach my journalism students each semester at Boise State University. It's known as the Zenger trial. The case was in 1735, nearly 300 years ago, before the United States was even a country. Then-New York Gov. William Cosby charged the New-York Weekly Journal printer John Peter Zenger with 'seditious libel' because the newspaper was critical of Cosby, accusing him of tyranny and violating the people's rights. Seditious libel at the time simply meant you were critical of the government, even if what you wrote was true. The plaintiff did not have to prove that the published material was false, as plaintiffs have to do today. On its face, Zenger was guilty, simply on the basis that he indeed printed the material. Despite that and despite Cosby's repeated efforts to stack the court with lawyers, judges and jurors in his favour, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty — after just 10 minutes of deliberation. Essentially, the jury said, 'Yeah, we know he did this and it's against the law, but it shouldn't be, and he shouldn't be punished for it.' It's remarkable to me that a jury of average people in 1735 in a British province recognised the importance of allowing the press to criticise the government without fear of retribution. 'I think it was reflective of the deep commitment that existed among these ordinary jurors that the right to criticise their colonial governor was essential in their society,' University of Minnesota media ethics and law Professor Jane Kirtley told me in a phone interview. 'Criticism is the lifeblood of what keeps a democratic society functioning and helps to hold those in power accountable.' The Zenger case didn't set legal precedent, but it was foundational in our understanding of the freedom of the press and the importance of protecting the free exercise of journalism. As we all know, freedom of the press was enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution, its roots found some 50 years earlier in the Zenger trial. 'We really value political speech as a society,' Kirtley said. 'We see that as essential to political debate, to discussion, to an informed citizenry, to participation in our system.' Trump's lawsuit against CBS: Kirtley and I talked about the Zenger trial in the context of what we're seeing today with attacks on the media and particularly the lawsuits that Trump has brought against several media companies. Trump is suing CBS News for $20 billion over claims that the news programme '60 Minutes' edited an interview with Kamala Harris to make her look good just before the election. (The accusation is ridiculous; '60 Minutes' used a more succinct answer from Harris to a question about Israel.) It's interesting, though, that Trump is not suing CBS News on the grounds of libel; he's suing under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, which is meant to regulate deceptive advertising. And he filed it in Texas in a district whose lone judge is a Trump appointee, under the guise that a Texas congressman was harmed by the '60 Minutes' interview. Kirtley said the strategy is similar to a couple of lawsuits in the 1990s against media companies by businesses that knew they wouldn't be able to prove published material was false to win a libel suit. So they sued on other grounds, such as trespassing and breach of contract. Trump vilifies the press: Of course, it's all part of Trump's strategy to intimidate and vilify the press, calling us 'the enemy of the people' and 'fake news.' It's meant to diminish trust in the media among his followers. The reason is obvious: Any time the press reports on some heinous thing he's done (like mistakenly deporting a man to an El Salvador prison then refusing to bring him back in defiance of a Supreme Court order), he simply attacks the messenger so that his followers don't acknowledge his unconstitutional actions. It's worth noting that in the Zenger case, Cosby had removed New York's Chief Judge Lewis Morris after Morris ruled against Cosby in a case involving Cosby's salary as governor and hinged on, essentially, separation of powers. Sound familiar? Trump has regularly attacked judges and threatened to remove those who don't rule in his favour. It's also worth noting that just as Trump is using the regulatory powers of the FCC to violate CBS News' First Amendment protections, Cosby also sought to use his regulatory powers to attack the New-York Weekly Journal, including ordering a hangman to burn copies of the newspaper. By doing such things as suing media outlets, canceling subscriptions to Politico, threatening funding to NPR and PBS, barring the Associated Press from the Oval Office or refusing to answer questions from reporters who list their pronouns, Trump's attacks on the media are just as petty and just as anathema to American values as then-Gov. William Cosby's actions back in the early 1700s. But the Zenger verdict shows just how deeply ingrained in America's DNA is the recognition of the importance of freedom of the press and the need to protect the press from such government bullying.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Carolina lawmakers discuss bill banning social media for kids under 14
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina lawmakers discussed House Bill 301 Tuesday, which would ban social media accounts for kids under the age of 14 and require parent or guardian consent for 14 and 15-year-olds. 'Predators have access to our kids at unprecedented levels at this time, more than ever in our history,' said state Rep. Jeff Zenger, a sponsor of the bill. 'One of their number one tools is social media. 'As a parent who has fought the battle of screen time with four kids who are now in their 20s, it is a raging battle,' Zenger said. 'The idea would be to put something up that would be a backstop for parents so that they can help regulate this and help kind of stand with this battle.' Another argument for the bill is reducing potential for mental health issues that supporters say comes with social media use among kids. Five other states, including Florida and Texas, already have some type of restrictions on social media usage for teens. Asked about the bill, Raleigh parent Alicia Wenzel said, 'I do know that it does need to be filtered a little more for kids. My daughter's is filtered and she still sees things she's not supposed to see.' At Tuesday's meeting, Reighlah Collins with the ACLU of North Carolina signed up to speak. 'While protecting children online is imperative, this bill would undermine child safety and impose likely unconstitutional restrictions on young people's ability to engage online,' she said. Some recent changes were made to the bill. 'We were talking with the Retail Association,' Zenger said. 'They came to us about online commerce, email, educational videos and all these kinds of things. If you look, we really narrow down the scope as to what that would be. Gaming was also an issue, so we put some parameters in there for that.' The bill was referred to the commerce and economic development committee next for discussion. CBS 17's Mary Smith is an Investigative Reporter focused on Digging Deeper and Getting Answers. If you have a story that needs investigating, send an email to Investigates@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Carolina bill would ban social media for people 14 and younger
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Should kids under 14 be allowed to have social media? Those who support House Bill 301 say they shouldn't. The bill was proposed earlier this month. If the bill is passed, it would be against the law for children under the age of 14 to have social media accounts on any platform. It would require 14 and 15-year-old users to have parental controls. Forsyth County Representative Zenger is the primary bill sponsor and says this bill is intended to help parents protect their children from the harms of social media and the addictive nature of scrolling, especially for brains still developing. North Carolina is joining the growing list of states trying to regulate how teens use social media. Raesheaen Bittle from High Point said she supports House Bill 301 as a grandmother. She worries about her grandkids, and she feels this bill would protect them. 'There needs to be some type of limit to younger kids having phones and access to anything that's out here,' Bittle said. However, not everyone agrees. Donna Pope from Greensboro is a grandmother of teenagers. She thinks it could help, but it's up to the parents. 'I have two daughters and five grandchildren all under the age of 15, and they're pretty much on top of the controls and everything,' Pope said. Zenger says the bill isn't a replacement for parental oversight but should complement what parents are already doing. 'You look at the 14 and under category. In particular, you can't find anybody that's out there claiming there are benefits … The idea was let's give parents, let's give moms and dads kind of a backstop to help them have something to stand on to just say, 'We're not doing that,'' Zenger said. Zenger said he is hopeful this will be a unanimous vote because he says young teens need protection. 'Kids are still developing, so their minds … their bodies and everything are not completely developed, and what actually happens is an overabundance of screen time literally rewires the brain,' Zenger said. If passed, the Department of Justice would be able to impose a civil penalty of up to $50,000 per violation to parents. The DOJ would also be able to sue platforms as well. 'What we really want is just them to self-police … It's in their best interest … If you look at social media as a product, why do you want to put a product out there that's harming people?' Zenger said. There are still many steps until this could be approved. Zenger says he hopes it's approved from the North Carolina House in the coming weeks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
